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Climate change is a plural notion that refers to the consequences of complex feedback loops linking 1) anthropogenic global warming, 2) other human-driven processes—including biodiversity loss, pollution, desertification, deforestation, species extinction, soil erosion, ocean acidification, the expansion of human populations, resource depletion, etc.—and 3) all living systems of the planet: consequences that manifest in and as a long-term change in Earth’s weather patterns.
In many contexts climate change can be used interchangeably with global warming. However, climate change is a wider notion, “including global warming and everything else that increasing greenhouse gas amounts will affect” (NASA). The open-endedness has advantages and disadvantages, depending on your needs.
The key advantage is that climate change is a “fuzzy set” term—one that encompasses a multiplicity of components with degrees of membership: some of them more central, others more removed or indirect, yet part of the larger whole nevertheless. Using “climate change” allows you to signal that while global warming is indeed “the mother of all issues” (An Inconvenient Truth), the cluster of processes and relations described under the umbrella of “climate change” are not limited to weather. They have equally serious social, political, and economic consequences for human societies, all non-human life, and the planet as a whole. This may be one reason why the United Nations body (IPCC) is called the panel on Climate Change rather than on global warming, environmental crisis, or the Anthropocene. For some, the term climate change is still too narrow. The Club of Rome, for example, prefers to use what they see as a wider and more accurate term of “Climate-Planetary Emergency.”
The disadvantage of climate change as a fuzzy term is that it can be manipulated by deniers and those who point out that climate has always been changing. Since NASA scientist James Hansen’s 1988 testimony to Congress, many scientists have preferred to use the more quantifiable term global warming. Global warming refers to a measurable rise in the global mean surface temperature of the earth caused by anthropogenic activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels. Because it’s quantifiable, “global warming” is often more useful than “climate change”—especially for the purposes of scientific reports, international agreements, and policy documents. Another objection against the term “climate change” has been that subsuming all processes under climate change is counterproductive, as many of those need to be addressed as distinct issues. This has especially been the case with biodiversity loss.
As of 2021, there is a widespread agreement that the evil twins of climate change and biodiversity loss are closely related, cannot be tackled independently, and must be solved together or not at all.
©2021 ClimateLit (Marek Oziewicz)
Related terms: global warming, Anthropocene, IPCC, climate literacy, climate change denial, carbon emissions, fossil fuels
“We believe that at the center of this effort must be a genuine commitment not only to environmental, racial, and climate justice, but to the empowerment of girls and women, who are facing the crisis most acutely and are at the forefront of efforts to combat it.”
by Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier
“Modern human civilization has developed within just 10,000 years, yet our success as a species has tipped the planet’s systems outside their natural limits.”
by K. O'Neill
“I know our village is small, and we can only do small things to help the sea. But I still think we should do them. Even if other people are harming the reef, it doesn’t make it okay for us to as well.”
by Jon Scieszka
“So now it’s up to you to figure a way out. You can: a) Burn less fossil fuels or b) Find another planet with air and water and plants and animals, just like Me.”
by Jon Scieszka
“That’s it, Homo Sapiens—the hard and inescapable truth. I am your Perfect Planet. I will take care of you. But you have to take care of me”
by Jon Scieszka
“Even though the Water Planet did not turn out to be a good Goldilocks Planet, it did turn out to be a good lesson on how to take care of a planet.”
by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, Liza Ketchum, Phyllis Root
“And here’s the wonder: her tiny body (not even an inch) holds everything she needs to create a whole colony of bees.”
“Merwin. All life is in danger. Remember, life began as a gift, and it must always be treated as such. No matter how unstoppable the danger seems, no matter how unavoidable, there’s always something you can do.”
“I learned that in twenty years, the number of monarchs has fallen by ninety percent. The problem is so big, and butterflies are so small.”
by Jason Chin
“With so many species living in such a small space, it’s no wonder coral reefs are called cities of the sea.”
“This is not about saving our planet, it’s about saving ourselves. The truth is, with our without us, the natural world will rebuild.”
“For thousands of years, our clan has protected the island’s ecosystem.”
“We can’t eat money or drink oil. One day I will be an ancestor and I want my descendants to know I used my voice so they can have a future.”
by Jarrod Shusterman, Neal Shusterman
“Used to be no one much knew or cared where our water came from. It was just there. But when the Central Valley started to dry up and the price of produce skyrocketed, people started to pay attention”
“The new century will surely bring the miracle we need, the islanders tell each other. Earth may have abandoned others to its swallowing seas…but, they claim, that could never happen to us.”
Earth is in a state of climate emergency. Our mission is to promote climate literacy as a means to transition to an ecological civilization. We offer you the resources to teach about climate change with literature, film, and other media for young people.
Climate Lit is an initiative of the Center for Climate Literacy at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development.