How to raise climate change awareness

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use in their awareness campaign. What was the focus? .... uninterested. Using social media is a great way of spreading awareness as everyone today is on their.
Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Body ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 Awareness ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Inspections .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Forecast............................................................................................................................................... 5 Evaluate............................................................................................................................................... 6 Climate Change Findings ......................................................................................................................... 7 How to raise climate change awareness ................................................................................................ 8 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 9

Table of Figures Figure 1 Graph explaining the change in climate.................................................................................... 5 Figure 2 Climate predicted in next 100 years ......................................................................................... 6 Figure 3 This graph shows the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere over the last 2,000 years. Increases in concentrations of these gases since 1750 are due to human activities in the industrial era. Concentration units are parts per .......................................................... 6 Figure 4 What is climate change ............................................................................................................. 7 Figure 5 Learners who worry about climate change and learners who do not ...................................... 7 Figure 6 Biggest Contributor to climate change ..................................................................................... 8 Figure 7 Methods to raise climate change awareness ........................................................................... 8

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Introduction What is the Problem? Climate change is already beginning to transform life on Earth. Around the globe, seasons are shifting, temperatures are climbing and sea levels are rising. And meanwhile, our planet must still supply us – and all living things – with air, water, food and safe places to live. If we don't act now, climate change will rapidly alter the lands and waters we all depend upon for survival, leaving our children and grandchildren with a very different world. Some of the most dangerous consequences of climate change are; Higher Temperatures Changing Landscapes Wildlife at Risk Rising Seas Increased Risk of Drought, Fire and Floods Stronger Storms and Increased Storm Damage More Heat-Related Illness and Disease

What was the purpose of the investigation? The purpose of this investigation is that my school wants me to inform learners about conservation issues, the importance of conservation and create awareness to address these issues. The school management team wants me to investigate a conservation issue, in my case, Climate Change. They also want a formal report regarding my investigation which they can use in their awareness campaign.

What was the focus? There were many focuses in this investigation. These focuses were taken from original questions I posed to myself at the beginning of the project. One of the focuses was weather 2

patterns. After detailed investigation, I found out that weather patterns have been severely affected with climate change having many detrimental effects on almost every region on the earth. Other focuses were on the solutions to climate change.

Body Awareness Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions The causes of climate change can be divided into two categories - those that are due to natural causes and those that are created by man. Natural causes There are a number of natural factors responsible for climate change. Some of the more prominent ones are continental drift, volcanoes, ocean currents, the earth's tilt, and comets and meteorites Human causes The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw the large-scale use of fossil fuels for industrial activities. These industries created jobs and over the years, people moved from rural areas to the cities. This trend is continuing even today. More and more land that was covered with vegetation has been cleared to make way for houses. Natural resources are being used extensively for construction, industries, transport, and consumption. Consumerism1 has increased by leaps and bounds, creating mountains of waste. Also, our population has increased to an incredible extent. All this has contributed to a rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas supply most of the energy needed to run vehicles, generate electricity for industries, households, etc. The first step to solve climate change is admitting that you have a problem. After decades of denial, most of us now realize we are addicted to fossil fuels that create vast quantities of carbon dioxide, and that this addiction also extends to a wide variety of industrial and agricultural practices that create a whole host of other global warming gases. We are fundamentally changing the planet we live on. We know we have a problem, so what now?

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our increasing want for material things

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Many and varied solutions to climate change have been proposed, including individual frugality2, energy conservation measures, renewable energy, and carbon sequestration. Which is the solution? Most likely, all of them. There are champions for each, but in the end we may need to use every trick we know to get us out of this one. Because carbon dioxide is mostly emitted from the consumption of energy from fossil fuels (for lighting, transportation, manufacturing, etc.), changing the way we produce and use energy is our starting point in trying to reduce emissions Energy conservation will show the earliest payback in terms of CO23 reductions - in many cases an investment in energy conservation made this year will show CO2 reductions this year, and every year thereafter. Because we've been living in a world of artificially cheap energy for decades, there are huge opportunities for energy conservation. Renewable energy including energy from wind, solar, wave, biofuels, etc., substitutes directly for fossil fuels and eliminates CO2 emissions entirely. A small note of caution is needed - in a few cases, most notoriously certain biofuels, a large amount of energy input is required to create renewable energy, in some cases even exceeding the resulting energy output. Most renewable energy, however, is extremely efficient, and is poised to grow in importance due to the rising costs of fossil fuels. In many places where governments have stepped in to help this process along, renewables are already playing an important role. Sequestration, or the long-term trapping of carbon dioxide before it enters the atmosphere, is an intermediate step along the way, but is not a solution in and of itself. Carbon dioxide can be sequestered as a gas by pumping it underground or into the ocean, or it can be sequestered by plants - however carbon sequestered by plants is, in most cases, quickly released to the atmosphere again. The global carbon budget of plants can be changed to sequester a greater amount of CO2 from the atmosphere, but so far we have been doing the opposite - cutting and burning forests for instance has released vast amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, and poor agriculture has resulted in CO2 being released from the soil. Some of these changes are reversible in the long run. What can you do? There are many ways that you can make a difference, such as driving less, insulating your house better, changing your voting priorities, buying organic food, eating less meat, buying fuel efficient appliances and vehicles... consult our guide to reducing your greenhouse gas emissions, which includes links to a number of other resources.

