eh secondary edu pack

8/7/2019 EH Secondary Edu Pack

1/18Earth Hours Education Pack

Your Future Your SayEducation Pack

Using a class parliament approach

Suitable for Students Aged 12-16


2/18

ISBN 978-0-949380-73-9

Earth Hour 2011

www.earthhour.org

Produced by Ryebuck Media Pty Ltd

www.ryebuck.com.au

Authors: Patricia Gurry, Tim Gurry and Robert Lewis

Designed by Polar Design Pty Ltd

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At 8:30pm on 26 March 2011, cities towns and

municipalities across the world will turn o their lights or

one hour- Earth Hour- sending a powerul global message

that its possible to take action on global warming. Earth

Hour 2011 aims to send a message to world leaders

that we, the citizens o the planet, demand commitment

to actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions

or the beneft o the planet and will stop harmul climate

change. The frst step is easy, just switch o your lights onSaturday 26 March, 8:30-9:30 or Earth Hour.

Everyone has heard about la an it is the

biggest environmental issue there is. It is so important

that there are international meetings o governments

being held to try and solve the problem, and that aim to

establish an agreement about how the countries o the

world reduce their greenhouse gas emission.

What do these meetings do?

How is your own country involved?

Is there some way you can make your voice heardon this issue i you want to?

And what about nationally and locally are there

things that can be done at these levels to address

the problem?

Is this an area where you want to be an inormed

and active citizen, and infuence the way your society

is developing?

Thats what this practical classroom unit is all about

helping you to contribute to your society by having aninormed opinion, and then letting that opinion be heard. It

can also help you to take action that will make a dierence.

You do not have to get involved i you do not want to

but responsible citizenship includes understanding

the issues so you can make good decisions about what

actions to take.

A classroom approachHeres one suggestion o something you can do. It is

a simple but eective way o nding out about an issue,and then deciding i you want to be active or not.

Step Activity ReSouRce

pAge

1 Bransr your knowledge and ideas and attitudes to climate change. 1

2 Dd r lass n 6 as. Lets call them A, B, C, D, E and F but you can

change these names i you want to. Each team will be a research and ideas group, with aspokesperson who will report or the group.

3 ea a rads nral nfran on climate change and international

conerences.

2

3

4

5

6

4 ea a wll rsar and rr on possible ways o reducing greenhouse gas

emissions, in order to reduce the impacts o climate change. Teams A and D will look at

this issue at a global or world level; Teams B and E will do this at the national level (it can

be or your own country, or another one); Teams C and F will research and report at a

local level.

7

8

9

5 ea r rsars ss frr a ll ar rsnsbl fr

lbal, nanal r lal. The key thing is to come up with some practical actions that

the class can actually do. For example, at the global level the suggested action might

be to participate in Earth Hour, the worlds largest mass participation event, and send a

message with the simple act o turning out the lights or one hour that the citizens o the

planet demand commitment to actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.; at the

national level it might be to send a letter to the Minister or the Environment or equivalent

position in your national government, expressing your ideas about what sort o policies

you want your national representative to carry out; at the local level it might be to carryout an audit o your home or school, to identiy places where energy is being wasted, and

to suggest actions to reduce that waste.


4/182 Earth Hours Education Pack

Step Activity ReSouRce

pAge

6 t sx rs nw r as a class parlan rsn and dsss

r ssd ans. Three o the teams A, C and E) will be the Government,

with the spokesperson being the Minister; and three (B, D and F) will be the Opposition,

with the spokesperson being the Shadow Minister. The teacher will be the Speaker or

President in control o the parliament, and will make the rules about the procedures who speaks and or how long, who can ask questions, and so on.

6

7 The Government groups will be responsible or putting orward suggested actions or

the class to take at the global, national and local level. The Opposition will also be

responsible or putting orward proposals at these levels, and have to try to come up with

alternative ideas. Ater all proposals have been discussed and considered, the Parliament

will vote on what global, national and local suggestions or action it will pass.

8 You should now r laws n ff. This is the action dimension o inormed

and active citizenship.

Then watch news reports and look or these two key things: Whatdecisionsaremadeaboutkeypoliciesinvolvingtheenvironment?

Whatisyourcountrylegislatingtoreduceitsgreenhousegasemissions?

