• Climate change has severe ecological impacts.mud flats image by Stacey Lynn Payne from Fotolia.com
  
  Climate change is important to all life on earth. Most trees lose their leaves in autumn and become inactive during the winter months, birds fly south, bears hibernate and marine life undertakes heroic migrations around the globe. For people, changes in climate also have an influence on the quality of life by affecting fresh water availability and altering the growing range of crops and food herds among other things.
  
  

El Niño Project

• Ocean currents contribute to powerful storm seasons.furacao image by god85 from Fotolia.com
  
  El Niño currents can be demonstrated in a simple experiment. You will need a hair dryer, a Pyrex dish, some food coloring and water and a funnel. Heat the water in the dish add blue food color to it. Refrigerate another portion of water and add a different color dye to the water. Using the funnel, slowly add the cold water to the dish so that it is deposited beneath the warm water. With the hair dryer, blow a warm air current across the surface of the water and observe how the warmer water on top traps the cooler water below and prevents it from mixing. This is a very simplified version of the weather phenomena, but it makes a wonderful science project.
  
  

Animal Migrations

• Many bird species migrate to warmer climates during mating season.gannet flock image by Thor from Fotolia.com
  
  Many different animals migrate, from birds to whales, and their migrations are dictated by changes in climate. A basic project might outline why animals migrate or provide information about summer and winter homes of different species. More advanced science students might prefer to look at how modern climate change is causing some animals to travel farther or alter their breeding cycles to accommodate the new weather patterns. Be sure to include information about why migration is necessary, including favorable breeding environments and a search for food.
  
  

Fresh Water Impacts

• Fresh water is critical to all aspects of animal life.mud circles image by Dumitrescu Ciprian from Fotolia.com
  
  As climate changes, it alters global weather patterns. The result is less rainfall in areas which are accustomed to high amounts of moisture, and increased precipitation in areas that once were known for their aridity. Experiments and demonstrations for this project could include looking at evaporation rates at different temperatures, reduced snowfall in elevations, or even a comparison of glacial retreat in recent years. To underscore the very real concerns of climate change on fresh water supply, students might want to examine the world's largest lakes and how they have been shrinking dramatically since the 1970's.
  
  

Climate Change and Food Production

• Citrus groves are vulnerable to cooler weather.oranges on the branch image by Daria Miroshnikova from Fotolia.com
  
  The world's "bread baskets" are the locations where crops are harvested on large scales, such as the American Midwest. As climate changes and influences other aspects of nature, such as fresh water supply, crops "migrate" the same as animals, only at a much slower pace. For examples of how changing climate affects food production, the project might look at the citrus crops in Florida, which moved steadily southward during the second half of the twentieth century to escape killing frosts.