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the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the consumption of consumable resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance. 3 Carbon Dioxide

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Inspections The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time. Global warming and climate change are related in a way because the Earth is warming faster than it has in the past thousand years, hence the term global warming. But climate change is a better description than global warming, as some areas may, in fact, cool. It also describes other effects like rising sea levels and more extreme weather. Has the climate changed recently? Yes it has. The Earth is warming. Over the last 100 years Earth has warmed by about 0.75 °C. Natural sources, such as tree rings and glaciers, as well as human records, show that climate has changed significantly over the past few hundred years. There was a relatively warm period in Europe during the 14th century, followed by a quite sudden change to cooler conditions in the 15th century. This extended into the Little Ice Age of the 17th and 18th centuries, followed by a warming trend that has recently accelerated. The evidence for this recent warming comes

Figure 1 Graph explaining the change in climate

largely from direct measurements of temperature. In the more temperate northern latitudes, winters are less severe than 30 years ago, with cold snaps generally being short-lived.

Forecast Experts predict that fierce storms and floods, such as those that brought chaos to parts of the UK in October 2000, are likely to become more frequent in the future. Over the past 100 years, warming has been accompanied by a reduction in the frequency of frosts and an increase in the number of heatwaves in many parts of the world. The amount of rainfall is getting heavier in some countries in terms of volume per downpour.

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Figure 2 Climate predicted in next 100 years

Although they are made by the same sort of mathematical model, weather forecasts and climate predictions are really quite different. A weather forecast tells us what the weather (for example, temperature or rainfall) is going to be at a certain place and time over the next few days. A climate prediction tells us about changes in the average climate, its variability and extremes. So, it might say that Somerset, in 40-60 years time, will have, on average 25% more rain in winter with three times the current number of heavy rainfall events. It does not forecast that it will be raining in Somerset on the morning of 15 October 2044.

Evaluate On present evidence, global warming could be slowed if emissions of methane and carbon dioxide were reduced. The main artificial sources of these gases are for methane - agriculture, emissions from landfill sites and natural gas and for carbon dioxide - the burning of fossil fuels, cutting down and burning trees. This may seem to be something that only governments or large organisations can tackle, but the individual can also contribute significantly by, for example, not using a car unnecessarily and recycling.

Figure 3 This graph shows the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere over the last 2,000 years. Increases in concentrations of these gases since 1750 are due to human activities in the industrial era. Concentration units are parts per

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Climate Change Findings ..\Phase 2\Questionnaire Analysis.xlsx

LEARNERS WHO THINK CLIMATE CHANGE IS : WHEN THERE IS A DROUGHT

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WHEN THERE IS A LACK OF…

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CHANGES IN OUR WEATHER…

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Figure 4 What is climate change

Majority of the learners (16/20 Learners) have said that climate change is when there are changes in our weather. Those who said otherwise clearly need to be educated further as they do not know what climate change is about. Climate change is indeed related to the changes in our weather.

Learners who worry about climate change vs Learners who do not worry about climate change Number of who do not worry about climate change

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Number of who worry about climate change

16 0

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Figure 5 Learners who worry about climate change and learners who do not

About 16/20 Learners worry about climate change. This is good as it raises awareness about climate change and could help to prevent it and/or find possible solutions to it. The 4/20 learners who do not worry about climate change are either not interested about our planet or are uneducated and have no idea what is meant by climate change. Those who are uneducated and do not worry about climate change need to be explained the harms and consequences of it as they need to worry.

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The biggest contributions to climate change: None of the above

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Polar Ice Caps Melting

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Crime

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Air Pollution

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Figure 6 Biggest Contributor to climate change

According to the questionnaire represented in the graph above, Air pollution seems to be the biggest contributor to climate change. About 9/20 learners said that air pollution is the largest contributor to climate change. 3/20 learners said that polar ice caps melting is the largest contributor. And the remainder are generally not interested.

How to raise climate change awareness Name

Surname

Methods to raise awareness

Ibzi

Khan Ebrahim Osman Hajee Suliman Gani Cassim Amod katushabe abdoola khonziwe smith Joosub Chhaya Mohamed Omar Fakir Yasin pilodia Joosub

Social Media Does not interest me Newspaper Does not interest me Social Media Social Media Awareness Programmes Does not interest me Social Media Social Media Social Media Awareness Programmes Newspaper Awareness Programmes Newspaper Awareness Programmes Awareness Programmes Does not interest me Social Media Does not interest me

Nemo Uzair Zameer Yusuf Farooq Ammarah Ilhaam fahima tahseen aaisha faatimah Faheem Omar Irfan Shaheen Ayesha Abdalla khadijah Zainul

Figure 7 Methods to raise climate change awareness

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In the table above majority of the learners would use social media to raise awareness for climate change while some of the leaners said that they would use newspapers and the remainder are uninterested. Using social media is a great way of spreading awareness as everyone today is on their cellphones or computers. Newspapers are also a decent way of spreading awareness but not as effective as social media.

Conclusion In conclusion, Majority of the people are aware of climate change and can use social media to raise awareness and help find solutions to climate change. We found out that the biggest contributor to climate change is air pollution and most of the people do indeed worry about climate change. Ultimately, Climate change can be a good thing and a bad thing. There will be winners as well as losers. Warmer weather would allow a longer growing season in temperate latitude and reduce the need for heating. However, reduced rainfall in tropical regions can lead to the expansion of deserts and rises in sea level would threaten low-lying coasts and islands.

Bibliography international, F. o. (n.d.). Frequent questions about climate change. Retrieved from Friends of the Earth international: http://www.foei.org/en/what-we-do/climate-andenergy/faq.html#what Kraajj, T. (2013). SansPark. Climate change poses greater challenges in fire management . Office, M. (n.d.). Climate change — frequently asked questions. Retrieved from Met Office: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate-change/guide/faq

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