Climate change refers to a significant change in the climate over a long period of time. Scientists believe that the climate change which we are currently baring witness to is due to global warming which is being caused by excess greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere and creating a ‘greenhouse’ around the planet, trapping some of the sun’s rays and heating Earth. There is also a growing hole in the Ozone Layer which means that the sun’s ultra violet rays are getting through this hole and reaching and warming Earth, as well as making people more susceptible to being effected by the harmful rays through means such as skin cancer. Scientists have collected vast amounts of evidence to prove that this is happening using weather reports, ice cores, rocks and fossils, and by analysing pollen and trees.
The impacts of climate change are already proving to be threatening to life on our planet. We hear a lot about the rising sea levels due to ice melting in Antarctica, but we often struggle to consider how this will directly effect us in Scotland. The use of videos, such as Antarctica on the Edge, and a task which called for us to consider the life of a school girl in Bangladesh for example, helped me to gain a better understanding of how climate change can and will ruin the lives of many if we do not do something about it. It is important that we use methods like this in the classroom, as well as help learners to develop a strong sense of place and to understand the part they play in the ecosystem. This relationship and connection with the world is essential if we are to educate children on the urgency of Climate Change (Wals, 2012).
Climate change is also impacting our weather. In the West of Scotland, we see a lot of rain. Patterns of rainy seasons are becoming more random and heavy rain has been increasing since 1960 (Harrabin, 2013) and British agriculture is suffering. Living on a farm myself this is something which I am noticing first hand. Increasing rain means wet land and poorer quality crops. This impacts on the crops which farmers can sell and those which they need to use to feed their cattle through the winter months. In some areas of the world, especially those which are low lying, crops and fields may even be wiped out due to flooding. An example of this in the UK was Storm Desmond which destroyed agricultural land, killed humans and livestock, and left many people homeless in Cumbria, Carlisle and certain areas in Southern Scotland.
Another recent example of extreme weather being Hurricane Irma; tearing through the Caribbean destroying homes and lives, and leading to the evacuation of Florida. Normally, when we see cases of extreme weather on the news, we tend to consider the impact that it is having on humans. However, when I was looking further into this topic I began to consider the impact that extreme weather also has on plants and animals. If hurricanes are wiping out man-made buildings then they are most certainly destroying the habitats of many populations of wildlife and disrupting the biodiversity of that country. By connecting children to people from other countries who have been victims to cases of extreme weather, through use of letters, video chats or other means, we can help them to relate to the rest of the world and to see that their actions are currently impacting people just like them.
The use of extreme weather to teach children about climate change is a good way to relate the impacts of it to their everyday lives and to current things which they are hearing on the news. This will help them to see that climate change is and will directly impact them and the people around them. Having an understanding of the science behind climate change is very important as children may find themselves faced with people who tell them that climate change is not happening and they also may struggle to appreciate the impact of humans (Wals, 2012). In order to develop an understanding of the science behind climate change many activities can be used such as experiments to explain weather fronts and how climate change is effecting them. By working together on experiments such as this with my colleagues, I developed my collaboration skills and synthesis of knowledge, as before this I was not aware that cold air is more dense than warm air and that this is why while warm air rises cold air pushes down with more pressure and it is when the two push against each other that storms occur. Collaboration is a key skill within and outwith learning for sustainability as for us to overcome and reverse the impacts of climate change we have to reengage with our communities and create a sense of togetherness with our homes and with the world (Wals, 2012). Experiments such as this also require hypothesising as before the experiment we considered what we thought might happen and why we thought so.
