What YOU Can Do about Climate Change
Provided by: Our Changing Climate|Published on: April 27, 2021
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Videos
Subjects: Civics
Authors: Our Changing Climate
Region: Global
Languages: English
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This video from Our Changing Climate highlights the differences between individual consumer actions to solve climate change and the necessary collective actions that we must take as a society.
- It shows how individual consumer actions are often emphasized over systemic, political, regulatory, and corporate actions.
- Positive solutions are offered that individuals can take that will promote and work towards those collective goals.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This video is great at shifting students' focus onto bigger solutions that are necessary to fight climate change while recognizing that individual actions still matter.
- The video encourages participation from all and discourages attaching morality to the often necessary use of fossil fuels, which can alienate others from the movement.
Prerequisites
- The content ends at 9:40 and is followed by sponsorship information.
- There are ads before the video.
- Students should understand climate change and that it is caused by fossil fuel use.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Civics and social studies classes can use this to teach the difference between individual action and collective action.
- The concept of regulatory action is stressed as a necessary step beyond consumer choices, which can also be addressed in civics and social studies classes.
- Other resources about the solutions to climate change include this video by Project Drawdown, this article about food waste, and this video by the Climate Reality Project.
This resource explains the concept of individual action versus systemic change to fight climate change. Individual action is not enough to curb fossil fuel emissions, and this video examines what a person can actually do while showing how systemic change is needed to prevent the worst effects of global warming. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
