Tag Archives: EPA

What is Climate Change? Part 2

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On Wednesday we explored the definitions of climate change and global warming as well as some of the causes. For reference, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that “[c]limate change refers to any significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time. In other words, climate change includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns, among other effects, that occur over several decades or longer.” Learn more about climate change with the EPA’s “Climate Change Facts: Answers to Common Questions” page.

"The current and future consequences of global change"

"The current and future consequences of global change"

So what does this mean for our

day to day lives? According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “[g]lobal climate change has already had observable effects on the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier each season, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner. The effects that scientists predicted would result from global climate change are now occurring: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer, more intense heat waves.” Learn more about the effects of climate change here.

If you would like more information about the science behind climate change, check out the EPA’s science site. For short informational films on various aspects and effects of climate change, check out NASA’s “Climate Reel”.

If you are interested in learning what “key indicators,” scientists use when monitoring climate change, such as global surface temperature, this NASA site should prove useful. For specific evidence of climate change, check out NASA’s “Evidence” site which seeks to answer the question, “Climate change: How do we know?”.

What is Climate Change? Part 1

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Today’s post covers the definitions and causes of climate change and global warming Friday’s post will explore the effects of climate change and provide helpful resources on the science behind it.

During environmental discussions, people often throw around the term “climate change.” But what does it mean exactly? According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), climate change “refers to any significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time. In other words, climate change includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns, among other effects, that occur over several decades or longer.” You may also have heard the

term global warming, which the EPA says “refers to the recent and ongoing rise in global average temperature near Earth’s surface. It is caused mostly by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Global warming is causing climate patterns to change. However, global warming itself represents only one aspect of climate change.”

NASA graphic about the causes of climate change

NASA graphic about the causes of climate change

For a comprehensive website that explores what climate change is and what causes it, check out the

EPA’s Climate Change site. For a student-friendly website about climate change, check out the EPA’s “Student’s Guide to Climate Change.” For additional information, check out the EPA’s Climate Change Basics site.

So what is causing global warming? According to NASA, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, “[m]ost climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the “greenhouse effect” — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.”  Some of the gases that contribute to this greenhouse effect are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons.” Learn more about the causes here.

Climate Change and Children’s Health

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People with a single water source for washing, drinking and sanitation are at risk for health problems. (AP Images)

People with a single water source for washing, drinking and sanitation are at risk for health problems. (AP Images)

The relationship between climate change and health is one that concerns many people, because of the serious negative impacts environmental factors can have on “at risk” populations: children, the elderly, and the impoverished. For more information about current environment-health issues, such as the dangers of pesticides used on crops (which children are especially vulnerable to due to their small size), check out the Health section of the David Suzuki Foundation.

So why are certain populations more vulnerable than others to the negative effects of climate change? For starters, children and the elderly have less strong immune systems than most adults, making them more susceptible to diseases and extreme weather events like heat waves. According to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, children are most vulnerable to climate change, and those in East Asia and the Pacific are most at risk.  According to Geoffrey Keele of UNICEF, “The leading killers of children worldwide are highly sensitive to changes in the climate…For example, higher temperatures have been linked to increased rates of malnutrition, cholera, diarrheal disease and vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria. Yet children’s underdeveloped immune systems put them at far greater risk of contracting these diseases and succumbing to their complications.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Climate Change and the Health of Children” website explains more about the issues that children face specifically: They provide links to background information on technical environmental and health issues for those who want to learn more.

For potential strategies for preventing these climate-related health problems for children, check out “Global Climate Change and Children’s Health: Threats and Strategies for Prevention” provided by the U.S.’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Environmental Health Perspectives Journal. It explains issues such as children’s susceptibility to excessive heat and provides examples of different climate-sensitive events children are exposed to throughout their lives, and possible effects.

Environmental Innovation in Schools

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Redmond High School, near Seattle, Washington, has spent the last few years "going green." (Courtesy photo)

Redmond High School, near Seattle, Washington, has spent the last few years "going green." (Courtesy photo)

In schools around the world, environmental innovation is showing up in coursework, student gatherings, and administrative and construction changes to school facilities. As new buildings go up adherent to “green” building practices like LEED certification, the education going on inside those structures is even more exciting.

The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) teamed up to do an Art and the Environment workshop with a special focus on “Schools as Centers of Environmental Innovation.”

RISD’s “Innovation Studio” is based on a “comprehesnive approach to sustainability that integrate[s]: 1. economic & technical questions, 2. social & political questions and 3. ecological questions.” Students work to design real world models that incorporate these various components into everything from large scale projects like landfills to every day items such as biodegradable plastic cups.

The University of Washington is currently running an Environmental Innovation Challenge based around the equation: “Cleantech Innovation + Market Opportunity + Solutions for the Planet.” They are challenging students to “define an environmental problem, design and develop the solution, and produce both a prototype and business summary that demonstrates the market opportunity.” The grand prize? $10,000!

Internationally, the Environment and Innovation International Competition has a specific Environment and Innovation Project. It is designed to “encourage Eco-Schools to come up with innovative and creative solutions to environmental problems.” The winning schools get a grant to help them make their ideas a reality! One exciting twist about this competition is that winners must work with their local communities to tackle their specific climate change issue.

Are there competitions that you have heard of about environmental innovation in schools?