Getting Started Guide

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Understanding the Problem

Odds are that you’ve heard of climate change. It’s important to have a basic understanding of the science and effects before starting to work on solutions.

This short video by National Geographic is a good starting point.

NASA

https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence is a very digestible primer on the topic

IPCC

As you familiarize yourself with climate change, you’ll frequently hear about the IPCC and their reports. This UN organization provides assessments on the science and effects of climate change for policy makers.

The 2013 Physical Science Basis explains the hard science behind climate change. Their shortened report for policy makers is their simplest version to understand.

This video summarizes their findings from the AR5 Report

Potential Solutions

The general focus of solutions to climate change involve reducing greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. Solutions for climate change go far beyond widely known clean energy solutions like solar panels. I strongly recommend Project Drawdown for a very comprehensive list of impactful solutions.

Broadly speaking all solutions fall into one of three categories:

Reducing Emissions

This is reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses humans emit into the atmosphere. Some examples include energy efficiency for buildings and electrifying transportation.

Greenhouse Gas Sinks

These are solutions that remove existing greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. Some examples include direct air capture and reforestation.

Adaptation

The rate at which the planet warming will require humans to build solutions to help them adapt to a changing climate. Some examples include flood mitigation / planning and improved draught resistance for agriculture.