Introduction week 2 and linking the weeks

In this week, we will discover how climate change is warming the planet. We will explore the changes we have seen so far to our climate and biosphere and discuss what is driving the change (unnecessary spoiler alert: It’s humans!). We’ll survey the options we have for avoiding further climatic changes and for coping with the higher temperatures and changes we are certain to see in the coming decades.

Given the truth it may make you want to turn away from learning about climate change. But this is one of the worst things you can do – we are worried about it, so we don’t talk about it! In the local action this week you’ll have a chat with a family member or friend about climate change. You’ll explore their concerns, what they think can be done, and become more comfortable discussing climate change with others.

Talking with other people about climate change, expressing your fears and hopes, can have a systemic impact overall as your friends and family can pass it on to other people. Like a pebble thrown into a still pond, your conversation could have impacts far beyond what you thought.

In this week you will be able to:

• Describe the basics of climate change and how it is altering the weather we experience on the planet.
• Outline the different greenhouse gases that are contributing to climate change.
• Talk about the different origins of these greenhouse gases for both energy and food systems.
• Explain how the food and energy system can change to reduce (or mitigate) the emissions from climate change.
• Show how emissions change for different people in different countries with different incomes.
• Understand how there will be mitigation, adaptation, and suffering in response to climate change and what this means for the future across the planet.