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Become Informed: Earth's Climate Crisis and What You Can Do

The following is a resource guide for learning about global warming and ways to take personal action to prevent climate change.
Updated June 28, 2007.

Note: While every effort has been made to quote reputable Web sites, be aware that the list below has been compiled by volunteers; readers are invited to use their own judgement in evaluating materials. This is not intended to be a complete list.

Foreword

By now (Spring, 2007) and especially with the most recent three reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), most of us realize that Global Warming is real, is here now, and that unless we all take action, earth will not be the same for our grandchildren. In all the history of mankind there has never been such a need for people to take action individually and collectively, without waiting for government to “fix the problem”. Please, take this seriously, so that the world’s oceans will not rise, severe weather events will diminish, and polar bears will not go extinct. It all starts with you.

We suggest that you begin by talking to your family, friends, and neighbours about seeing the documentary film An Inconvenient Truth, A Global Warning and that you encourage them to start in on the Ten Things To Do.

To help convince others, here’s some material from the film’s Website (footnotes are explained in detail on the Website): “By burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising. The vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, it’s already happening and that it is the result of our activities and not a natural occurrence.1 The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable. We’re already seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing:
  • The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years.2

  • Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level.3

  • The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade.4

  • At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles.5

  • If the warming continues, we can expect catastrophic consequences.

  • Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years -- to 300,000 people a year.6

  • Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide.7

  • Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.

  • Droughts and wildfires will occur more often.

  • The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050.8

  • More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050.9

There is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming. The time to come together to solve this problem is now – TAKE ACTION."

In order to arrange for others to see the documentary:

Buy your own copy (available from Amazon.ca and other sources) or borrow it from the Library. Share with friends/family/neighbours at home; have discussions on what impact the film has.

Visit the Website for the film An Inconvenient Truth: a Global Warning: http://www.climatecrisis.net

Visit the Climate Project at http://www.climateproject.ca/ to learn how to request a showing for your community.

To learn more about this issue

The Green Search at http://www.thegreensearch.ca/ is a specialized search engine that searches Canadian environment-related Web sites. Your search yields "green" results from across Canada and around the world. Use it as a research tool, or keep up to date on the latest news, events, and trends happening in our environment.

Websites about the science of global warming:

  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to assess the scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information relevant for the understanding of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts, and options for mitigation and adaptation.Visit the IPCC Website at http://www.ipcc.ch/ to monitor ongoing reports.
  • Climatechange.net at http://www.climatechange.net/ provides an explanation of climate change--the science, impacts, and policy--from a professor at Stanford University and includes links to climate-change news sites.

In addition, The Climate Project, at http://www.theclimateproject.org carries on the work of An Inconvenient Truth with training sessions and additional resources. Topics covered include:

  • Consuming Less, Conserving More
  • Driving Smarter
  • Choosing Energy-Efficient Lighting

Some related Canadian Websites:

Websites at the provincial level:

  • Environment Canada Atlantic Region Green Lane: http://www.atl.ec.gc.ca/index_e.html
  • Conserve Nova Scotia: http://www.itstartswithme.ca/. Includes information on government rebates and programs, Energy Star and EnerGuide, reducing energy, and more.
  • Ecology Action Centre: http://www.ecologyaction.ca . Nova Scotia nonprofit organization addresses coastal, marine, energy, food, transportation, built environment, and wilderness issues. Has online e-newsletter.
  • Clean Nova Scotia: http://www.clean.ns.ca Nova Scotia nonprofit organization. Website contains sections on climate change/energy (Home Energy Evaluations, DriveWiser Vehicle Fuel Efficiency), solid waste, water, and health & environment.
  • Nova Scotia Power: http://www.nspower.ca/Energy efficiency tips.

At the international level: http://www.treehugger.com/ Includes “how to go green guides” on topics such as car, water, electricity, and many more topics.

Suggested books:

  • The End of Nature by Bill Mckibben
  • The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery
  • The North Pole Was Here by Andrew Revkin (on global warming for kids)
  • Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change by Dauncey and Mazza
  • Hell and High Water by Joseph Romm
  • The Rough Guide to Climate Change by Robert Henson, Rough Guides
  • Wild Weather by Dr. Reese Halter, Altitude
  • The Ten Minute Activist: Easy ways to take back the planet by Lloyd Dangle, Nation Books
  • The Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life by Cecile Andrews

Suggested magazines:

Suggested DVD: The acclaimed BBC series Planet Earth, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, in 11 episodes of 50 minute each. Available from Amazon.ca

Your ecological footprint is the biologically productive area required to produce the natural resources you consume expressed in global acres -- that is, an acre of biologically productive space of average productivity. (Source: The Sierra Club)

Calculate your ecological footprint:

From Canadian Living Magazine: http://www.canadianliving.com/

Select: Health/Green Challenge/Quiz: What is Your Ecological Footprint to take an easy quiz, and link to resources on many topics from fighting smog to earth-friendly living to cutting energy consumption to environmentally friendly cleaning products and really, much more. See April, 2007, issue for 10-page “Go Green Guide”.

