One of the first things you can do about climate change is to take an interest in it - learn something!**
You may be 9 or 99 years old but the basics are easily grasped, even by busy people with little knowledge of science or time for study - you could try 'Climate Change in a Nutshell' below. The bottom line is that just about every expert who knows anything about the world's climate agrees that it is changing far too quickly and that humans are mainly responsible.The global warming that causes real concern is a direct result of burning coal and other fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases into the air. The effects are becoming only too familiar and can be expected to continue - wildfires, floods, hurricanes, extreme heat waves, longer periods of drought, increase in tropical storms, not to mention the effect on wildlife and the environment.
Chao Phraya river flooding large area near Bangkok
Climate Change? What about Climate of Opinion? - Climate Change may be imminent and severe and it's likely that drastic solutions aimed at the greater good, will bring economic and political problems. A climate of informed opinion is necessary so that people are encouraged to accept and adapt to lifestyle changes in a positive way, as a challenge rather than as an unwelcome imposition by the powers that be.
Climate-linked disasters such as wildfires are already affecting our lives.
iBerry is not qualified to debate the details of Climate Change science. Many other websites do this very well and we link to some in Room 3 of the iBerry Portal but we focus on basic and Open Education, bringing together in one place, information and links, serving anyone wishing to find readily understandable material on various aspects of Climate Change.
IBerry on Climate Change is a project in the making. Further discussion and plans are ongoing and as always, we welcome comments, suggestions and contributions from our visitors. Anyone, anywhere who would like to comment, help us or simply register an interest, is welcome to contact us.
** What are the other first things you should do then?
Realise that you're literally just another part of the planet's ecosystem, like any other animal or tree, plant, river, rock, sea etc etc! Respect your fellow travellers in the Earth's environment - it's in your own interests too. You don't need any science at all to know this but at least some knowledge of science can help you when it comes to action.All well and good but what more can iBerry do?
We have no clear answer to this at present. Having concluded that the science is clear and the problem is 'people' - see ACTION!, we have made up-to-date information readily available in the Hub, notably the Blogscan Program and also the Portal. All this may be useful to librarians, teachers and others with specialist interests but problably not to many other people who have yet to get the message that 'business as usual' is not sustainable in the long run and we are running out of time. What do we do?Interactive graph - Compare temperature to historical greenhouse gas levels.
iBerry's Mission - At last we have accomplished a mission statement!
Help Us! - Much to do about it! Anyone, anywhere can help iBerry.
Not a Blog - Dated and latest information, alerts, comments etc.
Upcoming Events - now a separate page, keep us informed please!
Contributions mainly by humans but there's also a robot and a MooCow writing for iBerry!
Frequently Asked Questions about Climate Change - and iBerry. - a sort of FAQ covering some important issues for Climate Change - and iBerry!
ACTION! - but where do we go from here? iBerry wakes up to Climate Change.
Unaccomplished Mission Statement - How should we progress Climate Change Education? The first attempt.
iBerry Portal - Reference lists on Climate Change and the Environment.
iBerry Hub - Recent news and Climate Change information drawing from over 35 blogs. Also, Twitter lists on climate change and environment, and a COP page.
Green Jobs - Green Jobs and support for job-seekers.
Young People - For young people and maybe teachers and parents.
Contact iBerry - Message iBerry, see iBerry's tweets, privacy statement and contact information.
9 or 99? You can still learn about Climate Change!
(Photo: by EMG, subjects: LT and RGTJ)
Alarm bells ringing? - Maybe or maybe not but look at it this way. The science of climate change is complicated and the experts cannot be sure exactly how fast the changes will happen or exactly what the effects will be. But they are convinced that rapid and severe changes in the world's climate are on the way and that in a few years the damage that humans have inflicted on the planet may be impossible to reverse.
In modern life we trust the advice of experts in many things where specialist knowledge of details and procedures is necessary - medical advice is a good example. Let's show the same respect to climate change experts!
Climate Change in a Nutshell
- The atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the Earth. Some of the sun's heat is trapped in the atmosphere while the rest escapes. The trapped heat has kept the Earth warm enough for all types of life to survive.
- The energy required for many human activities relies on fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil, and coal but results in the gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), being released into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and some other gases in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases.
- The carbon dioxide released by human activities has trapped additional heat in the Earth's atmosphere causing the planet's temperature to rise. The result is Global Warming and Climate Change.
- Global warming is causing rapid changes in weather patterns around the world. The effects include rising sea levels, rainfall changes, the expansion of deserts and more frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves.
Of course more can be said about Climate Change than in a nutshell. This video, "CLIMATE 101 with BILL NYE" covers much the same ground but in greater detail.
"Cease the debate and denial and move on to solutions ..."
National Flood Emergency Response in Pakistan
Greta Thunberg mocks world leaders in 'blah, blah, blah' speech
iBerry's History
iBerry was founded in 1999 providing information on Open Educational Resources (OERs), particularly Open Courseware (OCW), Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), Open (free) Textbooks and an Open Education Directory.iBerry is now focused on Open Education for Climate Change and the Environment. Older material on Open Education has been archived but is not updated.
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