Climate Change and Questions of Justice

Part I explores the causes of climate change and the wide range of effects that climate change has on weather, ecosystems, human health, agriculture, and international security. There are two lessons aligned with Part I: 1) Climate Change's Effects on Living Things, and 2) Films and Climate Change.

Part II provides an overview of local, national, and international responses to climate change and helps students consider questions of responsibility for and vulnerability to climate change. There are two lessons aligned with Part II: 1) Policy in the Media, and 2) Data Analysis: Carbon Dioxide Emissions.

Part III includes eight in-depth case studies examining diverse regions of the world and how they are experiencing and responding to climate change. Each case study has a unique focus, including mitigation politics, economic development and adaptation, health, gender, migration, and poverty. There is one lesson aligned with Part III: Looking at the Eight Case Studies.

Working in groups, students consider how climate change will affect a variety of plants and animals in the United States as well as the services they provide to people. Students collaborate to give short presentations and create web diagrams showing the relationships between climate change and its effects on living things.

Students analyze one or multiple documentary films about climate change, identifying the scientific research included and considering how filmmakers choose to convey their message.

Students practice primary source analysis by examining a collection of editorial articles about the practicality and appeal of carbon taxes. Students compare and contrast the arguments presented in the articles, considering bias, audience, and authors' backgrounds to assess source reliability.

Students work in groups to analyze data on the carbon dioxide emissions of the eight countries highlighted in the case studies in Part III of the reading. Students use these data to consider the question of how to determine responsibility for climate change.

Students analyze photographs of each of the countries highlighted in the case studies in Part III. Students consider the benefits and limitations of using photographs as a source for learning about life in different places and about climate change.

The Options Role Play is the key lesson in the unit, and it asks students to examine three distinct options for international climate change policy in a simulation activity. Students take on the roles of representatives at a UN climate change conference.

Synthesis Lesson: Students articulate their own opinions on the international response to climate change based on personally held values, evidence, and political understanding. Students then work in groups to design an organization to address their top concerns about climate change and create a visual publicity tool for their organization.

Synthesis Lesson: Students explore the concepts of climate justice and environmental justice. Students examine an interactive map to investigate and compare cases of environmental injustice and activism from around the world.