From the Sierra Club (with link to EarthDay): http://www.sierraclub.org/footprint/

Good quiz provides your footprint in hectares, with a comparison to country average (8.8 for Canada) and the number of “earths” required to support us all if we all lived the way you do! Lots of great references. (Note: the actual footprint quiz is at the Earth Day site, http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp)

Calculate your greenhouse gas emissions: www.climatechange.gc.ca/calculator

This Government of Canada site takes about 10 minutes to complete. By asking about your daily activities, it generates a personalized report of your greenhouse gas emissions, where they come from, and how you compare with other Canadians. Based on your results, the calculator suggests key areas for reducing your emissions and shows you how much of an impact those changes will have.

Calculate your carbon footprint: http://www.bp.com/carboncalculator.do?categoryId=9008641&contentId=7025802

This quiz from BP expresses the footprint in tons of carbon with country averages. A household carbon footprint is the quantity of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere as a result of household energy use, transportation, and waste disposal in one year.

Carbon offsetting:

Carbon offsetting is one of the solutions increasingly being offered to people and businesses who want to reduce their impact on global climate. The concept is simple. Using online calculators, you can determine how much carbon dioxide was emitted by the business flight you took last week or your daily drive to work. You will then be given the option of investing in a reforestation project or an alternative energy initiative that will offset or "cancel out" the carbon dioxide you emitted.

For information about how food choices affect the environment:

Keep stuff out of the landfill:

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) provides information on where to return used rechargeable batteries at http://www.rbrc.org/call2recycle/. As of May, 2007, the site listed the following local resources:

  • Colchester Material Recovery Facility, 185 Mingo Road, Unit 2, Truro
  • The Source by Circuit City, in Truro Mall, Truro.

Canadian Tire in Truro also accepts used rechargeable batteries.

Help to protect nature and wildlife:

Learn about consumer goods:

  • Climate counts for a list of companies that have been rated according to their attitude toward climate change: http://www.climatecounts.org/scorecard.php.
  • Greenpeace for a shopper's guide to paper products ranked according to companies' attitude toward products that are ancient- and endangered-forest friendly, have a high post-consumer recycled content, and are chlorine free: www.greenpeace.ca/tissue The guide uses green, yellow and red to indicate level of commitment.

Learn about energy efficiency:

Clean Nova Scotia for A Guide to Energy Efficiency for Religious Buildings in Nova Scotia: http://www.clean.ns.ca/

Learn about transportation choices:

Canada Revenue Agency for information on a tax credit for taking public transit (the transit pass tax credit): http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ Background: On July 1, 2006, the Government of Canada began its program to offer individual Canadians a nonrefundable tax credit to help cover the cost of monthly or longer duration public transit passes. Because it is a nonrefundable tax credit, anyone who applies does not receive the money in the form of a refund. Instead, the amount claimed is multiplied by the lowest personal income tax rate for the year (15.25% in 2006) and then is deducted from the amount of tax owed for that year.

Learn about advocacy:

The Sierra Club for an online petition you can use to tell Prime Minister Harper to meet Canada’s Kyoto targets. You can help ensure Canada meets its targets by signing this petition today: http://www.sierraclubaction.ca/main.html

Learn about what other groups are doing:

  • Like Leaf Rapids, Manitoba, learn how to start your own BringYourBag campaign, at http://bringyourbag.com/
  • Visit http://www.zerofootprint.net/ to see how Toronto has pledged to involve first its employees and then its citizens in order to reduce their footprint to zero. “By joining forces, cities can have as much impact on the environment as an entire country.” Other cities are invited to do the same; write to cities@zerofootprint.net.
  • Find out about EcoAction Teams from Earth Day Canada:
    http://www.ecoactionteams.ca/ Calculations are currently geared to Ontario, but five online guides (http://www.ecoactionteams.ca/resources/resources.cfm) have good information for both personal and community actions. Activity areas include becoming more energy efficient, reducing household waste, practising sustainable food and gardening habits, reducing water use, choosing transportation alternatives. They are reviewing the possibility of rolling the program out to all of Canada.
  • For faith communities: http://www.faith-commongood.net/gss/index.asp. Greening Sacred Spaces was developed to assist faith communities "to renew the sacred balance". A resource kit (workshops, posters, personal 8 page Energy Action Planners) help faith groups reduce greenhouse gases and to live sustainably.

Congratulations on starting your journey to help save our home, Planet Earth. Enjoy your journey, have fun along the way, and chat a lot with your fellow inhabitants.

These materials were originally prepared as a handout for the April 22, 2007 viewing of An Inconvenient Truth – A Global Warning in Brookfield, NS. Revised as a resource to Green Gatherings. Most recent revision, May 30, 2007.

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