Resources
This curated selection of open access resources and interactive
tools supports climate change education across different levels
of study. The resource lists are organized thematically, with
short accompanying descriptions provided for each item. Each
list represents a non-exhaustive, work-in-progress; updated
whenever relevant new resources are discovered.
Understanding Climate Change
Introducing Climate Science
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NASA
Global Climate Change
Hosts an "...extensive collection of global
warming resources for media, educators, weathercasters, and
public speakers."
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IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change
United Nations body for advancing scientific knowledge of
anthropogenic (human caused) climate change. A Synthesis
Report on the IPCC's most recent assessment (IPCC AR6) can
be found here.
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United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The UNFCCC is a United Nations process established in 1991
to negotiate an international agreement to limit dangerous
climate change. The UNFCCC convenes an annual Conference of
the Parties (COP) where high level agreements are negotiated
and assessed.
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Climate Primer
Hosts MIT Professor Kerry Emanuel's open access
primer on climate science, risks and solutions.
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NASA Climate Time Machine
Short visualizations that use time lapse imagery to reveal key
indicators of climate change in oceans, ice, atmospheric CO2
concentration, and global temperature.
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Iconic Graphs of Climate Change
Explanations of the data presented, take-away messages and
controversies surrounding 12 iconic climate change graphs.
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The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change
Seminal research article
by Naomi Oreskes published in Science in
December 2004. The article examined over 900 scientific
papers to conclude that virtually all accepted the idea that
anthropogenic climate change was a real phenomenon.
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Climate Change: What Do All the Terms
Mean?
Climate change "translator tool" developed by BBC News to
explain the meaning behind key words and phrases related to
climate change.
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Climate Stripes
Popular visual representations of global temperature rise
over the past two centuries. Regional stripes for all
continents can be downloaded
at #showyourstripes.
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Climate Dashboard
Interactive CBC News website that enables users to track
current conditions, extreme weather events and compare them
to historical trends across Canada.
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Climate Atlas of Canada
Interactive tool that weaves together climate science,
Indigenous knowledge, mapping and storytelling to connect
the global issue of climate change to the Canadian context.
Climate Impacts: Past, Present, Future
Climate Communication and Storytelling
Climate Journalism
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Carbon Brief
Cutting edge data-driven journalism on developments in
climate science, climate policy and energy policy.
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The Guardian - Climate Crisis
UK-based independent global news organization that devotes
considerable resources to covering the climate crisis.
Guardian environment pledge 2023.
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Earth.org
Independent, volunteer journalism for the earth. Includes a
separate website devoted to
producing climate news for kids.
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Inside Climate News
Independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan news organization
that delivers reporting and analysis of energy, climate
change and the environment.
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Grist
Independent media outlet with reporting devoted to
"Climate. Justice. Solutions."
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Drilled
Global multimedia news reporting that focuses on climate
accountability: "...investigating and understanding the
various drivers of delay on climate action."
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Desmog
Independent, investigative journalists and researchers
with a mandate to "clear the PR pollution that is
clouding the science and solutions to climate change."
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All Hail The Planet - Al Jazeera
Interactive longform reporting on "key social, economic and
political forces undermining meaningful global action on
climate change." Includes chapters on Military, Carbon
Offsets, Techno-Optimism, Consumerism, Plastic and
Megacities.
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Third Pole - Climate
Regional climate journalism focused on the Himalayan
watershed, a source of water for 24% of the global
population.
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Earth Journalism Network
Provides support and resources for journalism from "low- and
middle-income countries to cover the environment more
effectively."
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Heatmap
Online news outlet that aims to "tell the inside story of
the race to fix the planet."
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Centre for Climate Reporting
Non-profit investigative journalism that focuses on covering
climate change.
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Oxford Climate Journalism Network
Programme that supports hundreds of climate journalists and
editors from around the world.
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Global South Database
Open access, searchable database that connects journalists
to climate experts from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the
Caribbean, and the Pacific. The story behind the database
can be
read here.
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How People Access News About Climate
Change
Report (2020) by Research Fellow Simge Andi for Reuters
Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University.
Climate Change Education
Climate Change and...
Indigenous Peoples
History
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The Discovery of Global Warming: A Hypertext
History
Spencer Weart's in-depth "hyperlinked history" of how
scientists gradually came to know about climate change. The
website supplements Weart's shorter book of the same title
now in
its second edition.
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Brief History of Climate Change - BBC
News
Environmental journalist Richard Black traces timeline of
milestones in climate science, population rise, CO2
emissions and political actions.
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History of Climate and Society
Environmental Historian Dagomar Degroot's personal blog
explores how changes in climate have continuously shaped
human history.
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Making Climate History
Researchers mapping "...largely unexamined connexions between
histories of places, personnel, materials and power during the
period that made and recognised both a global physics and a
global climate."