9 You can now compare the way your class parliament worked with the way your countrys

national parliament or congress does. What are the similarities and dierences, and the

strengths and weaknesses o each approach? Summarise your ideas in a table like this:

Perhaps you might even make suggested changes to your parliamentary system and put

these to your parliamentary representatives!

gd l w r lass arlan ar ln a wrld a br la!

W dd t d pss Nas

Government

A B

Global Global

C D

National National

E F

Local Local

Opposition

President/Speaker



LikeLy impActS (Li) & poSSiBLe ActioNS (pA)

glbal Nanal Lal

Li pA Li pA Li pA

Bransr your knowledge, opinions and attitudes to climate change. When you have nished sort them andrecord them in these columns. This will help you identiy what you know, what you do not know, and what actions

might be practical and achievable. You will be able to change and add to this summary as you research urther.

WhAt it iS pRoBABLe cAuSeS

1 Brainstorm

ReSouRce pAge



You are investigating climate change. A widely acceptedbelie today is that dangerous global warming is taking

place. Many believe that the requency and severity

o extreme weather events like bush res, foods and

cyclones around the globe are a product o increasing

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon

dioxide (CO2). This harmul increase is attributed to

human activity. Decreasing the amount o human-created

greenhouse gases can hopeully reduce the adverse

changes to our climate.

Look at some o the evidence or this belie and answer

the associated questions.

FiguRe 1glbal rar ans 18802008

1 Look at Look at this graph and decide: Is global

temperature increasing? Explain your answer.

1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

Annual Mean

5-year Mean

Global Temperature Changes 1880-2008 (C)

0.6

0.4

0.2

0

-0.2

-0.4

2008

+0.44

uncertaintyuncertainty

Global Temperature Changes 1880-2008 (C)

The gey bas shw the ange uncetainty the fcia fgues used, with eaie measuements being ess cetain than mden nes.

http://data.giss.nasa.gv/gistemp/2008/Fig1.gi

ReSouRce pAge

2aKEY ISSUES: Is the world warming?



FiguRe 2Asr arbn dxd nnran

2 Look at this graph and decide: Is the concentration o CO2 in the atmosphere increasing? Explain your answer.

1960

390

380

370

360

350

340

330

320

3101970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Carbondioxideconcentration(ppm

v)

Measured at Mauna Loa, HawaiiAtmospheric Carbon Dioxide

Annual Cycle

Jan Apr Jul Oct Jan

As o November 2007 the CO2 concentration in the

Earths atmosphere was about 0.0384% by volume,

or 384 parts per million by volume (ppmv). There is anannual fuctuation o about 3-9 ppmv which roughly

ollows the Northern Hemispheres growing season.

The Northern Hemisphere dominates the annual cycle

o CO2 because it has a much greater land area and

plant biomass that the Southern Hemisphere. The

concentrations peak at the end o winter, and reduce

when spring photosynthesis is greatest.

yr cnlsn: Is there a problem with climate

change that is caused by human production o CO2?

Explain your answer.

www.es.naa.gv/gmd/tends/c2_date_m.htm

2BKEY ISSUES: Are carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions increasing?

ReSouRce pAge



I carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the problem, why is there more now than ever beore?

To understand this you need to look at the natural carbon cycle, and the ways in which human

activity might be disrupting this natural cycle.

www.gbe.gv/s/htm/temp.cgi?cabncyceDia&ang=es&nav=1

This diagram shows the global carbon cycle where carbon is located, and how some o it is released into the

atmosphere, and how some o it is released rom the atmosphere.

ReSouRce pAge

3aKEY ISSUE:How does the carbon cycle work?



1 Locate these aspects on the the diagram on Resource Page 3A, and add the ollowing gures in the appropriateplaces on it (Petagrams = 1015 or 10 000 000 000 000 000 grams):

Fxd srs f arbn:

Fossil uels 4000

Earths crust 100 000 000

Soils 1500

Plants 560

Oceans 38 000

Atmosphere 750

hw arbn s addd ar annall:

fr asr

Ocean uptake 92

Photosynthesis 120

fr ar

Litter all 60

Burial to sediments 0.1

Rivers 0.8

hw arbn s rlasd fr ar asr annall:b naral rsss

Soil respiration 60

Plant respiration 60

Volcanoes 0.1

Ocean loss 90

b an as

Burning ossil uels 6

Deorestation and land use change 0.9

3BKEY ISSUE:How does the carbon cycle work?

