Option 1: Find out what your city or community is doing to plan for or reduce potential changes in climate. Identify ways that students and other community members can participate locally.
Option 2: Watch a film related to carbon emissions and climate (see the following list for possibilities). Have students research one of the claims presented in the film, and write a review that either supports or refutes that claim based on evidence.
Possible Films
• A Sea Change
• Carbon Nation
• Chasing Ice
• Climate Refugees
• Sun Come Up
Option 3: Lead students on a tour of your school’s recycling or compost areas to determine whether students could be doing something more to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Option 4: Explore carbon offsets as a means to reduce overall carbon emissions. Explain how some organizations plant trees for individuals and businesses to offset the carbon emissions from various activities (examples include CarbonFund.org). Give students a scenario in which they are traveling on vacation with their family, and ask them to write a letter to their parents explaining the rationale behind planting trees to offset carbon emissions from their trip. Ask them to write why they would or would not suggest it for a vacation trip. Remind them that traveling by car, plane, or bus emits carbon.
Option 5: Discuss the differences between offsetting carbon emissions and limiting emissions in the first place. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each approach?
See Additional Resources for more ideas to enrich this activity.