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Climate History Network
Interdisciplinary scholars studying the impacts of past
climates on human history.
Cities
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C40 Cities
Global network of mayors working to develop collaborative,
science-based urban climate solutions. The website includes
profiles of climate action "accelerator" initatives being
undertaken by each of its 96 member cities.
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Cities and Climate Change (MIT Climate Portal)
Explainer and educational resources for teaching on climate
change and cities. The toolkit includes the Educator
Guide for teaching on
the "City of the Future".
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Climate Resilient Cities
Network of cities working to enhance and develop urban
resiliency strategies to confront the climate crisis, among
other urban challenges.
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Climate Change and Canada's Cities
Climate Atlas of Canada has produced a series of reports on
projected climactic changes and impacts for all of Canada's
major cities from Calgary to Yellowknife.
Migration
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Environmental Migration Portal
Website featuring data, mapping, research and reporting on
environmental and climate-induced migration around the
globe.
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Climate and Migration Coalition
UK-based not-for-profit that fights for national and
international policies to protect people on the move due to
climate change.
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Climate Refugees
Independent NGO that works to bring attention and action for
those displaced across borders due to climate change.
Health
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Generation Dread
Weekly newsletter from climate and mental health researcher
Britt Wray featuring ideas and
resources to support "emotional health and psychological
resilience in the climate and wider ecological crisis."
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Climate Emotions
BBC reporting on mental health impacts of climate change.
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Climate and Mind
Collection of open access resources exploring relationships
between climate breakdown, mental health, emotional
well-being, and behaviour.
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Climate Change and Health Equity
Blog posts exploring connections between climate change,
health equity and public health.
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Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate
Health Canada report (2022) on risk of climate change to the
health of Canadians and the health care system.
Gender
Tourism
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Climate Justice in Tourism: An
Introductory Guide
"Looking through a climate
justice lens at travel and tourism reveals how the risks
of climate change extend beyond tourism businesses and
travellers to threaten the livelihoods and central assets
of host communities, both ecological and cultural, upon
which tourism also depends."
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Tourism Declares Climate Emergency
"Tourism Declares exists to enable everyone in tourism to
implement the Climate Action Plans needed to halve sector
emissions by 2030."
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Envisioning Tourism in 2030 and Beyond
Research report to educate stakeholders on what a
decarbonised tourism industry would look like in 2030 and
beyond. The report was written by
the Travel Foundation, a UK-based
organization that supports and promotes sustainable,
climate-friendly tourism.
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Transforming Tourism for Climate Action
UN Tourism reports on the need for the entire industry to
embrace a low carbon pathway to remain resilient in a
changing climate.
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Climate Change and World Heritage
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report
on the threat climate change poses to natural heritage sites
around the globe.
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Centre for Responsible Travel
Global nonprofit promoting transitions to sustainable,
equitable and environmentally friendly travel and tourism
practices. CREST prioritizes responding to climate change and
addressing overtourism as part of their mandate.
Food
Climate Action
Climate Justice
Decarbonisation, Adaptation, Mitigation
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Global Footprint Network
International non-profit organization devoted to providing
tools and metrics to guide efforts to drawndown carbon
emissions globally. See especially this
interactive carbon footprint calculator available
in eight languages.
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Project
Drawdown
Non-profit organization dedicated to assessing and spreading
awareness of climate solutions. See especially the
"Table of Solutions."
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Post-Carbon Institute
Resources to support "...the transition to a more resilient,
equitable, and sustainable world."
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Low-Tech Magazine
Solar powered website featuring writing on the potential of
past and forgotten technologies to support sustainable
energy practices.
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Low Technology Institute
"We bring nonindustrial subsistence technology to
(over)developed societies."
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Living Building Challenge
Online resources, advocacy and certification for
regenerative architecture: "What if every single act of
construction made the world a better place?" One of several
related programs of
the International Living Future Institute.
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Carbon Footprint Calculator
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Climate Action Tracker
Independent scientific analysis of government climate action
based on the globally agreed Paris Agreement aim of "holding
warming well below 2°C, and pursuing efforts to limit
warming to 1.5°C."
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Carbon Majors
Database of historical production data from the world's 122
largest fossil fuel producers.
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440 Megatonnes
Project that tracks Canada's progress toward its
commitments to reducing national greenhouse gas emissions
to max out at 440 megatonnes. See especially this
Pathways Tracker for interactive data set
for assessing Canada's emissions reduction efforts to date.
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Energy Democracy
"From energy access to climate justice and from
anti-privatisation to workers' rights, people across the world
are taking back power over the energy sector, kicking-back
against the rule of the market and reimagining how energy
might be produced, distributed and used." Most current energy
democracy projects are based in
the European Union.