ReSouRce pAge

2 Use these gures to determine the total amount o CO2 being added to the atmosphere annually,

the total amount being lost annually, and how much o the change in balance is being caused

annually by human activities.

3 What is the eect o human activities in the increase o CO2 in the atmosphere?

Does this matter? Look at the next page.



1 Mark these eatures on the diagram by placing the appropriate letter in the appropriate circle.

2 What happens i the atmosphere traps more? Explain your answer. Is this a problem?

Look at the next page and decide.

Slar radanA Solar radiation passes into the atmosphere towards

earth

B Some solar radiation is refected by the atmosphereC Some solar radiation is refected by clouds

D Some solar radiation is refected rom the earths

surace

E Some solar radiation is absorbed by clouds

F Some solar radiation is absorbed by the

atmosphere (16%)

G Most solar radiation is absorbed by land and

oceans

H This solar radiation is converted into heat and

causes the emission o inrared radiation

infrard radanI Some inrared radiation is released to space by

conduction and rising air

J Some inrared radiation is released to space romthe clouds (J1) and the atmosphere (J2)

K Some inrared radiation is carried to clouds (K1) and

the atmosphere (K2) by latent heat in water vapour

L Some inrared radiation is absorbed by the

atmosphere

M Some inrared radiation is radiated directly to

space rom earth

N Some inrared radiation is re-emitted back to earth

rom the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Here is a diagram showing the Greenhouse Eect.

ReSouRce pAge

4KEY ISSUE: How do the greenhouseeect and the enhanced greenhouseeect work?



Here is a way o showing the consequences o continued global warming.

Decide which o the three policies towards global warming reduction you would recommend,

and then see the consequences o each.

Policy 1crrn ars f 10-30% rdn f 1990

lbal rns as ssns b 2020 and

4090% b 2050.

Policy 2crrn ars f 25-40% rdn f 1990

lbal rns as ssns b 2020 and

80-95% b 2050.

Up to 20-50% o plant and animal species is at

risk o going extinct.

Tropical diseases likely to spread around the

globe with more people exposed to Dengue ever.

Great Barrier Ree is destroyed.

Up to 170 million people aected by coastal

fooding each year.

1-2 billion people acing growing water

shortages.

Up to 150-550 million additional people at risk

o hunger.

Serious impact on global economies due to ood

and water shortages, heatwaves and losseso coastal land, potentially leading to mass

migration and destabilizing confict.

Around 15-40% o plant and animal species is at

risk o going extinct.

Increased deaths rom heatwaves, foods and

droughts.

Mass bleaching o the Great Barrier Ree.

Up to 10 million people aected by coastal

fooding each year.

More than 1 billion people acing growing water

shortages.

Up to 150-550 million additional people at risk

o hunger.

There are still signicant economic impacts on

global economies rom climate change.

WorlD 1 WorlD 2

5aKEY ISSUE: What are the likelyconsequences o continuedglobal warming?

ReSouRce pAge



In a poll conducted this year in Australia by World Visionand Australian Youth Climate Coalition on these possible

utures, 34,267 (91.5%) voted or World 3, 2,225 (5.9%)

voted or World 2 940 (2.5%) voted or World 1.

How would you vote?

How can you bring about your preerred world?

To see how you can have a say look at the next

Resource Page.

Policy 3crrn ars f r an 40% rdn f

1990 lbal rns as ssns b 2020

and r an 95% b 2050.

The worst impacts o climate change outlined

in Worlds 1 and 2 are avoided.

Signicantly ewer plants and animals will ace

extinction in comparison to Worlds 1 and 2.

Great Barrier Ree is largely preserved, but

experiences some coral bleaching.

Signicantly ewer people acing ood and watershortages in comparison to Worlds 1 and 2.

Signicantly ewer people are displaced by rising

sea levels in comparison to Worlds 1 and 2.

Economic impacts o climate change are

reduced signicantly.

repduced with pemissin Austaian Yuth Cimate Caitin. Inmatin

cmpied by Dave Giggs m IPCC authities and mdeing cmmissined

by Austaian and UK gvenments. F detaied tntes and eeences g t

www.youthdecide.com.au/Files/YD_Footnotes_and_references_v3.aspx

WorlD 3

ReSouRce pAge

5BKEY ISSUE: What are the likelyconsequences o continued globalwarming?



