Climate Change & Social Justice Friday, October 14, 2011

Tomorrow’s Fieldtrip Bus leaves Uplift at 8AM, returns at 1PM 5 service-learning hours Dress for the weather and wear clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty/ruined Bring water and a snack My number if you have problems/are running late: (773)

What is a Carbon Footprint? =a measure of the amount of greenhouse gases emitted (released) by a person’s activities; a measure of a person’s impact on the climate Question: Is it a good or bad thing to have a large carbon footprint? Why? BAD – because a larger footprint means that you’re releasing more carbon into the atmosphere, which means that you’re more responsible for causing climate change

What are the two main parts of a Carbon Footprint? Think for a moment – what are the things that you do that you think require the most amount of energy? 1)Transportation 2)Electricity Other things that contribute to your carbon footprint: The food we eat The things we buy The homes we live in Heating for our houses Our garbage

What are the two main parts of a Carbon Footprint? Based on our understanding of a carbon footprint and what makes up a carbon footprint, which of the following would cause the largest reduction in your footprint? Why? a.Recycling b.Eating local food c.Turning off the lights when not in use d.Eating less processed food  Turning off the lights reduces our electricity use, one of the main components of our carbon footprint

How do Carbon Footprints differ around the world? Think back to yesterday and our poster projects – which countries had the largest per-person carbon footprints, and which ones have the smallest? High-income countries have larger per-person carbon footprints, and low-income countries have smaller per-person carbon footprints.

How does the U.S. compare? We have one of the largest footprints in the world!

How does the U.S. compare? Overall, the U.S. emits more CO2 than any other country in the world! The U.S. makes up only 4% of the world’s population, but is responsible for 22% of the world’s carbon emissions!

How does the U.S. compare? This map shows the global carbon emissions by country. The larger the country size, the more carbon emissions.

Who is going to be affected by climate change? Think back to our poster projects? Which countries are most likely to be strongly affected by climate change? =Poorer (developing) nations are often more affected by climate change than wealthier (developed) nations Developing nations are more vulnerable because: They rely on local resources, such as food and water, that are likely to be affected by climate change. Problems caused by climate change can exacerbate (worsen or intensify) already existing problems, such as poverty, malnutrition, and pollution, in poor nations.

Who is going to be affected by climate change? It is already estimated that 150,000 deaths occur each year in response to climate change, and it is predicted that this number will double by 2030.

How does the U.S. compare? This map shows the global carbon emissions by country. The larger the country size, the more carbon emissions.

How will developing nations be affected by climate change? 1.Malnutrition (poor nutrition)-water scarcity, increasingly salty soils, increased frequency and/or intensity if storms and floods, and increased numbers of pests and plant diseases are expected to decrease food availability. 2.Disease- vector-borne (malaria, dengue fever) and diarrheal diseases will increase 3.Droughts- leads to water scarcity and dehydration 4.Heat waves-cause injury and death

How will developing nations be affected by climate change? Example: Somalia is experiencing their worst drought in 60 years. Tens of thousands of people have already died from malnutrition.

Climate Change & Social Justice The big questions: Knowing what we know about our country’s contribution to climate change and the effects that this will have on people across the world, is it just for us to do nothing to reduce our CO 2 emissions? What is our responsibility as people living in the U.S. to reduce our energy use? Is it okay for us to leave the light or T.V. on because we don’t feel like turning it off, throwing paper in the garbage because we don’t want to walk to the recycling bin, or drive to the grocery store when we could just as easily walk?

What can we do about it? On Monday we’ll do our energy audit of a classroom here at Uplift and make recommendations to reduce our energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Make sure to be here – you’ll get a service-learning hour too! If you are interested in be an energy-saving leader for a classroom (and earning more service-learning hours), see me after class.