Climate awareness refers to our understanding and consciousness about climate change. It is the foundation for actionable solutions, and it involves recognizing the causes, risks, and outcomes of climate change and global warming. Raising awareness about climate change is a multifaceted movement.
Think about melting icebergs, intense droughts, rising sea levels, or hurricanes and what they mean to you. Climate awareness refers to our understanding and consciousness about climate change. It is the foundation for actionable solutions, and it involves recognizing the causes, risks, and outcomes of climate change and global warming.
Raising awareness about climate change is a multifaceted movement. Education and the media have cardinal roles in supporting the spread of climate knowledge and encouraging individuals to think about climate change. Whether by translating complex scientific jargon into accessible knowledge, sharing impactful climate-related cases, or uncovering unsustainable practices and behaviors, such as overproduction of goods, education and the media help promote public climate awareness and advocacy.
According to a report from Statista, 74% of adults in the United States believe global warming is happening. Globally, over two-thirds of adults perceive climate change as a threat. Despite slow increases over the last decades, these numbers highlight the advantages of encouraging climate awareness, a reality brought about by ever-increasing international debates, global warming campaigns, and other efforts to disseminate climate knowledge.
Climate awareness is just the starting point. Without accountability and intention, it alone cannot translate into action. Moving beyond climate awareness requires a more comprehensive approach that tackles deeply rooted societal, political, and economic beliefs and values.
Climate Understanding
Climate understanding describes the in-depth learning of the fundamental scientific knowledge and principles of climate change. These principles explain the Earth’s natural temperature and weather patterns and how these are affected by global warming. Beyond this, climate understanding strives to demonstrate the relevance of climate change in other aspects, such as scientific, social, environmental, and economic.
Not only does real climate understanding strip away skepticism and misunderstanding among the public, it also develops avenues for creating climate change strategies and informed decision-making.
Scientific research has revealed fundamental and advanced climate knowledge. In the late 1800s, scientist Eunice Foote first discovered and explained what we now know as the greenhouse effect, a crucial concept of climate science. Well-researched physical processes and documented past events have served as foundations for many climate models that aim to understand climate change and predict the likelihood of future climates. Such models use different storylines, such as exponential human population growth or consumerism, and anticipate the climate conditions resulting from said scenarios.
Digging to the core of climate understanding is a portal for making better choices. When we understand the effects of our actions, we naturally become much more intentional about them. For instance, understanding the climate significance of imported produce can encourage us to shop local or consume seasonal produce, immediately reducing our individual and collective carbon footprint.
Numerous resources are available to support our understanding of climate change and global warming. Here are some suggestions: