Brief description of the unit: In this unit you will learn the main concepts about climate change, especially when it comes to everyday issues, like quality of the air, usage of air conditioning, and anything related to why the world is facing a progressive heating condition. What is more, you will learn how to deal with climate change, reflecting on different habits and make sure to see how being retired and being active from the environmental point of view are compatible!
Competence statement:
To recognise the main topics around climate change and environmental facts, as well as describe the main concepts of sustainability. Recognise the main benefits about sustainability and healthier lifestyle. Appreciate a critical approach to main environmental facts.
Learning outcomes:
Keywords: climate change, environmental activism, EU policies
Expected time: 6 hours
In our everyday lives, we see big changes or news as something which is far away from what we experience. However, climate change is something that is somehow “invisible”, but it happens. For example, the temperature raising in our cities? Or the extreme floods during some moments of the year, and that’s when we say “springs and autumns are not the same anymore!”. This chapter sets essentials of “climate change” and “environmental facts” that could help you to navigate through concepts that are blurred or not clear, bridging the gap between the world’s big picture and your everyday habits.
What is climate change? Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, as well as human, especially since the 19th century, due to the burning of fossil fuels (like coal, oil and gas). The usage of these materials bring Still, our society is mainly fuelled by oil and gas, hence when we switch on lights, charge our phone, watch tv, drive our cars, etc we are somehow backing up this system. Renewable energies, meaning any energy that comes from infinite sources, like wind, the sun, or the water streams, are a minority, and unevenly distributed to the many technical problems due to their current implementation.
Why is it so important to know about climate change? The change of temperatures, the different heating, the unforeseen floods etc. have an immense impact on older adults, as older adults are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change because as people age, our bodies are less able to compensate for the effects of certain environmental hazards, like air pollution or extreme weather, or physically one is not able to react promptly, and less resilient to new illnesses (like covid19, for example).
The good news is that climate change can be tackled, and can be ‘governed’ through complementary action between governments, technologies, and everyday work of citizens. In this sense, being “environmentally active” does not only mean to “go out and protest”, but means to engage in significant and little actions on a daily basis that can substantially change the way we see the world, our neighbors, our town or neighborhood etc.
What are the current impacts of climate change?
Effects can be diverse, and contrasting. From one side, some areas on the Earth will gain a better climate, others will suffer from icing cold, and others will be flooded or will be disappearing underwater. The current species of plants and animals will be in danger, and have deep impacts on daily lives, the food we enjoy, or the areas we usually hang out at. The effects are not limited in time, as climate change puts a generational risk that it is still hard to tell. Certainly, it will make our world poorer, making the competition of resources even more complicated, especially for the future generations.
Presentation
Let’s check out some basic terminology that you will come across:
How green are you?
What makes things less worrying, it is that you are not alone in these perceptions, but adopting a greener lifestyle is part of the vision of the European Union (EU). In recent years, one of the biggest and most ambitious plans of the EU is the European Green Deal, a gigantic roadmap where different goals about the environment and social issues come together, and make the European Union “carbon neutral” by 2050.
In other words, the approach is to make economic wealth not anymore dependent on energy consumption, as it is still happening nowadays. Major goals are:
Such a plan promotes clean energies, while promoting technology that is more energy-efficient. For example, you can heat your house without spending a fortune, just because building materials can become (and are already) more ‘intelligent’.
Secondly, the progressive suppression of plastics, and the adoption of organic materials or alternative polymeric materials deriving from vegetables are key to EU plans.
Thirdly, the support of more sustainable transportation, through the promotion of cycling (or electric bikes), electric vehicles, and public transport. This is still an issue, especially in remote areas, and other strategies could be adopted, such as shared transport (like carpooling), that could reduce the expenses for transport.
Another key point for a more sustainable lifestyle within the EU refers to the Farm to Fork strategy, with stricter rules and stronger support toward organic farming and greener technologies for the harvesting and transportation of food.
When it comes to technology, the European Union has introduced the “Right to Repair” law that completely changes the approach to technological goods. Basically, it obliges producers to develop solutions to make it easy and low cost to repair all those items which are of common use (such as vacuum cleaners, or soon, tablets and smartphones) when the legal guarantee has expired or when the good is not functional anymore as a result of wear and tear.
In this way, through universal cables, and many other technical details, consumers are more likely to repair instead of buying new products in case of malfunction. Certainly, this is great in terms of less economic impact on pensions!
European Green Deal: Official information about the European Green Deal from the European Commission.
EU Science Hub: information channel of the European Union on scientific information