As well as understanding the science behind climate change, we also must have an understanding of the political impact on climate change. I have always found politics to be a daunting subject as I have never really understood it. However, I found the activities that I completed made me feel more relaxed about teaching politics to learners. 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 which displays many of the world’s political parties coming together to create and follow rules and aims which, if successful, will reduce climate change. The Act aims to lower the temperature of the world and to emit no excess greenhouse gases by the second half of this century. It also aims to support countries who are vulnerable to the inevitable effects of climate change, to help vulnerable countries become more resilient to the impacts of climate change, to invest less money into things which cause damage to the environment and more money into those which promote zero net emissions, and to help build up developing countries. The act states that the countries should take a certain time to reflect and look at evidence to see whether that which is being done is working (Dagnet et al., 2016) and if it is enough to meet the final aims of global emissions peaking by 2020 and decreasing thereafter until they become negative (Dugan et al., 2014). The Climate Change (Scotland) Act, 2009 states an aim that we will have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 42% in 2020 and by 80% by 2050.
All of these government aims and the idea of the world’s governments working together do not come without challenges however. There are issues to do with who is most to blame and how the export of damaging technology to less developed countries is arguably not reducing emissions, but causing them to come from somewhere else. Issues such as this could be discussed as a series of drama activities. Children could act as MP’s discussing and debating the aims of the Acts and considering how they are going to be achieved. They could also act as different MP’s from countries who have and have not signed the Paris Agreement, debating on whether they should sign it or not and why. This would develop debating skills as well as justification skills as it would require children to truly understand the reasons why action against climate change is necessary and what they can do to combat it.
Through completion of the Carbon Footprint calculator on the WWF website, I was extremely surprised by my result. My carbon footprint is currently at 119% of my share. This is made up mostly by my travel habits, which accounted for 46% of my score. Before taking this test, I would have said that I am conscious of my environment and of my actions to combat climate change. However, my total annual carbon emissions was shown to be 12.1 tonnes. This is more than double that of the world average and just under that of the UK average – clearly I have some work to do! The website was very useful and one which I would definitely use in the classroom as despite all of the research and learning which had taken place for me about climate change, it was the discovery that if I carry on living the way I am, I personally will be contributing to the failure of the aims of emitting net zero greenhouse gases. Wals (2012) discusses the importance of the use of carbon footprint calculators as they show the impact that individuals are making. Also, by comparing my own footprint to the UK and world average, I was prompted to consider the inequity of climate change – while the most developed countries are emitting more gases, the least developed countries are suffering the most from its wrath and are often beginning to use non-environmentally friendly things which are now against the law in more developed places, due to them being cheaper to buy and operate. The suggestions provided by WWF to reduce my carbon footprint were to use the car less and use more public transport or car share. Use of public transport is not always the most efficient way for me to travel, however car sharing is something which I will definitely aim to do more of.
Overall, climate change impacts us all and by learning about it I have gained knowledge of its causes and its environmental and social impacts. I have developed skills in collaboration and justification and am now confident that I would be able to pass these skills and knowledge on to learners. I have gained a deeper understanding of the impact that we are all having on climate change and how we can combat it and I can clearly see the importance of helping children to understand this importance as we need to see change and we need to see it now. And as stated by Wals (2012, p.377):
“educators are people who believe that change is possible.”
References
Dagnet, Y., Waskow, D., Elliott, C., Northrop, E., Thwaites, J., Mogelgaard, K., Krnjaic, M., Levin, K. and Mcgray, H. (2016). Staying on track from Paris: Advancing the key elements of the Paris Agreement. [online] Washington DC: WRI. Available at: http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/284437/mod_resource/content/1/Staying_on_Track_from_Paris_-_Advancing_the_Key_Elements_of_the_Paris_Agreement_0.pdf [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Dugan, B., Friederich, J., Clark, D., Houston, R., Levin, K., Morgan, J. and Damassa, T. (2014). Interactive: Carbon Emissions Past, Present and Future | World Resources Institute. [online] Wri.org. Available at: http://www.wri.org/resources/data-visualizations/carbon-emissions-past-present-and-future-interactive [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Harrabin, R. (2013). Extreme rainfall in UK ‘increasing’. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20896049 [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
Wals, A. and Corcoran, P (eds) (2012) Learning for Sustainability in Times of Accelerating Change. [online] Netherlands: Wagenigen, pp.365-377.
