Climate Change Awareness and Personal Action

Prompt

Meet passionate teenage innovators from around the globe who are creating cutting-edge solutions to confront the world’s environmental threats – found right in their own backyards – while navigating the doubts and insecurities that mark adolescence. Take a journey with these inspiring teens as they prepare their projects for the largest convening of high school scientists in the world, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) a program of Society for Science & the Public.

Inventing Tomorrow ~ The future is brighter than you think https://www.inventingtomorrowmovie.com/

Essential Skills & Concepts

• • Problem-solving

  • Higher-order thinking

  • Research skills

  • Social awareness

  • Communication

  • Appropriate use of technology

Project Options

Choose one of the options below

Option 1: Pick one of the following topics to research and present your findings in a Flipgrid video.

1. What is composting? How will it help reduce your carbon footprint? What types of materials can you put into it?

2. How might a house be designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible? How can you make it energy-efficient? Where would you build it? What materials would you use?

3. What is ocean acidification? What chemical reactions are occurring to make the oceans more acidic? What regions are most affected? How is it affecting fish and other aquatic organisms? How is that, in turn, affecting the communities that rely on those organisms for their economic well-being.

4. What was the Permian extinction? Why do scientists think climate change was a factor? How did the chemistry of climate change contribute to the Permian extinction?

5. What chemicals are released from your car’s tailpipe? How do each of these chemicals affect the environment? What solutions are scientists and engineers working on to reduce the impact of vehicle emissions on the environment?

6. What is starfish wasting disease? How is it related to climate change? What impact is it happening on aquatic ecosystems on the west coast of North America? Why is a disease that affects starfish so damaging to ecosystems, and indicative of the overall seriousness of the problem?

7. How is climate change influencing the rainy/dry seasons in the Amazon, and what effect is this having on the region’s wildlife and the communities that rely on them?

8. Why are weather patterns becoming more extreme as the planet warms?

9. What impact will changing climate have on food availability, particularly in underdeveloped countries? Why? What are scientists and policy-makers doing to address this problem? Is there anything you can do to help?

10. What impact will changing climate have on disease spread? Why? What communities will be most affected?

11. Research different methods of energy production (eg, coal, oil, nuclear, solar, etc)? What are the pluses and minuses to each? What do you think the best strategy is to both meet the energy needs of our society and reduce carbon emissions?

12. One strategy you can use to reduce your carbon footprint is to eat less red meat. Research the meat industry and compare red meat production to the production of other foods. Why does this work?

13. What are some things you can do to help?

14. What is the impact of rising seas on ocean currents, ocean chemistry, aquatic ecosystems, and communities that live close to the oceans?

15. What are the scientific, economic, and ecological issues underlying the threat of global climate change, and the institutions engaged in negotiating an international response? Develop an integrated approach to analyze the climate change processes, and assessment of proposed policy measures.

Option 1: Project Guidelines

1. Determine your objective/overarching question/hypothesis

2. Spend a week researching

3. Submit a 2-5min video of your completed project to Flipgrid: https://flipgrid.com/469319c5.

   • Feel free to comment/draw inspiration from the Flipgrids of other students!

   • Challenge your classmates to submit theirs.

Option 2: Pick one of the seventeen topics and research the possible changes you and your family can make.

Resources

• • Earth’s changing climate video https://test-learnermedia.pantheonsite.io/series/the-habitable-planet-a-systems-approach-to-environmental-science/earths-changing-climate/earths-changing-climate-video/

  • https://theyearsproject.com/learn/news/individual-solutions-climate-change/

17 Climate Change Solutions You Can Do Yourself

1. 1. It may sound obvious, but powering your home with solar or wind is still one of the best ways to fight climate change. Depending on where you live, you may be able to switch to a power company that provides energy from renewables. Or you can consider getting solar installed on your home. Learn more about getting renewable energy here.

   2. You can fight climate change simply by changing what you eat. You can significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions by eating less meat, choosing local foods when possible and buying food with less packaging. Learn more about cutting down on animal products here.

   3. Saving water at home is another way to fight climate change. Why? Because the clean water that’s pumped to most homes in North America has been treated, which uses lots of energy. Get more tips on saving water here.

   4. You can make a sustainable choice every time you need to go somewhere: choose a fuel efficient vehicle when purchasing, take public transportation if it’s available, carpool to work, ride a bicycle or walk when possible. These are all ways to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere and heating our planet.

   5. There are carbon emissions embedded in all the things we use day-to-day. When you buy fewer new things, you shrink your carbon footprint. Learn more here.

   6. Recycling. Yes, recycling really can help stop climate change! That’s because re-using materials usually uses less energy, and thus creates less pollution, than extracting raw materials. Learn more.

   7. If you own your own home, consider installing a smart thermostat. Smart thermostats learn your routines and adjust your home’s temperature for peak efficiency, saving money on energy bills while decreasing emissions. Learn more about smart thermostats here.

   8. Can changing a lightbulb really have an impact? If every household in the United State switched just ONE regular bulb to a CFL or LED bulb it would be equivalent to removing 1 million cars from the road!

   9. Look for the ENERGY STAR label, which helps consumers identify products that are 10-to-50% more efficient. Categories include appliances, electronics, office equipment and many more. Smart appliances simply use less energy.

   10. Do something called an “energy audit” to save money and energy in your home. You can hire a company (some even perform the audit remotely), but you can do it yourself too!

   11. Want to save on your energy bills? One of the best ways is to insulate your home. According to the Department of Energy, properly sealing off drafts can reduce your bills by 5-30 percent.

   12. Compost food scraps. According to the EPA, about 18 percent of methane pollution comes from food scraps that ended up in landfills. But if those leftovers, peels, cores and cuttings were composted, they would reduce emissions and help produce healthy soil. So, when are you going to start your compost pile? It’s not difficult and you can make a substantial difference. Don’t just figure out how to do it, ACTUALLY DO IT! Learn more about composting here.

   13. See if you qualify for PACE. Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, is a way to finance climate-smart building upgrades, like lighting improvements, solar panels, efficient heating and cooling, and even insulation. Learn more here.

   14. Calculate your carbon footprint with an online carbon calculator. Knowing what activities are your biggest sources of emissions helps you plan how to reduce your footprint. Check out this calculator from The Nature Conservancy to find out what part of your life contributes the most to climate change.

   15. Eliminate your junk mail! Go here to find out how.

   16. Plant trees, to help suck carbon out of the air and stabilize the climate.

   17. Spread the word about Years of Living Dangerously. Tell your friends, family and coworkers to watch too.

Option 2: Project Guidelines

1. 1. Pick one or two of the do-it-yourself solutions above

   2. Challenge yourself and record your progress

   3. Submit a 2-5 min video of your progress to Flipgrid: https://flipgrid.com/469319c5.

      • Feel free to comment/draw inspiration from the Flipgrids of other students!

      • Challenge your classmates to submit theirs.

Submission

You can submit your project via the Climate Change assignment in your grade's Google Classroom. Submit a 2-5 min video of your progress to Flipgrid: https://flipgrid.com/469319c5