Maybe you don’t have time to read a lengthy article or watch a documentary. That book someone from the Climate Action Team recommended you read? Add it to the pile on the bedside table. This week’s post offers 10 quick-glance lists that promise to challenge, educate, and inspire you. If you have a few minutes, click on the source links and explore more about each list.
10 Reasons To Be Optimistic (Without Being Naive) about Climate Change
YES! Magazine, November 2021 • Read more here to learn why hope is not lost nor foolish.
- The worst-case scenarios for climate warming have so far been averted.
- The price of clean energy is falling fast.
- The Age of Accountability for Big Oil has begun.
- President Biden’s climate agenda is big, smart, and serious.
- Scientists are getting their game on.
- The fossil fuel divestment movement is snowballing.
- Increased focus on the link between the climate crisis and public health.
- The war on coal is getting serious.
- Climate justice takes center stage.
- Writers and artists are finding their voices.
10 Causes of Global Warming That Are Contributing to the Climate Crisis
Sustainability Magazine, October 2021 • Read a brief explanation here of each cause, listed here in increasing harm.
10. Overfishing, 9. Industrialization, 8. Farming, 7. Consumerism, 6. Transport and Vehicles, 5. Oil Drilling, 4. Power Plants, 3. Waste, 2. Deforestation, 1. Oil and Gas
12 Ways You Can Help Stop Global Warming
Natural Resources Defense Council, April 2022 • Discover practical steps you can take along with valuable resource links.
- Speak up!
- Power your home with renewable energy.
- Weatherize, weatherize, weatherize.
- Invest in energy-efficient appliances.
- Reduce water waste.
- Actually eat the food you buy—and compost what you can’t.
- Buy better bulbs.
- Pull the plug(s).
- Drive a fuel-efficient vehicle.
- Maintain your ride.
- Rethink planes, trains, and automobiles.
- Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Three Reasons We Need to Stop Climate Change
Amnesty International • Learn more about why climate changes is a human rights issue.
- Because we all deserve equal protection.
- Because there is nothing to lose from acting, and everything to gain.
- Because we have the knowledge, power, and ability to stop climate change.
31 Movies That Teach Kids About Climate Change
Common Sense Media • Read here about the editors’ choices and what ages are most appropriate for each film.
Police Patrol, A Beautiful Planet, Arctic Tale, A Fish Tale (Help! I’m a Fish), Ice Age: The Meltdown, To the Arctic, Our Planet, Perpetual Planet: Heroes of the Ocean, Adventure Planet, Happy Feet, Puff: Wonders of the Reef, Chasing Coral, Before the Flood, David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, I Am Greta, The Race to Save the World, Surviving Paradise: A Family Tale, Time to Choose, Tomorrow, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, Cool It, An Inconvenient Truth, Chasing Ice, Cowspiracy, Merchants of Doubt, The 11th Hour, Years of Living Dangerously, Planet of the Humans, ReGeneration, This Changes Everything, Snowpiercer
10 Climate Change Impacts That Will Affect Us All
Columbia University Climate School, December 2019 • Learn about these impacts and ways to protect yourself.
- Damage to your home
- More expensive home insurance
- Outdoor work could become unbearable
- Higher electric bills and more blackouts
- Rising taxes
- More allergies and other health risks
- Food will be more expensive and variety may suffer
- Water quality could suffer
- Outdoor exercise and recreational sports will become more difficult
- Disruptions in travel
Top 10 Global Risks by Severity over the Next Decade
World Economic Forum, January 2022 • Learn here about how this report tracks global risks perceptions among risk experts and world leaders in business, government, and civil society. These concerns are in growing order of severity.
- Geoeconomic confrontation, 9. Debt crises, 8. Natural resource crises, 7. Human environmental damage, 6. Infectious diseases, 5. Livelihood crises, 4. Social cohesion erosion, 3. Biodiversity loss, 2. Extreme weather, 1. Climate action failure
Six Claims Made by Climate Change Skeptics
Rainforest Alliance, November 2021 • Read ways to best respond to these dubious claims.
- “This is the coldest winter we’ve had in years! So much for global warming.”
- “Climate change is natural and normal—it’s happened at other points in history.”
- “There’s no consensus among scientists that climate change is real.”
- “Plants and animals can adapt.”
- “Climate change is good for us.”
- “OK, maybe climate change is real, but there’s nothing to be done—it’s too late.”
20 Solutions to Reduce Georgia’s Emissions
Drawdown Georgia • See what’s possible for each solution when it is scaled in ambitious and achievable ways.
- Electricity: Large-Scale Solar, Cogeneration, Rooftop Solar, Demand Response, Landfill Methane
- Buildings & Materials: Recycling/Waste Management, Refrigerant Management, Retrofitting
- Food & Agriculture: Composting, Conservation Agriculture. Plant-Forward Diet, Reduced Food Waste
- Land Sinks: Coastal Wetlands, Afforestation & Silvopasture, Temperate Forest Stewardship
- Transportation: Energy Efficient Cars, Energy Efficient Trucks, Mass Transit, Electric Vehicles, Alternative Mobility
7 Songs About Climate Change
The Nature Conservancy, July 2021 • Read a quick description and then listen to each song.
- Despite Repeated Warnings, Paul McCartney
- all the good girls go to hell, Billie Eilish
- Feels Like Summer, Childish Gambino
- How Far I’ll Go, Alessia Cara
- Walk With You, Janelle Kroll
- The Three R’s, Jack Johnson
- Trouble in the Water, Common