Polar And Climate Change Education

This book presents ideas for strengthening the foundations for transformational change in polar and global education leadership in all stages of the education process. Despite being an established concept endorsed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is still not in the educational mainstream but is vital in mitigating against the intensifying impacts of global change and adapting to the shifts that have already occurred. Drawing on examples from real world projects in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Japan, Peru and Greenland, this book assesses the new educational strategies, pedagogies and technologies which have been adopted by polar educators to stimulate students’ interests in sustainability and re-orient education to global citizenship science. The experiential nature of the pedagogies shown in the case studies and educational activities builds background knowledge of cutting-edge research and empowers participants to communicate authentic research practices and show how data collection in the polar region is applicable in other parts of the globe. Highlighting the many ways in which educators for global citizenship can have a decisive role in transforming individuals and society, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of climate change, education and Arctic studies. It will also be a valuable resource for professional educators working in ESD.

The Arctic is undergoing rapid and dramatic environmental and social transformations due to climate change. This has ramifications for the entire planet, as change spreads through interconnected global networks that are environmental, cultural, economic and political. Today, with the major thrust of research shifting away from deciphering causes and monitoring trends, the central preoccupation of a growing circle of actors has become the exploration of strategies for responding and adapting to climate change. But to understand the far-reaching nature of climate change impacts and the complexities of adaptation, a truly interdisciplinary approach is required. Unique in the UN system, UNESCO brings together the domains of natural sciences, social sciences,culture, education and communication. Given this broad mandate, UNESCO favors integrated approaches for monitoring and adapting to climate change in the Arctic, fostering dialogue among scientists, circumpolar communities and decision-makers. This book brings together the knowledge, concerns and visions of leading Arctic scientists in the natural and social sciences, prominent Chukchi, Even, Inuit and Saami leaders from across the circumpolar North, and international experts in education, health and ethics. They highlight the urgent need for a sustained interdisciplinary and multi-actor approach to monitoring, managing and responding to climate change in the Arctic, and explore avenues by which this can be achieved.--Publisher's description.

Climate Change From Pole to Pole: Biology Investigations offers timely, relevant, biology-based case studies and background information on how to teach the science of climate change. The six painstakingly researched and field-tested activities, which build on four content chapters, give students the opportunity to solve real-life scientific problems using guiding questions, graphs and data tables, short reading assignments, and independent research. This volume provides an authentic and rigorous way to engage students in science and environmental issues-- scientific methods, evidence, climate, and biological effects of climate change-- and is a unique and essential resource for your high school or college-level classroom.

This book examines how climate change and renewable energy are being taught in Arctic Higher Education. Drawing on course mapping conducted in Higher Education (HE) institutions across the Arctic, Arruda looks at the ways in which energy and climate are being taught and the effectiveness of these methods in preparing individuals for the transition to a low-carbon energy system. Using data from four key cases studies in Norway, Canada and the US, she explores the different educational approaches and pedagogies used and specifically considers how HE teaching in this region can contribute to the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals. The book concludes by making recommendations for how sustainable energy can be better addressed in Arctic HE curricula, particularly around the incorporation of multidisciplinary and multicultural perspectives. It also sets out how the results of this study could be applied to HE in non-Arctic countries. This innovative volume will be of great interest to students, scholars and educators of climate change, renewable energy, Arctic studies and sustainability in higher education.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Why Teach about Climate Change in English Language Arts? -- 2 Getting Started in Teaching about Climate Change -- 3 Creating a Climate Change Curriculum -- 4 Literature and the Cli-Fi Imagination -- 5 Writing about Climate Change -- 6 Critical Media/Digital Analyses of Climate Change -- 7 Using Drama and Gaming to Address Climate Change -- 8 Interdisciplinary Teaching about Climate Change -- 9 Acting in the Present: Changing the Future -- Index

Global climate change is one of America's most significant long-term policy challenges. Human activity-especially the use of fossil fuels, industrial processes, livestock production, waste disposal, and land use change-is affecting global average temperatures, snow and ice cover, sea-level, ocean acidity, growing seasons and precipitation patterns, ecosystems, and human health. Climate-related decisions are being carried out by almost every agency of the federal government, as well as many state and local government leaders and agencies, businesses and individual citizens. Decision makers must contend with the availability and quality of information, the efficacy of proposed solutions, the unanticipated consequences resulting from decisions, the challenge of implementing chosen actions, and must consider how to sustain the action over time and respond to new information. Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change, a volume in the America's Climate Choices series, describes and assesses different activities, products, strategies, and tools for informing decision makers about climate change and helping them plan and execute effective, integrated responses. It discusses who is making decisions (on the local, state, and national levels), who should be providing information to make decisions, and how that information should be provided. It covers all levels of decision making, including international, state, and individual decision making. While most existing research has focused on the physical aspect of climate change, Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change employs theory and case study to describe the efforts undertaken so far, and to guide the development of future decision-making resources. Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change offers much-needed guidance to those creating public policy and assists in implementing that policy. The information presented in this book will be invaluable to the research community, especially social scientists studying climate change; practitioners of decision-making assistance, including advocacy organizations, non-profits, and government agencies; and college-level teachers and students.