This podcast includes discussions with climate activists and a politician on what citizens and countries are doing to take action on climate change and why it is important.
The podcast has a hopeful outlook, focusing on both the problems and solutions to climate change.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The host is engaging and makes complex topics like climate change, advocacy, and policy easy to understand.
The podcast also includes a conversation with the Canadian Minister of Environment about what Canada is doing to address climate change.
The host also debunks the myth that China is the only country responsible for climate change.
Additional Prerequisites
Before listening to the podcast, students should have a general understanding of the causes and effects of climate change.
The podcast is downloadable as an mp3 file and available on various streaming platforms.
Downloading the podcast will allow you to fast-forward and rewind through the recording.
Differentiation
To learn more about climate policy, have students research their local and national governments' climate goals and policies and how close or far they are to achieving those goals.
Challenge students to think about how the activists in the podcast would react to what the Minister says about Canada's targets and leadership in climate action.
Scientist Notes
Since this episode's release, even more climate policy has passed globally. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-5 Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.12.9-12 Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
D2.Civ.5.9-12 Evaluate citizens' and institutions' effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
Dimension 4: Taking Informed Action
D4.6.9-12 Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics and causes of local, regional, and global problems; instances of such problems in multiple contexts; and challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address these problems over time and place.
