Climate Change Worksheet BILD 3
“Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing
window to secure a liveable future.” --Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report,
2/28/2022.
Climate change can feel like an overwhelming problem, and people often don’t know
what they can do to help solve it, or which actions are most effective. This week’s discussion
section worksheet and activity are intended to help with that.
From an interview with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (UCSD alumna, marine biologist,
policy expert, author, and co-host of the “How to Save a Planet” podcast):
“So the other question people ask a lot is, “What can I do?” I’m always glad when people
ask that because of course we need everyone to be pitching in. But the question I wish people
would ask is, “What can we do?” Because I think that’s so much more powerful and that’s how
we’ll get it done. I think the need to think less as an individual and more as a collective is critical
in this moment.
...As Xiye Bastida, a youth climate activist, says...: 'A vibrant, fair, and regenerative future
is possible, not when thousands of people do climate justice activism perfectly, but when millions
of people do the best they can.'
…The other question I wish people would ask is: How can I use my special skills and
contribute those to climate solutions? I think one of the major failings of the climate movement is
asking everyone to do the same things: Everyone march; everyone vote; everyone donate;
everyone amplify this and that on social media. And believe me, those things are critical; we
should in fact all be doing those. But what a miss it would be if you and I were only asked to do
those things, right? When you have the potential to shape the cultural discussion around climate
and bring new voices into the public discourse, and I have the ability to influence policy by
writing memos and bringing the smartest people I know together, and when designers and
artists and people who build websites and lawyers and farmers all have a significant role to play
in climate solutions, what I really wish was that people were thinking about, Okay, this is what
I’m good at, and how does that match with the work that needs doing? It’s that sort of power
mapping of your skills and network and resources that I wish people were thinking more about,
instead of just, I guess I go to the next march.
We need to make decisions about how to shift the way we live on the planet, whether
that’s rethinking living near the coast in places that are just going to continue getting pummeled
or whether that’s rethinking agriculture to make it more resilient to droughts and floods; there’s
so much that we can do. I’m not really motivated by hope so much as a desire to be useful. We
have endless opportunities for improving the outcome. I feel like, who am I to give up on this
magnificent planet and everything that lives on it? I don’t have the right. And I think giving up
and not contributing to solutions would be the most depressing stance to take. So I just try to
think about how I can be helpful.”
Source: [Link]
Copyright 2024 Sarah Stockwell.
Your name:______________________________________________________________
Your IA’s name:_________________________________________________________
Use the websites listed to find answers to these questions. Submit this completed worksheet
via Canvas by the time your section begins. It is worth 9 points.
1) Which 3 worldwide economic sectors contribute the most to climate change?
[Link]/longform/where-do-greenhouse-gas-emissions-come
1)
2)
3)
2) In your own words, describe 3 major impacts of climate change in the region where
you grew up. You can list impacts that have already happened or impacts that are
expected to happen in the future. Each answer should be a complete sentence
containing specifics (not just “drought.”)
Regions of the U.S.:
Use the National Climate Assessment: [Link]
Click on the "Chapters" tab at the top of the page. Choose the region where you grew up
(chapters 21-30). Briefly skim through your entire chapter to get a sense of what it covers.
Click at least one of the “Read more” links and read that section. Then, from what you have
read, choose three impacts to list below.
Other countries:
Do a web search to find a scientifically accurate website for information about how climate
change has affected/will affect your home country. Provide the URL here:
1)
2)
3)
Copyright 2024 Sarah Stockwell.
3) Use the resources on the following pages to research 3 specific actions that you
personally could take to help limit climate change. You should choose 1 action at each
level. For each action: describe the action below in 1-2 sentences, being as specific as
possible (e.g., not just “take the shuttle more” but “take the SuperLoop bus route 201 to
campus at least 3 times per week”) and listing the URL(s) of the sites where you found
the information.
1) Individual action:
2) Family/household action (more impactful):
3) Community/institution/business/government action (most impactful):
Copyright 2024 Sarah Stockwell.
Resources
Here are some ideas and resources to get you started, but you are not limited to these.
I encourage you to explore! As Dr. Johnson said: how can you use your particular skills,
resources, and interests to help solve this problem?
Ideas and resources for individual actions:
[Link]
solving-climate-change
[Link]
[Link]
Taking a shuttle, bike, or public transportation instead of driving or using a rideshare
service.
Flying less (this has a big impact!) [Link]
climate-change/
Switching to an electric car (you can charge it on campus!
[Link] )
Making different diet choices:
o [Link]
o [Link]
[Link]
Video on the costs of two-day shipping (the most relevant material is in the first 3
minutes): [Link]
Choosing to buy fewer new clothes: [Link]
Ideas and resources for family/household actions:
If you have family members who own a home:
Rooftop solar: Encouraging relatives to install solar panels on their home, researching
solar rebates, etc.
Improving insulation; heating/cooling with electricity instead of fossil fuels
Buying household electricity from a green supplier (e.g.,
[Link]
Replacing lawn with low-water landscaping and/or installing rain barrels (there are
rebates for both!). In southern California, the amount of energy it takes to deliver water
to a house is equivalent to 1/3 of total household electricity usage (source: NRDC).
If you have family members who farm, click “Sectors” and then “Food, agriculture, and land
use” on this webpage to find ideas: [Link]
Other households:
[Link]
[Link]
Coordinating food purchases/cooking with your roommates to eat a more plant-based diet
and reduce food waste
Carpooling
Electrifying your cooking: use electric appliances instead of gas stovetops (single-burner
induction cooktops are small, inexpensive and easy to use!)
Asking your landlord to install an electric car charger or rooftop solar
Copyright 2024 Sarah Stockwell.
[Link]
solving-climate-change
Ideas and resources for community/institution/business/government actions:
About 75% of the changes we will need in order to cut our global carbon emissions to livable
levels will be at the community/institution/business/government level, rather than the
personal level (source: [Link]
add-up-to-help-the-climate/). You can take action to push those larger entities to cut their
emissions, either on your own or as part of an organized group.
Joining or attending a meeting of UCSD Green New Deal, a group that pushes UCSD to
lower its carbon emissions: [Link]
Joining the UCSD Student Sustainability Collective.
[Link]
Calling* your local elected officials to advocate for policies that lower carbon emissions
such as mass transit, bike-friendly cities, rooftop solar incentives, green urban planning,
constructing renewable energy storage, etc.
Calling* your state and national elected officials to advocate for policies that lower carbon
emissions.
Joining/attending a meeting of a group that pushes your city, state, or country to lower
carbon emissions (e.g., SanDiego350).
Calling* a business you use and asking them to change a specific practice in order to lower
their carbon emissions (e.g., switch their delivery vehicles to electric vehicles or switch to
sustainable palm oil to reduce peat fires).
Helping reduce or reverse deforestation: [Link]
deforestation-is-so-important-for-slowing-climate-change-170287
Article and video on how California is making polluters pay for programs that help low-
income communities go green:
[Link]
Video: [Link]
Video on reducing food waste in creative ways: [Link]
Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’, in which he calls for action on the climate crisis:
[Link]
francesco_20150524_enciclica-[Link]
Transportation in the US: [Link]
change/carbon-pollution-transportation
*When contacting legislators or businesses: Calling and sending physical letters are more
effective than emailing, and emailing is more effective than posting on social media.
[Link]
[Link]
Copyright 2024 Sarah Stockwell.