Explore 7 Climate Change Solutions - The New York Times

Renewable energy: Scientists agree that to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, countries must immediately move away from ... LessonPlans|Explore7ClimateChangeSolutionshttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/learning/lesson-plans/explore-7-climate-change-solutions.htmlGivethisarticleShareAdvertisementContinuereadingthemainstoryLessonOverviewEarlierthissummer,areportissuedbytheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange,abodyofscientistsconvenedbytheUnitedNations,foundthatsomedevastatingimpactsofglobalwarmingwereunavoidable.Butthereisstillashortwindowtostopthingsfromgettingevenworse.ThisreportwillbecentralatCOP26,theinternationalclimatesummitwhereabout20,000headsofstate,diplomatsandactivistsaremeetinginpersonthisweektosetnewtargetsforcuttingemissionsfromcoal,oilandgasthatareheatingtheplanet.Inthislesson,youwilllearnaboutsevenwayswecanslowdownclimatechangeandheadoffsomeofitsmostcatastrophicconsequenceswhilewestillhavetime.Usingajigsawactivity,you’llbecomeanexpertinoneofthesestrategiesortechnologiesandsharewhatyoulearnwithyourclassmates.Then,youwilldevelopyourownclimateplanandconsiderwaysyoucanmakeadifferencebasedonyournewknowledge.Warm-UpWhatdoyouknowaboutthewaystheworldcanslowclimatechange?Startbymakingalistofstrategies,technologiesorpoliciesthatcouldhelpsolvetheclimatecrisis.Whichofyourideasdoyouthinkcouldhavethebiggestimpactonclimatechange?Circlewhatyouthinkmightbethetopthree.Now,testyourknowledgebytakingthis2017interactivequiz:HowMuchDoYouKnowAboutSolvingGlobalWarming?Anewbookpresents100potentialsolutions.Canyoufigureoutwhichonesaretopranked?Afteryou’vefinished,reflectonyourowninwritingorindiscussionwithapartner:Whatsolutionstoclimatechangedidyoulearnaboutthatyoudidn’tknowbefore?Wereyousurprisedbyanyoftheanswersinthequiz?Ifso,whichonesandwhy?Whatquestionsdoyoustillhaveaboutsolvingclimatechange?JigsawActivityAsyoulearnedinthewarm-up,therearemanypossiblewaystomitigatetheworsteffectsofclimatechange.Belowwe’veroundedupsevenofthemosteffectivesolutions,manyofwhichyoumayhavebeenintroducedtointhequizabove.Inthisjigsawactivity,you’llbecomeanexpertinoneoftheclimatesolutionslistedbelowandthenpresentwhatyoulearnedtoyourclassmates.Teachersmayassignastudentorsmallgrouptoeachtopic,orallowthemtochoose.Students,readatleastoneofthelinkedarticlesonyourtopic;youcanalsousethatarticleasajumping-offpointformoreresearch.ClimateChangeSolutionsRenewableenergy:Scientistsagreethattoavoidthemostcatastrophiceffectsofclimatechange,countriesmustimmediatelymoveawayfromdirtyenergysourceslikecoal,oilandgas,andinsteadturntorenewableenergysourceslikewind,solarornuclearpower.Readaboutthepotentpossibilitiesofoneoftheseproducers,offshorewindfarms,andseehowtheyoperate.Refrigerants:It’snotthemostexcitingsolutiontoclimatechange,butitisoneofthemosteffective.Readabouthowmakingrefrigerants,likeair-conditioners,moreefficientcouldeliminateafulldegreeCelsiusofwarmingby2100.Transportation:Acrosstheglobe,governmentsarefocusedonlimitingoneoftheworld’sbiggestsourcesofpollution:gasoline-poweredcars.Readaboutthepromisesandchallengesofelectricvehiclesorabouthowcountriesarerethinkingtheirtransitsystems.Methaneemissions:Youhearalotabouttheneedtoreducecarbondioxideintheatmosphere,butwhataboutitsdangerouscousin,methane?Readaboutideastohaltmethaneemissionsandwhydoingsocouldbepowerfulintheshort-termfightagainstclimatechange.Agriculture:Effortstolimitglobalwarmingoftentargetfossilfuels,butcuttinggreenhousegasesfromfoodproductionisurgent,too,researchsays.Readaboutfourfixestoearth’sfoodsupplythatcouldgoalongway.Natureconservation:Scientistsagreethatreversingbiodiversitylossisacrucialwaytoslowclimatechange.ReadabouthowprotectingandrestoringnaturecanhelpcooltheplanetorabouthowIndigenouscommunitiescouldleadtheway.Carboncapture:Eliminatingemissionsalonemaynotbeenoughtoavoidsomeoftheworsteffectsofclimatechange,sosomecompaniesareinvestingintechnologythatsuckscarbondioxideoutoftheair.Learnmoreaboutso-calledengineeredcarbonremoval.QuestionstoConsiderAsyoureadaboutyourclimatesolution,respondtothequestionsbelow.Youcanrecordyouranswersinthisgraphicorganizer(PDF).1.Whatisthesolution?Howdoesitwork?2.Whatproblemrelatedtoclimatechangedoesthisstrategyaddress?3.Whateffectcouldithaveonglobalwarming?4.Comparedwithotherwaystomitigateclimatechange,howeffectiveisthisone?Why?5.Whatarethelimitationsofthissolution?6.Whataresomeofthechallengesorrisks(political,social,economicortechnical)ofthisidea?7.Whatfurtherquestionsdoyouhaveaboutthisstrategy?Whenyou’vefinished,you’llmeetin“teachinggroups”withatleastoneexpertineachoftheotherclimatesolutions.Sharewhatyouknowaboutyourtopicwithyourclassmatesandrecordwhatyoulearnfromtheminyourgraphicorganizer.GoingFurtherImageRelatedGuestEssayCredit...EvanCohenOption1:Developaclimateplan.Scientistssaythatinordertopreventtheaverageglobaltemperaturefromrisingmorethan1.5degreesCelsius,thethresholdbeyondwhichthedangersofglobalwarminggrowimmensely,wewillneedtoenactallofthesolutionsyoulearnedabout—andmore.However,therealityisthatcountrieswon’tbeabletorightaway.Theywillhavetoconsiderwhichcanhavethebiggestorfastestimpactonclimatechange,whicharethemostcost-effectiveandwhicharethemostpoliticallyandsociallyfeasible.Imagineyouhavebeenaskedtocomeupwithaplantoaddressclimatechange.Ifyouwereincharge,whichofthesesevensolutionswouldyouprioritizeandwhy?Youmightstartbyrankingthesolutionsyoulearnedaboutfromthemosteffectiveorurgenttotheleast.Then,writeaproposalforyourplanthatrespondstothefollowingquestions:Whattopthreesolutionsarepriorities?Thatis,whichdoyouthinkarethemosturgenttotacklerightawayandthemosteffectiveatslowingglobalwarming?Explainyourdecisions.Accordingtoyourresearch—thearticlesyoureadandthequizyoutookinthebeginningofthelesson—whyshouldthesesolutionstakeprecedence?Howmightyouincentivizecompaniesandcitizenstoembracethesechanges?Forsomeideas,youmightreadmoreabouttheclimatepoliciescountriesaroundtheworldhaveadoptedtohelpreducegreenhousegasemissions.Option2:Takeaction.Thinkingaboutclimatechangesolutionsonsuchabigscalecanbeoverwhelming,buttherearethingsyoucandoinyourownlifeandinyourcommunitytomakeadifference.Chooseoneoftheactivitiesbelowtotakeactionon,orcomeupwithoneofyourown:Shareclimatesolutionsviamedia.Often,thenewsmediafocusesmoreonclimatechangeproblemsthansolutions.Counteractthisnarrativebycreatingsomethingforpublicationrelatedtooneormoreofthesolutionsyoulearnedabout.Forexample,youcouldsubmitalettertotheeditor,writeanarticleforyourschoolnewspaper,enterapieceinoneofourupcomingstudentcontestsorcreateaninfographictoshareonsocialmedia.Makechangesinyourownlife.Howcanyoumakegoodclimatechoicesrelatedtooneormoreofthetopicsyoulearnedabout?Forexample,youcouldeatlessmeat,takepublictransportationorturnoffyourair-conditioner.Writeaplan,explainingwhatyouwilldo(orwhatyouarealreadydoing)andhowitcouldhelpmitigateclimatechange,accordingtotheresearch.Joinamovement.Thisguestessayurgespeopletofocusonsystems,notthemselves.Whatgroupscouldyougetinvolvedwiththatareworkingtowardsomeofthesolutionsyoulearnedabout?Identifyatleastonegroup,eitherlocal,nationalorinternational,andonewayyoucouldsupportit.Or,ifyou’reoldenoughtovote,consideralocal,stateorfederalpoliticianyouwouldliketosupportbasedonhisorherclimatepolicies.WantmoreLessonsoftheDay?Youcanfindthemallhere.AdvertisementContinuereadingthemainstory