You are about to be part o a class parlan.

The idea o a Class Parliament is or you to become

inormed about an issue, and to suggest practical actions

that you can take either to let decision-makers (at the

global, national and local levels) know your attitudes,

or to carry out in your local community, or both.

What are internatna cmatechange cnferenes?The overall goal is to establish an international agreement

by participating countries on commitments to reducetheir greenhouse gas emissions so as to combat climate

change. These policies should take eect rom 2012,

when the current Kyoto Agreement polices expire.

The Kyoto Protocol established legally binding

commitments or the reduction o our greenhouse

gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,

sulphur hexafuoride), and two groups o gases

(hydrofuorocarbons and perfuorocarbons) produced by

industrialised nations, as well as general commitments

or all member countries.

As o January 2009, 183 parties had ratied the protocol,

which was initially adopted or use on 11 December

1997 in Kyoto, Japan and which entered into orce on

16 February 2005.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized countries

agreed to reduce their collective green house gas (GHG)

emissions by 5.2% rom the level in 1990. National

limitations range rom the reduction o 8% or the

European Union and others to 7% or the United States,

6% or Japan, and 0% or Russia. The treaty permitted

the emission increases o 8% or Australia and 10% orIceland. Some countries are within their targets, others

are not. Overall greenhouse gas emissions have risen by

38% worldwide between 1992 and 2004, with the major

increase coming rom non-Kyoto members China and

the United States, and India, which is a member but did

not have any targets applied to it.

Wh s respnsbe frwerng the emssns?There are strong arguments put by developing nations

(such as China, India, Vietnam and Brazil) or ollowing

the principle ocommon but differentiated responsibility.

India and others maintain that the major responsibility

o curbing emission rests with the developed countries,

which have accumulated emissions over a long period

o time. However, the U.S. and other Western nations

assert that India and China will account or most o the

emissions in the coming decades owing to their rapidindustrialization and economic growth. Thereore India

and China must also be prepared to set large targets or

emissions cuts.

P prrtes t be dededat an internatna cmatechange cnferene: Setting a target percentage o reduction o

greenhouse gas emissions or 2017

I predictions are correct there will need to be at least

20-30% reduction in total annual greenhouse gas

emissions by 2020 to avoid climate change, and 80%

by 2050 to keep the increase to 2C maximum

Setting clear actions or cutting the amount o

greenhouse gases individual countries release into

the atmosphere

Supporting poorer countries in preparing or the

eects o climate change

Encouraging the development and sharing o

technology to tackle the causes and consequences

o climate change

Protecting orests, since deorestation is a major

contributor to the levels o greenhouse gases in

our atmosphere.

A deal will also need to set outhow to pay or theseactions,and how international bodiescan best ensurethat they arecarried out eectively.

S, r as n r class parlan s

rsar ss f la an, dd wa

r wn ad s ss, and n nsdr

wa laws wld ass. tn dd wa

an d n r wn lal n l

a r als.

gd l!

6KEY ISSUE: Creating a class parliamentor COP15

ReSouRce pAge



The top 10 are:

China (21.5% o the total gure or 2006 emissions)

USA (20.2%)

Russia (5.5%)

India (5.3%)

Japan (4.6%)

Germany (2.8%)

United Kingdom (2.0%)

Canada (1.9%)

South Korea (1.7%) Italy (1.7%)

To see what your own countrys CO2 contributions are go

to ://nf.n/d/DaldBpar.d

Look at the sectors that are producing the greatest

greenhouse gas emissions. Brainstorm to suggest ways

that the emissions they can create can be reduced.

For example, you might say use less; or use alternative

methods that produce ewer emissions; and so on.

yr tas fr class parlan is to suggest what

your class can do to let the government decision-makers

know what your perspectives are.

To do this you will need to know:

Who your nations decision-makers are

How you can contact these decision makers

You need to drat your ideas in the orm o a law that

you will put to the Class Parliament. Both Government

and Opposition will present and argue or your suggested

laws. The Class Parliament will then vote on whichlaws they want to accept. Your suggestions need to be

reasonable, practical and do-able.

Good luck with your laws they are important!

