Humans were once on track to destroy Earth’s ozone shield. Collective action averted disaster. Global warming demands the same global cooperation. We’re all frustrated at the inability of governments to take necessary measures to tackle climate change. Drastic...
The COP26 climate summit offered scant relief to developing nations. If political will for a grand bargain is lacking, can solutions emerge to save Earth? A man wades through a flooded area of Dhaka, Bangladesh, 10 August 2020. (EPA-EFE/MONIRUL ALAM) Wildfires, floods...
On a trip to Greenland, we camped on an ice cap, saw towering icebergs and witnessed the effects of climate change on the world’s biggest island. In August, six students from the Herlufsholm School spent 10 days in Greenland to study the effects of climate...
Shunning the traditional tool of aid, investors are focusing on innovative technology and entrepreneurship to ensure healthier development in Africa. (Photo courtesy of Business for Health Solutions) As Africa slowly emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, public and...
Four students express frustration, anger and disappointment over climate change and urge world leaders to listen to youth before it’s too late. News Decoder · Youth speak out about climate change Frustrated. Angry. Disappointed. Climate change inspires a mix of...
Clothing, especially from fast fashion, is a major contributor to global warming and pollution. Mountains of discarded garments end up in West Africa. (Photo courtesy of Dead White Man’s Clothes, a multimedia research project exploring the secondhand clothing trade in...
Recycling is not always the environmentally friendly thing to do. In 2012, 84% of recycled clothing ended up in landfills, often traveling thousands of miles to get there. Correspondent Tara Heidger shines a light on the relentless overproduction and overconsumption of cheap clothing and the disproportionate impact on countries like Ghana in the Global South, where the majority of discarded fashions end up. Beyond government policies and programs, individual consumption patterns must change.
Exercise: Ask students to consider how their own consumption might contribute to global warming, then use the four ‘R’s’ — repair, resale, reuse and rental — to create a schoolwide awareness campaign to help divert unwanted fashions from the wastestream.
Nations have not lived up to commitments made in Paris six years ago. But there has been progress in combating climate change. Let’s not lose hope. A protester participates in a demonstration calling for urgent measures to combat climate change, Brussels,...
While the UN’s Climate Change Conference COP26 left some constituents hoping for more action, correspondent Sue Landau offers a perspective on how far we’ve come in the fight against climate change. There have been major industrial developments since the Paris climate talks in 2015 that started to put real, clean alternatives to fossil fuels within our grasp. But they were not without their naysayers, who tend to forget that we are at the beginning of the story, not the end. Solar power is in its infancy but has the potential to be harnessed much more. Green hydrogen as a fuel and industrial feedstock is still mostly in the development stage. Carmakers are betting heavily on the future of electric vehicles. Change takes time.
Exercise: Ask students to compare and contrast alternative energy sources, noting costs and benefits for each.
Africa has contributed very little to global warming. But the continent is the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change — and already suffering. Children in Madagascar. The United Nations estimates that at least half a million children under the age of...
Like many international negotiations, UN climate talks eschew voting and require consensus of all nations for an accord — a curious form of democracy. A climate demonstrator outside parliament in London, 25 October 2021 (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) This story...
Earth is headed towards unsustainably high temperatures. The jury is out whether world leaders at COP26 in Glasgow will be able to stave off disaster. Extinction Rebellion Red Rebels climate activists protest in The Hague, Netherlands, 11 October 2021. (Paulo Amorim /...