Climate Change: What About It?

Okay, climate change. You've heard of it, and maybe you know it's a big deal. But why are so many, particularly members of Generation Z, protesting, organizing, and saying enough? Is the science even real? Where can you learn more?

What is Climate Change, and how do we know it's real?

Climate change, or global warming, is the steady increase in average temperatures around the globe due to heat from fossil fuels becoming trapped in Earth's atmosphere (also known as the Greenhouse Effect). Yes, it's true - in the history of Earth, the climate has risen and fallen before, leading to several different ice age events. However, such changes happened naturally and gradually, allowing time for many animal and plant species to adapt to a changing world. Today, there is a strong correlation between the fossil fuels humans put into the atmosphere and the beginnings of rapidly rising temperatures. Such extreme changes are unnatural, and allow no time for organisms (including humans!) to adapt. This will lead to mass extinctions globally unless we can work together to slow, and ultimately halt, climate change.

Okay, great! Also terrifying. Where can I learn more?

There are many, many books, websites, articles, and organizations that can help with better understanding climate change and how YOU can join the movement towards saving the Earth and its inhabitants. Here are just a few:

Documentaries:

-Before The Flood

-Chasing Coral

-True North

-An Inconvenient Truth

-11th Hour

-Chasing Ice

-A Beautiful Planet

Articles:

-The Teenagers at the End of the World (New York Times)

-Climate Change (National Geographic; features several articles on disappearing ice caps, Earth's oceans, and the fate of animals struggling to adapt)

-Vital Signs of the Planet (NASA)

Books:

-No One is Too Small to Make a Difference (Greta Thunberg)

-Drawdown (Paul Hawken)

-An Inconvenient Truth (Al Gore)

-Our Choice (Al Gore)

-An Inconvenient Sequel (Al Gore)

-This Changes Everything (Naomi Klein)

-Engage, Connect, Protect (Angelou Ezelio)

-As Long as Grass Grows (Dina Gilio-Whitaker)

Websites:

-https://www.sunrisemovement.org/ (The Sunrise Movement)

-http://thisiszerohour.org/ (Zero Hour)

Above: Students gather in front of City Hall in Baltimore for a climate change walkout (2019)