Based on World Resources Institute figures for 2000

These activities Include these end uses And produce these emissions

Road 9.9%

Air 1.6%

Ship 2.3%

Residential 9.9%

Commercial 5.4%

Iron and steel 3.2%

Aluminium 1.4%

Food 1%

Paper 1%

Chemicals 4.8%

Cement 3.8%

Coal mining 1.4%

Oil/gas extraction, refining, processing 6.3%

Deforestation 18.3%

Afforestation -1.5%

Reforestation -0.5%

Harvest/management 2.5%

Agriculture soils 6%

Livestock and manure 5.1%

Rice cultivation 1.5%

Landfills 2.0%

Carbon Dioxide 77%

Methane 14%

Nitrous Oxide 8%

Transportation 13.5%

Electricity and heat 24.6%

Other fuel combustion 9.0%

Industry 10.4%

Fugitive emissions 3.9%

Industrial processes 3.4%

Land use changes 18.2%

Agriculture 13.5%

Waste 3.6%

Wrld grns gas essns Flw b sr

ReSouRce pAge

7 KEY ISSUE: Who contributes globally?



Every country contributes, but some contribute more than others.

yr tas fr class parlan is to suggest

what your class can do to let the decision-makers at

COP 15 know what your attitudes are.

To do this you will need to know:

What your countrys contribution is to global

greenhouse gas emissions. To see what your

own countrys CO2 contributions are go to

://nf.n/d/DaldBpar.d

Where these contributions come rom. For example,

Australias contributions by dierent sectors are

shown in the table.

How that amount might be reduced

Who are your countries main representatives at

international meetings

How to contact that representative

How to contact other key environmental decision-

makers

Map cnstucted m fgues in Intenatina Enegy Agency CO2Emissions for Fuel Combustion Highlights(2009)

You need to drat your ideas in the orm o a law that

you will put to the Class Parliament. Both Government

and Opposition will present and argue or your

suggested laws. The Class Parliament will then vote

on which laws they want to accept. Your suggestionsneed to be reasonable, practical and do-able.

Good luck with your laws they are important!

SectoR 1990 2006 2007

Agriculture, orestry, shing 220.4 158.6 150.1

Mining 32.1 52.0 56.9

Manuacturing 65.1 69.8 71.5

Electricity, gas, water 136.3 204.4 205.9

Commerce and building 21.8 18.6 19.2

Transport 27.2 38.3 39.2

Residential (non-transport) 7.8 9.7 10.0

Residential (transport) 35.7 44.9 44.3

Wrld co2 essns Fr Fl cbsn (n sands f r ns)

8 KEY ISSUE: Who contributes nationally?

ReSouRce pAge



What can you do at a local levelto infuence greenhouse gas

emissions? The diagrams opposite

show the typical energy use and

greenhouse emissions patterns o

a amily living in a major city in a

developed country. Look at the

uses and suggest some practical

ways that energy use and thereore

greenhouse gas emissions could

be reduced. Does it need to be

this high?

yr tas fr class

parlan is to suggest what

your class can do to let the

decision-makers know what your

perspectives are.

You will be better able to do this

i you know what happens in your

house or school, and i you are

trying to make a change.

Research to nd out there are many personal carbon ootprint calculators

available on the net, and you can nd a practical school audit approach

at ://www.anda.r/w__an_l/rnln/frn_

allar/.

You will also nd many practical suggestions or reducing your household

energy costs, reducing your greenhouse gas emissions, and saving your

amily money without costing you a cent!

You need to drat your ideas in the orm o a law that you will put to the

Class Parliament. Both Government and Opposition will present and argue

or your suggested laws. The Class Parliament will then vote on which

laws they want to accept. Your suggestions need to be reasonable,practical and do-able.

gd l w r laws ar ran!

DiD you know

Two dripping taps is like

having an additional person

in the house taking a shower

every day

Hot water can account or

about a quarter o your

energy use and solar hot

water can save about hal

to three-quarters o your hot

water energy use

A cold water wash reduces

your washing machine

greenhouse emissions by

up to 80 per cent

Shade trees can reduce your

cooling energy costs by upto 30 per cent

tal sld rns as ssns ajr

n a dld nr

tal sld nr s ajr n a dld

nr

www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/fs61.html

ReSouRce pAge

9 KEY ISSUE: Who contributes locally?


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