Search for Resources
Earth Hour: 8:30 PM on March 26th 2011
Top R4R Picks
Resources for extending the learning
-
-
Melting IceMiddle, Secondary
-
Get Real on ClimateSecondary
-
Heat Up Over Climate ChangeMiddle
-
Climate Change: Tread LightlySecondary
-
On Thinning Ice: An Eco Theatre Production about Climate ChangeMiddle, Secondary
-
A Teacher's Guide for the Video Sila Alangotok - Inuit Observations on Climate ChangeMiddle, Secondary
Earth Hour originated four years ago in Sydney, Australia. It has quickly become a global environmental movement uniting people from all nations in an urgent call for action on climate change. Typically individuals participate by turning off their lights for one hour during the evening of March 26. Over 10 million Canadians representing 300 cities and towns from all provinces and territories ‘turned out the lights’ in marking Earth Hour 2010.
The days leading up to March 26th are an excellent time for students and teachers to explore climate change in the classroom and bring meaning to their participation in Earth Hour.
Why Participate in Earth Hour?
Climate change is altering the planet. Severe environmental, economic and social consequences are becoming more and more common as global temperatures increase.
-
Rising temperatures due to global warming threaten to increase flooding and droughts, putting millions of homes at risk and endangering as many as 30 percent of animal species, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. - Two-thirds of the world's polar bears could be lost within 50 years as a result of retreating sea ice, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
- The IPCC estimates 3 billion or more people will be at risk of water shortage due to climate change in the decades ahead.
- Research conducted by the NRDC shows that if present trends continue, the total cost of global warming over the next century will be measured in the trillions of dollars.
- Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity cause air pollution and are a key contributing factor to thousands of hospital stays and premature deaths in Canada each year.
Climate change will increasingly affect human health, species distribution and the ability of the planet to provide. How we deal with climate change is a crucial discussion that teachers and students should be actively engaged in.
Resources 4 Rethinking
R4R encourages students and teachers to participate in Earth Hour. Top R4R Picks (above) will connect you to some excellent resources to support these efforts.
Other Resources
For more information and activities be sure to check out the Earth Hour Canada website at: http://wwf.ca/earthhour/, and the Global site at: http://www.earthhour.org/
