Climate Choices – How should we meet the challenges of a warming planet?

Climate change is not only an environmental problem. It is also a public-health issue, a threat to national security, and an economic challenge of considerable magnitude. Only recently has the public debate shifted away from weighing the evidence to asking what we should do about our changing climate and the effects that are beginning to be felt. This issue guide is designed to promote meaningful, productive discussions, convened locally and online, about difficult issues that affect the environment and communities.  Purchase your copy or download the complete Climate Choices issue guide and the abbreviated Climate Choices issue advisory "placemat" for free.

Moderator Resources for using the Climate Choices Issue Guide

The following resources are available to help you convene and moderate a deliberative forum using the Climate Choices – How should we meet the challenges of a warming planet? Issue Guide. Access additional moderator resources from NIFI: https://www.nifi.org/en/moderators

• Climate Choices – Guide to Organizing and Moderating Forums – A step-by-step description of how to convene and moderate a forum.
• Climate Choices Starter Video – A short video that provides an overview of Climate Choices and introduces the deliberative framework.
• Climate Choices Post Forum Participant Questionnaire – The questionnaire is designed to tap into forum participants’ perspectives on climate change and the deliberative process.
• High School Teacher’s Guide for Climate Choices: How should we meet the challenges of a warming planet?
• Middle School Teacher’s Guide for Climate Choices : How should we meet the challenges of a warming planet?

• Webinar: Engaging People in Civic Deliberations of Climate Change: NAAEE's New Environmental Issues Forums

Selected Background Information on Climate Change

• NASA Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet - Current news and data streams about global warming and climate change from NASA. 
• National Climate Assessment - The National Climate Assessment summarizes the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. 
• US Global Change Research Program - The USGCRP was established to “assist the Naitonan and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural process of global change.” 
  • The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment  
• EPA’s Adaptation Resource Center (ARC-X) is an interactive resource to help local governments effectively deliver services to their communities even as the climate changes.

Selected Educational Resources for Climate Change Education

• CAMEL – Climate Change Education - A free, comprehensive, interdisciplinary, multimedia resource for educators
• Climate Change: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions - Free online college course (University of California at Davis). 
• The Climate Literacy Framework – A Guide for Individuals and Communities - The Framework presents information that is deemed important for individuals and communities to know and understand about Earth’s climate, impacts of climate change, and approaches to adaptation or mitigation. 
• Energy Literacy: Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts for Energy Education - The Framework presents interdisciplinary energy concepts that, if understood and applied, will help individuals and communities make informed energy decisions.
• Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) - A collection of 600+ free, ready-to-use resources rigorously reviewed by educators and scientists. Suitable for secondary through higher education classrooms. 
• NASA Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet (for educators) - Provides links to reviewed listings of the best available student and educators resources related to global climate change, including NASA products: 
  • NASA Wavelength
  • National Climate Assessment Teaching Resources
  • NOAA: Teaching Climate
  • NASA Innovations in Climate Education
  • PBS/NASA Global Climate Change Module

Selected Information on Public Perception of Climate Change

• Bales, S.N.,  Sweetland, J., & Volmert, A. (2015) How to talk about Climate Change and the Ocean. Washington, DC:Frameworks Institute.
• Yale Program on Climate Change Communication