Climate in Crisis: Changing Coastlines, Severe Storms, and Damaging Drought

By Carla Mooney and Traci Van Wagoner

A close, personal examination of climate science for ages 12 to 15. Read true stories of how climate change has affected people’s lives and learn the science behind the new reality we witness every day.

Does your region get stronger storms and more extreme weather than it used to? Do you have to take steps to conserve water because of drought? Is there more flooding in your area than there used to be? These could all be symptoms of Earth’s climate crisis.

In Climate in Crisis: Changing Coastlines, Severe Storms, and Damaging Drought, readers 12 to 15 discover how climate change is affecting the human population—from extreme weather and rising coastlines to new migration patterns and disease—through real-life stories and a deep examination of the science driving the phenomenon. Climate change is an enormous topic, but through real-life examples of how climate change affects humans directly, readers can find a relatable foothold from which to explore the dependent relationship between the Earth, the climate, and all living creatures, including humans. As kids gain a deeper understanding of our ultimate connection to everything on and around our planet, they are also encouraged to think of innovative ways to help curb climate change, which has been called humanity’s greatest challenge.

Throughout Climate in Crisis, hands-on STEM activities, entertaining illustrations, essential questions, and fascinating sidebars illuminate the topic and engage readers further. In addition, Climate in Crisis integrates a digital learning component by providing links to primary sources, videos, and other relevant websites.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nomad Press
• Release date: Apr 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781647410629

Carla Mooney

Carla Mooney has written more than 70 books for children and young adults. She is an award-winning author of several books for Nomad Press, including The Chemistry of Food, The Physics of Fun, The Human Body and The Human Genome: Mapping the Blueprint of Human Life, and Globalization: Why We Care about Faraway Events. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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ISBN Softcover: 978-1-64741-064-3

ISBN Hardcover: 978-1-64741-061-2

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climate change

Contents

Timeline

Introduction

Our Changing Climate

Chapter 1

Severe Storms and Extreme Weather

Chapter 2

Food and Water Scarcity

Chapter 3

Migration and Loss of Habitats

Chapter 4

Rising Sea Levels

Chapter 5

Disease and Human Health

Glossary Metric Conversions

Resources Selected Bibliography Index

TIMELINE

Introduction

Our Changing Climate

What makes today’s climate change different from climate change in the past?

Scientists recognize that the climate change we see today is caused primarily by human activity. We use lots of energy in our daily lives and that energy has a cost—the increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, which is leading to a rapidly changing global climate.

In 2018, a 15-year-old Swedish student named Greta Thunberg (2003– ) became famous when she skipped school to protest climate change. After witnessing a summer of wildfires and heatwaves in her country, Thunberg grew increasingly concerned about the impact of climate change on the earth and everyone who lives on it. She was infuriated that the adults in charge appeared to be doing very little to slow or stop climate change.

Thunberg decided to take action.

She went to the Swedish parliament to protest. She held a sign that said, School Strike for Climate, in Swedish. At the time, she was one girl, standing alone to bring attention to climate change.

News of Thunberg’s activism quickly spread around the world. Thunberg’s passion for creating awareness about Earth’s changing climate was easy to see, despite her young age.

She argued that young people would suffer the most if world leaders did not do something immediately to address climate change. She also pointed out that climate change was no longer a problem that could be pushed off until the future. Living creatures in certain parts of the world were already suffering from the effects of climate change. Thunberg’s message resonated with millions of adults and young people. During the following weeks and months, many people joined her and organized climate strikes in countries worldwide.

As her recognition grew, Thunberg was invited to speak at numerous global climate change events. At the 2019 World Economic Forum in Switzerland, she warned the audience that, Our house is on fire.

Thunberg attends the 2019 European Economic and Social Committee event in Brussels, Belgium.

"We are facing a disaster of unspoken suffering for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the time to speak clearly. Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that Homo sapiens has ever faced."

She urged the audience to take action against climate change. Today, Thunberg continues to work tirelessly to make a difference in the world and raise awareness about climate change.

PRIMARY SOURCES

Primary sources come from people who were eyewitnesses to events. They might write about the event, take pictures, post short messages to social media or blogs, or record the event for radio or video. The photographs in this book are primary sources, taken at the time of the event. Paintings of events are usually not primary sources, since they were often painted long after the event took place. What other primary sources can you find? Why are primary sources important? Do you learn differently from primary sources than from secondary sources, which come from people who