Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download

HWL_action_guide_hires

13Stage 1 What is the difference between Global Warming and Climate Change? Where do greenhouse gases or C02 come from and how does C02 affect the JetStream? What causes sea levels to rise? Why is sea level not the same everywhere? What are other affects of climate change besides sea level rise? What does climate change mean for your community? What weather impacts have you noticed from climate change? What local adaptation plans are in place? What emergency preparedness plans are in place? 1. Define and characterize climate change – what is it, how does it work and what’s involved? Investigate ways humans contribute to climate change – industrial pollution, increased carbon dioxide emissions, and the release of greenhouse gases, etc. Read local and regional reports outlined in the RESOURCES section, or visit climatecentral.org to get started. To organize your research, start with one or two central questions. Then create a diagram that draws connections to local places, people and contexts. 2. Visit your county or city department of records online or ask in person for old and current flood maps, 25, 50 and 100-year storm management plans and other information about emergency preparedness and disaster relief plans. Use a camera to capture waterways and important infrastructure digitally, make printed copies, and compare/contrast historical records to current maps and weather predictions in your community. 3. Search the Internet, library and other sources for stories of people affected by extreme weather and climate change in your local community. Create an archive of these stories as source material to share with your community when you go out and mark your line. 4. Seek a local expert on climate change and learn about local impacts. Research the data and find a reputable representative of the local climate science community Recommended Resource: Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences (download PDF) climatescience.gov Questions to consider ACTION STEPS In the mean time: “Heat waves are longer and hotter than they used to be and some regions are suffering from catastrophic drought. Heavy rains are more frequent and can be more intense, and rainfall records have been smashed. These events fit a pattern that climate scientists have long expected to appear as the result of increased greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. That doesn’t mean global warming is the only culprit: extreme weather was happening before global warming began. But there’s general scientific agreement that global warming has contributed to a trend toward more intense extremes of heat and precipitation around the world, is partly to blame for specific extreme weather events over the last decade and will continue to influence both in the future.” (Source: Climate Central. (2011). Extreme Weather and Climate Change. http://www.climatecentral.org/features/extreme-weather-of-2011)

Pages