Taking action, making the links

Climate change and what we can do

Connecting individual actions with global effects

What’s going on?

Climate change is happening all around the world

Yangtzi, China

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Lima, Peru

Upton-upon-Severn, UK

Greater Banjul, The Gambia

Alaska, USA

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Pakistan

Shishmaref, Alaska, USAWhat’s happening here?Polar regions are some of the first places expected to feel strong effects from climate change.

The town of Shishmaref in north west Alaska is threatened as sea levels rise and permafrost melts.

Permafrost is ‘sub-soil remaining below freezing-point throughout the year in polar regions’.[Concise Oxford Dictionary].

What’s happened to the house?As permafrost melts, houses which have been built on it start to tilt and collapse.

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

What’s happening here?•Climate change has been linked to an increase in extreme weather events, such as storms and hurricanes•In 2005, the city of New Orleans was seriously flooded following Hurricane Katrina•Most of its population had to leave, and more than 1,000 people were killed

Lima, PeruWhat’s happening here?•The growing population of Lima, the capital of Peru, needs access to clean water•The city is built in a desert region but is currently supplied with water from glaciers in the Andes mountains•As the glaciers melt, this water supply is going to become smaller

Upton-upon- Severn, UKWhat’s happening here?

•The small town of Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, has long been at risk of flooding from the River Severn

•As the climate changes, many scientists expect British winters to become warmer and wetter, and the rainfall to be heavier when it comes

•This means that major floods, such as those which happened in 2000, are likely to become more common

Greater Banjul, The GambiaWhat’s happening here?The Gambia, in West Africa, is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Its capital city, Banjul, is threatened by rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

What impact do you think coastal erosion Is having on nearby tourist areas?Many beaches have been washed away – and these have had to be replaced at great cost. If the tourists don’t come, then less money comes into the area.

Rising sea levels may also affect the area’s fishing industry and fresh water supply.The country is also likely to be affected by drier weather and growing deserts, affecting crops and wildlife. Responding to climate change is a major priority in the country.

Dhaka, Bangladesh

What’s happening here?

•Bangladesh is vulnerable to flooding and tropical storms •These are expected to become more common and more severe as a result of climate change•In 2004, the capital city of Dhaka was seriously flooded. Dozens of people died and more than 100,000 became ill from using dirty water

PakistanWhat’s happening here?•In 2010 severe flooding, following heavy monsoon rains between July and September, affected 20 million people•Many remain without homes, shelter or help 12 months later•Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was under water

Pakistan• Buildings, bridges, roads and

crops for animals and humans were all destroyed across a massive area

• This is the hospital at Karora Town, in Shangla District, northern Pakistan

• In the village of Paka Ghalwa in southern Punjab, many people were still living in tents six months after the flooding subsided

Yangtzi, ChinaWhat’s happening here?•One sixth of the world’s population lives in China. More and more Chinese people are moving to the cities as industry grows to meet the country’s needs•Increasing amounts of water and energy are needed to support them•How the country can do this in a manageable and sustainable way is an important question

One controversial solution has been to build the world’s largest dam project on the Yangtzi River, the Three Gorges Dam

What do we know?• Climate change will affect

places in many different ways

• No one knows for certain what will happen, and there are lots of possibilities

• Places may experience a mix of positive and negative changes. These will probably be very different depending on where in the world you live

What are the causes?

Natural causes•Release of methane gas from arctic tundra and wetlands•Methane is a greenhouse gas and is very dangerous to our environment

A greenhouse gas traps heat in the earth's atmosphere

• Another natural cause is that the earth goes through cycles of climate change. This usually lasts about 40,000 years

What are the causes?

Man-made causesFarming, landfill, and coalmines

Scientists believe methane could be 23 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2)

What are the causes?Man-made causesBurning fossil fuels: To generate electricity

– For commercial and industrial purposes (to make things)

– For residential purposes (for heating and lighting)

To generate heat directly for cooking and warmth

What are the causes?

Man-made causesBurning fossil fuels:•For transport – moving people, goods and food around •A growing population means more of this

What are the causes?Man-made causesDeforestationBetween May 2000 and August 2005, Brazil lost more than 132,000 square kilometres of forest – an area larger than Greece

What are the solutions?

Small changes we can all makeFood•Rely less on food and goods that travel a long distance. Eat British-grown vegetables and meat or grow your own if possible! (This reduces CO2 from transporting food)

• Eat less meat (reduces methane from cows)

• Compost your food waste (reduces methane from landfill)

Small changes we can all make

Landfill •Recycle and compost – reduce amount of rubbish that goes to landfill •Join Freecycle/Freegle Don’t throw things away!•Don’t buy things that you don’t really need

Small changes we can all make

Fossil fuels•Reduce your energy/electricity use – switch things off if you’re not using them•Talk to your parents about getting solar panels on the roof of your house•Get on your bike! Leave the car at home whenever possible and walk or cycle for short journeys

Community action and campaigning

Things can happen when people work togetherAfon Taf High School in Wales wanted to enable more cycling to school by installing new cycle facilities.•They prepared a bid for funding from the Welsh Assembly’s Safe Routes to Schools budget to build new cycle facilities •The Year 9 class split into different groups

– One group surveyed pupils and parents for their opinions– One looked at the design of the new sheds– One looked at upgrading a riverside path to create a traffic-free route

to school – Another looked at how the cycle-to-school scheme would work

• It worked: the school received £60,000 from the Welsh Assembly

Advertising campaignConnecting individual actions with global effects

Advertising campaignConnecting individual actions with global effects

•Only half (52 per cent) of Britons think that changing just their own behaviour would have an impact on climate change •However, more people (85 per cent) say that they would be prepared to change the way they live in order to lessen the impact of global warming(BBC/ICM poll, July 2004)

Advertising campaign

Connecting individual actions with global effects

•You work for: an advertising company•Your brief is: to design a campaign to raise people’s awareness of the link between their personal travel behaviour/travel choices and climate change (target audience: aged 11 – 16)•Outputs required: campaign concept outlined on an ideas sheet and a poster