There exists a feeling so expansive that nearly every organism experiences it at some point in their lives. It is a completely nature phenomenon and without it, the prosperous nature of the human race and other species would be impossible. The notion I speak of is the urge to protect our children. Biologically speaking, the single most imperative objective of an organisms life is the pass down their DNA to their offspring and ensure its survival. One aspect of ensuring its survival is making sure that the environment it grows up in is suitable to sustain its life. At this point in time and for this reason, humanity stands at a precipice. For thousands of years, people could have children and know that the world they would live in would support them to a degree. Now, technological advancements such as automobiles and factories have created byproducts that put a stranglehold on the Earths atmosphere, potentially leading it towards disaster. This disaster comes in the form of global climate change. Byproducts such as Carbon Dioxide and Methane are being emitted into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate. The increased emission of these gases cause steady warming to global temperatures which can have monumental impacts. A radical change in climate leads to nearly every calamity known to man. Flooding coastlines, sickness, extreme weather, and famine caused by the complete collapse of the food web due to the extinction of a multitude of keystone species are all possible if nothing is done to stop climate change. As a species we must remember what is truly important in our lives, our children. They are our future. We must ensure that the future of the human race shines as bright as possible, and that starts with our generation taking better care of the priceless jewel of the known universe we call planet Earth.
We know that climate change has a drastic effect on the weather and sea levels but what else is it effecting?In this lesson, we will be taking a step into the minds of Polar Bears and Farmers. We will examine how these drastic changes are affecting their everyday lives.First we will take a look into how the polar bears are living today and what is happening to them.We will learn the devastating fact that their habitat is literally melting beneath their feet and because of this, they are having a difficult time finding food and refuge when in the ocean.We will then discuss what farmers are dealing with near and far.Flooding, drought, and rising temperatures are the culprit to crops diminishing and people going hungry because of their crops being destroyed.Students will then take a Step Inside a Polar Bear or Farmer to describe what they are feeling, what they notice is changing, and what they are thinking.
Lesson 3: Food For Thought
In regards to Climate Change, there is always an emphasis placed on the effects it can have on certain aspects of human society such as agriculture. This makes sense as the well being of the agriculture industry is a crucial lifeline to humanity. Without food and water available from successful agricultural practices, we as a species stand no change for survival. However an under the radar fact about Climate Change is that our agricultural practices is affecting Climate Change just as much or even more so than our changing climate affect our agriculture. Food production is not a clean process. The primary culprit of this shocking fact is beef cattle raising, as the gases the cattle gives off through bodily processes are greenhouse gases in nature and assimilate into the atmosphere, furthering Global Warming. It is a stark reminder that nearly everything we do as a species has negative consequences along with the clearly positive ones.
Lesson 4: "We're Going Off The Grid!"
In lesson 4, we dive into the concept of sustainable living, and how people have made very simple to extreme changes in their lifestyle to become an environmental-friendly citizen. We explore tiny-houses, renewable energy sources, and what is considered a “sustainable diet”. Next, we discuss the definition of ecological footprint and its significance ours has on the environment. Ecological footprint is the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources. Students calculate their own footprint and determine how many planet earths would be needed to provide resources if everyone lived like them, how many global acres would it take to support their lifestyle, and they draw a circle graph to represent their ecological footprint. After the activity, we move on to discuss some ways the students can make simple changes in their lifestyle to lower their own ecological footprint. We close by comparing what the students used to think to what they know now.
Lesson 5: CLIMATE let's make a CHANGE!
This lesson is where students take ACTION! With all the knowledge that the students have obtained during this unit about climate change. The class will now be able to become activist against this devastating issue, what we have strived for all along. During this lesson, students will be encouraged from watching a video about a kid named Alec who took action against climate change in his own community. We will then go over several pictures of individuals taking action and discuss productive ways to become an activist. At the end of the lesson students will come up with their own creative ideas of how to build a community garden, decrease their ecological footprint, recycle, or organize a beach clean up. It may seem like these actions against Climate Change are minuscule, but if we create these little activist in our schools now, they will have a HUGE impact for our future.