Climate Change Resources

Introduction

• Resources for modelling
• Calculate your Carbon Footprint
• “Causes and Effects of Climate Change”, National Geographic.

Area 1: Agriculture, Deforestation, Meat production

• “We need Biodiversity-based Agriculture to solve the climate crisis” Vandana Shiva in Global Research
• “Why traditional knowledge is the key to truly sustainable agriculture” Nathan Einbinder.
• “Deforestation of the Amazon is up 20%, study says”, NPR
• Why should we care about deforestation? National Geographic
• Consequences of the Green Revoluntion in agriculture: Massive farmer suicides.
• “India’s Green Revolution: more harm than good”
• Governments are considering taxing red meat
• Genetic engineering in Food production: The future of food is a documentary about how we produce and commercialize what we eat.

• Industrial Revolution applied to what we eat: Food Inc is a documentary about what we eat and how it is produced:

• Genetic Modified Foods. Corn and the Monsanto Seeds that conquered the world.

• Is there a connection between meat production and deforestation?

Area 2: Heat Raise, Sea Level Raise

• Sea level rise to affect “three times more people”, BBC News
• Why some newspapers are not calling it “climate change” any more?
• Join National Geographic Explorer Victoria Herrmann as she explains her work facilitating community adaptations to climate change in coastal regions across the United States.
• Warming Seas and Melting Ice Sheets describes how NASA has been monitoring the warming of the ocean and changes to the planet’s land masses, with a close eye on the ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica. It includes a video that describes the causes of sea level rise and how sea level has changed over the last two decades as observed by the Jason series of satellite missions.
• This article from NOAA discusses the difference between local and global sea level rise as well as the two major causes of global sea level rise: thermal expansion and increased melting of land-based ice.

• Sea Level Rise Viewer – This web mapping tool helps to visualize community-level impacts from coastal flooding or sea level rise.

• Surging Seas: Risk Zone Map – This map shows areas vulnerable to near-term flooding from different combinations of sea level rise, storm surge, tides, and tsunamis, or to permanent submersion by long-term sea level rise.

• When Rising Seas Hit Home: An Analysis by the Union of Concerned Citizens –This series of maps and pages allows you to explore the consequences of rising seas on different communities.

• This article introduces the tabs of the story map.
• Flood Map – This interactive map allows you to adjust the amount of sea level rise to explore the impacts all over the world.
• The impact on climate change on Oceans, National Geographic

• The effect on climate change on Coral Reefs, National Geographic

• Chasing Ice is a documentary, where a National Geographic photographer installs time-lapse cameras to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers across the Arctic.

• Six degrees could change the world. The film shares the latest scientific findings on climate change and shows the effects that each degree in temperature increase has on the world. You can watch it for free on YouTube (90min).

Area 3. Energy. Fossil Fuels

• This interactive Carbon cycling in the Earth system from the Concord Consortium shows the movement of carbon dioxide between Earth’s carbon reservoirs. Follow the arrows in the flowchart to see how carbon dioxide moves between different reservoirs.

• This changes everything is a documentary that portrays seven communities on the front lines in the fight against the fossil fuel industry. In this way, the film illustrates the shift in climate change activism towards civil disobedience and direct action

Area 4: Consumerism. Waste, Pollution

• Coca-cola named most polluting brand in the world
• China: Miscarriages linked to air pollution
• “Smart humans, stupid consumers”, a student’s awareness message

• “Little Gems” tells the story of the families that live from collecting trash in the outskirsts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

• H&M worried about eco-conscious consumers
• What is the real cost of the clothes you wear? The true Cost is a documentary about the environmental and social impact of fast fashion.

• Want to create sustainable fashion? Just consume less. (see video below)

• Want to fight climate change? Have fewer children. The Guardian.

SOLUTIONS

What new ideas or solutions can we come up with as designers?

• Air-Ink is a pen made of air pollution created by Anirudh Sharma

• Farmers Grow Trees Into Chairs and Home Furniture to Fight Deforestation. They don’t make chairs, they grow them. Read more about this, here.

•  Ooho is a thin, translucent seaweed sleeve that can hold liquid. It’s completely biodegradable and can be eaten. The goal is to eliminate the use of plastic bottles

•  Ananas Anam, a Phillipines-based company is turning pineapple leaf fibres into an environmentally friendly leather alternative. The textile,  called Piñatex, also provides new additional income for farmers, boosting the economies of developing communities and empowering individuals.

• Join National Geographic Explorer Topher White as he uses recycled cellphones to combat deforestation around the world with his company, Rainforest Connection.

• We could use Banana leaves as natural packaging to reduce plastic use. As communities in many parts of Asia still do.

• And always remember: