What is Global Climate Change?
Climate change is any consequential long-term change in the foreseeable and predicted patterns of average weather of a region, or the whole Earth, over a significant period of time. Climate change is about irregular changes to the climate, and the effects of them on other parts of the Earth. For example when the glaciers melt, the water rises and that could cause flooding in other parts of the world.
Moreover poverty and disadvantage are expected to increase in some populations as global warming increases.
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods and tropical cyclones, aggravating water management problems, reducing agricultural production and food security, increasing health risks, damaging critical infrastructure and interrupting the provision of basic services such as water and sanitation, education, energy and transport.
Goal 13
Goal 13 consists of 5 parts, which are written down below.
Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
Target 13.a: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible.
Target 13.b: Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.
Watch the video below, is this a good way to get people engaged? Has anything changed in the last 5 years? And who is Bill Nye?
A Different Approach to Climate Change
We think that this is a very good way to engage people, because instead of having to listen to a serious speech with hundreds of facts, John Oliver is able to present facts through humor. This is a very important visual instrument that can reach out to an audience who maybe wouldn’t have heard these facts otherwise - those that don’t watch Greta Thunberg- or Al Gore’s speeches about climate change.
Who is Bill Nye The Science Guy?
William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science communicator, television presenter, and mechanical engineer. He is best known as the host of the PBS children's science show Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–1998), the Netflix show Bill Nye Saves the World (2017–present), and for his many subsequent appearances in popular media as a science educator.
Has Anything Changed in The Last Five Years?
We think that a big difference from five years ago is the fact that Donald Trump is president now. He is a Global Warming Skeptic. The fact that he is in presidency causes more people to look up to him, and believe what he says. Young children look up to the president, and they adopt his values. Is it really that smart to have a president who doesn’t even believe in climate change? Another change is the fact that we are even closer to the point of no turning back than we were five years ago. Which means, less time to change our behaviour and the way we treat the earth.
The last change, which is a funny one, is a new trend on the social platform, Tik Tok. The trend consists of “vsco girls” that have completely stopped using plastic straws, and instead are using reusable metal straws. Also, they have replaced plastic bottles with hydro flasks.This trend has become wide-spread on the app which has 500 million active users. We thought this was an important point to bring up because the proliferation of single-use plastic around the world is accelerating climate change and should be urgently halted. Plastic contributes to greenhouse gas emissions at every stage of its lifecycle, from its production to its refining and the way it is managed as a waste product. This plastic binge threatens attempts to meet the Paris climate agreement. It means that by 2050 plastic will be responsible for up to 13% of the total “carbon budget” – equivalent to 615 coal-fired power plants.
Greta Thunberg’s Visit to Iowa City
On Greta Thunberg’s surprise visit to Iowa City there were over 3000 people that gathered in front of University of Iowa to hear her speech. Massimo Bigger’s goal at that time: “Our specific goal was to get the school board to pass a climate resolution,” he said in an interview with the Guardian. “But then it was pretty easy to get the school board to get a climate resolution so we went to the city council and now we’re trying to get the coal fired (power) plant shut down,” he added. “The University of Iowa burns coal at its power plant, providing a clear target for the young activists who lead the crowd in regular chants of “End Coal Now!”
Similar events in Norway
Elementary, high school and college students in Norway are joining their counterparts abroad in shirking school on Fridays, to rally for the climate and against politicians who they don’t think are doing enough to halt climate change. Thousands were out protesting again this week in front of local City Halls and government buildings, from Kristiansand in the south to Tromsø in the north.
Should Young People Wait Until They are Older to Protest?
Famous people like Putin, Trump and Erna Solberg have cushioned the effect Greta has and her message. We don’t think that young people should wait until they are older to protest, but they should protest in their free time. You can make a difference without missing school. At the same time, Greta made point about the fact that if we don’t change, there is no point in going to school, since politicians don't even believe in what scientists say.
In a way, we agree with the politicians in the sense that she may be too young to have such a big voice in this important debate, but it is also important to participate in solving global issues at a young age to become more active in international problems.
What are Young Vs. Old People Willing to Give Up?
In many of the countries people are used to having more than they usually need. So it's difficult for many to give up or sacrifice things. A lot of people become materialistic and get used to buying new things all of the time. Today we notice that young people are open to do what is needed to. For example, young people have started to buy used clothes from thrift stores. In Norway "Frelsesarmeen" and "Fretex".
Our conclusion:
We believe that you're never too young to protest, but maybe Greta Thunberg is starting to get too many responsibilities. Climate protests are important, but you shouldn't miss school to do one. Politicians listen to the people. For example, Obama used to be against gay marriage, but as soon as more and more people wanted to legalize gay marriage he changed his mind, and now gay marriage is legal in the U.S. Hopefully, we can do the same thing for stricter rules involving the climate.
Written by: Elena Maschietto, Mina Brunsell Krogsrud and Madeleine Renèe Knudsen