Climate Change

DEEP DIVE TOOLKIT

From the lowest trophic level to the highest tertiary consumer, all organisms depend on each other for survival. Despite these intricate interdependencies, the relationship between humans and the Earth is poorly maintained, as anthropogenic climate change has wrought massive destruction on the environment and on the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Since emissions from one country affect the livelihoods of billions of people in hundreds of other countries, the effects of climate change can be seen across the world, from Japanese islands disappearing underwater due to rising sea levels to extended droughts in African nations. The interdependent nature of our ecosystem and the global effects of climate change both underscore the immediate and vital importance of mindful and respectful interdependent relationships. Humans across the globe must join together to rapidly and substantively address the climate crisis.

Quick Study:
Have Only a Few Minutes to Learn More About Climate Change?

Take Action!

Addressing the climate crisis and ensuring the future health and survival of Earth and its inhabitants requires a united response. Below is a list of organizations that you can get involved with to make a difference.

Sign the OneShared.World Pledge of Interdependence

Amnesty International

Clean Water Action 

Coral Reef Alliance

Environmental Defense Fund

Environmental Justice Foundation

Greenpeace 

Rainforest Action Network

The Rainforest Alliance

United Nations ActNow

World Wildlife Fund

“Silhouette of tree” photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash
“There is NO Planet B” photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Activities & Further Resources

ON THE SCIENCE OF ECOLOGICAL INTERCONNECTEDNESS & CLIMATE CHANGE

Watch this Ted Talk by Eric Berlow to better your understanding of food chains and the cycle of energy through ecosystems. When watching the video, remember to think about the connections between different organisms and frame your analysis in terms of interdependence.

Dead stuff: The Secret Ingredient in Our Food Chain by Eric Berlow 

Engage with these food web activities to further your study of the interrelationships between organisms in various ecosystems.

Build Food Chains and Food Webs

Food Web Activity 

The disastrous impacts of climate change from rising sea levels to an increase in major natural disasters have shown us that humans depend on the Earth as much as the Earth depends on them. 

Watch this Ted Talk by Cheryl Holder which discusses the connection between the impacts of climate change on public health and impoverished populations. When watching the video, think about how this reality reveals the negative and unequal aspects of human interdependence. Explore the Biology & Public Health Deep Dive section to learn more about environmental racism. 

The Link Between Climate Change, Health, and Poverty by Cheryl Holder

Use these NASA activities on climate change to further your knowledge of its causes and impacts. 

Introduction to Earth’s Dynamically Changing Climate

Impacts of a Warming Arctic

Coastal Consequences of Sea Level Rise

ON THE GLOBAL RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change was first robustly addressed at the global level at the 1972 First Earth Summit. Since then, major international responses to climate change have included the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which set emissions reduction targets for countries, and the 2015 Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement further strengthened the global response to the climate crisis by setting a temperature increase cap of two degrees celsius. 188 countries and the EU have ratified the document to date. However, halting global warming is an enormous task and much more needs to be done on both the individual and global level.

Learn more about the history of global climate change dialogue and the current need for a joint global response:

UN Climate Talks: 1992-2020 by CFR

Climate Change by Amnesty International. This resource touches upon the human rights element of climate change and identifies the groups that are most negatively impacted. 

Climate Change Has Lessons for Fighting the Coronavirus by Somini Sengupta

A Crash Course on Climate Change, 50 Years After the First Earth Day by Climate101

Watch this short video in which Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, speaks to the need for a global response to climate change.

Readings, Films & Art Related to Climate Change

NON-FICTION

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg

The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas

Storms of My Grandchildren by James Hansen

Losing Earth: A Recent History by Nathaniel Rich

Interdependence of Organisms and the Environment by Isaac Nadeau

Positive Interactions and Interdependence in Plant Communities by Ragan M. Callaway

Our Planet, One Health by Merrilyn Walton

Aruanas, a Brazilian series created by Estela Renner and Marcos Nisti

Unbowed: A Memoir by Wangari Maathai

FICTION

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George 

American War by Omar El Akkad

Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad

VISUAL ART

Birds Watching by Jenny Kendler 

Hula by Sean Yoro

Malum Geminos and Afterglow by Courtney Mattison

Underwater Home Owners’ Association by Xavier Cortada

Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright

Surprised! by Henri Rousseau

POETRY

“A Language of Change” by David Sergeant

“X” by Imtiaz Dharker

“Utilomar” by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner

“A Radiant Romance” by Matt Harvey

FEATURE-LENGTH FILM

Interstellar

Chasing Coral

Plastic China

Our Planet

The Islands and the Whales

The Memory of Fish

The Pollinators

Ice on Fire

Wall-E

Before the Flood

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret

SHORT FILM

Melting Ice

Out of the Blue 

Forget Shorter Showers 

The Intersection of Environmental and Racial Justice by Rinku Sen

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The IDEA (Interdependence Education for Action) School is committed to building an interdependent society embracing economic, environmental, gender and racial justice.

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