Download The Story of Climate Change, a free interactive textbook for grades 5 through 8, from iTunes.

The Earth Day Network describes the book as:

“The Story of Climate Change is the first interactive iTextbook for middle school students. It is a new, active way of learning through multimedia to connect students beyond pages and vocabulary words into the practical applications of climate science. Each of the iTextbook’s six chapters includes informative videos, fun interactive resources, critical thinking activities, as well as review and discussion questions to reinforce unit concepts. Keep students in tune with the latest climate science and research.”

The Story of Stuff Project opens our eyes and teaches us about the way we make, use and throw away all the Stuff in our lives.

We have a problem with Stuff: we have too much of it, too much of it is toxic and we don’t share it very well. But that’s not the way things have to be.

Talk about changes you can make at home as a family that can help reduce your reliance on stuff. Here's some ideas to get you started!

• Switch out one-time use and disposable items like water bottles, plastic grocery bags and paper towels with their reusable counterparts. You'll help the environment and be a friend to your budget!
• Try going meat and/or dairy-free once a week. Did you know that decreasing your meat intake by just one burger a week can result in the same environmental benefit as taking your car off the road for 320 miles? That's a big benefit for a small change!
• It takes a lot of resources and produces a lot of pollution to make new clothing. 85% of shoreline plastic pollution comes from the plastic fibres in synthetic clothing material such as nylon. Yikes! To help reduce this impact, try choosing natural fibers like hemp, cotton and wool, and change where you buy clothes by shopping at thrift, second-hand and consignment shops over department stores and the mall. One study reported that the environmental impact of clothing sold by just one Swedish secondhand store chain, Emmaus Björkå, was a reduction of 7GWh of energy, nearly 1,500 tonnes of CO₂ emissions and 947,000 cubic metres of water annually. Amazeballs!
• Have you heard of the Zero Waste Movement? It's a thing, and it's fabulous! Start with the goal of reducing your trash. If you usually create 5 bags of trash per week, try taking it down to 4, and then 3. Or focus on just one room or part of the home, like the bathroom or kitchen. Be more mindful about packaging at the store, and choose items with little or no packaging, and packaging than can easily be recycled in your area or reused.