- Electricity Maps
Open source app developed by a Danish startup with a mission
to "...organise the world's electricity data to drive the
transition towards a truly decarbonised electricity system."
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No Fly Climate Sci
Growing network of climate scientists, scholars and
citizens who have either stopped flying or committed to
flying less.
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International Council on Clean Transportation
Nonprofit research organization focused on providing analysis
and resources to guide policymakers toward emissions
reductions across all sectors of transportation.
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Cool Effect
Non-profit organization dedicated to community-based carbon
dioxide emissions reduction efforts.
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Divest Canada Coalition
Network of 30 student groups from across Canada calling for
their institutions to divest from fossil fuels and support
just transitions.
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Center for
Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES)
C2ES aims "to advance strong policy and action to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, promote clean energy, and
strengthen resilience to climate impacts. ...We believe a
sound climate strategy is essential to ensure a strong,
sustainable economy."
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Indigenous Clean Energy (ICE)
ICE supports Indigenous participation and leadership in
clean energy projects across Canada.
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Sacred Earth Solar
"Indigenous-led organization that works in solidarity with
impacted Indigenous communities who are protecting their
homelands by bringing solar power directly to the
frontlines. Providing renewable energy allows front line land
defenders to protect themselves when asserting jurisdiction
of their territories while directly opposing fossil fuel
projects."
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The Global Carbon Project
Open-source data hub for "intergrated knowledge of
greenhouse gases for human activities and the Earth system."
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UN Carbon Offset Platform
Inventory of UNFCCC certified projects that aim to reduce,
remove or limit greenhouse gas emissions around the globe.
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Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
International initiative to phase out fossil fuels and fast
track the development of renewable energy systems.
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Centre for Climate Integrity
US-based advocacy network that holds oil and gas companies
accountable for the massive costs of their climate impacts.
Action Guides
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Climate Solutions
David Suzuki Foundation (DSF) webpage devoted to projects that
aim to accelerate climate solutions across Canada and
globally.
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Audubon Society Climate Action Guide
"Feeling like you can't make a difference? That couldn't be
further from the truth. Here's where to begin and how to
amplify your efforts to make lasting change in the world."
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Climate Action Network International
Nine "toolboxes" offering a selection of "tips and tools" to
help mobilize local climate advocacy and action in response
to a range of issues.
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Your Voice at the Table: Guide to
Mobilizing Local Government Climate Action
David Suzuki Foundation toolkit for community organizing to
encourage local governments to pursue climate action."This
guide will help you work with your local government so you
can build a healthy, sustainable, resilient future
together."
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Climate Advocacy Lab
US-based climate advocacy network that provides leadership
training for citizens to take local action.
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Climate
Action Network International
"[G]lobal network of more than 1,900 civil society
organisations in over 130 countries driving collective and
sustainable action to fight the climate crisis and to
achieve social justice. CAN convenes and coordinates civil
society at the UN climate talks and other international
fora."
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All We Can Save Project
Resources for education and community building around
climate solutions. Includes a selection of programs for
educators, community organizers, workers, etc. to build
community around responses to the climate crisis.
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Harvard Business School - Business &
Environment Initiative
Online resources to support business responses to climate
change. The website features blogs, podcasts and over
fifty examples of business cases for climate
action.
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Climate Justice Playbook for Business
"A global call for businesses to centre all climate action
in people and justice." This playbook provides insights,
guidance and case studies of companies seeking to advance
climate justice in operations, supply chains, and the
communities they impact.
Climate and Rights of Nature Litigation
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Climate
Change Litigation Databases
Features two collections of climate change litigation: one
concentrates on United States climate case law; the
other on global climate change litigation.
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Rights of Nature: Timeline
Chronological summary of key events in the Indigenous-led
Rights of Nature movement.
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Ecojustice
"We use the law to protect life on Earth."
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Raven
Trust
RAVEN is a registered charity that fundraises to support
efforts to defend Indigenous legal rights and fight
for environmental justice.
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Juliana V. United States
Timeline of events in ongoing youth litigation against
the US government for its actions to cause the climate
crisis. Youth v Gov is a documentary on the youth
plaintiffs in this case.
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Earth
Justice
US-based nonprofit public interest environmental law firm:
"We are here because earth needs a good lawyer."
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La Rose et al. versus His Majesty the King
Backgrounder on ongoing climate litigation by fifteen
children and youth from across Canada. The case argues that
in failing to act adequately to address the climate crisis
the federal govenment is violating their section 7 and
section 15 Charter rights.
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Mathur et al. versus His Majesty in Right
of Ontario
Backgrounder on an ongoing youth-led climate lawsuit in the
Province of Ontario, Canada. The case is currently (2024) at
the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
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SLAW - Climate Change
Canadian legal magazine SLAW's coverage of climate change
and the law across different contexts across the country.
Climate Change in Media and Popular Culture
Podcasts
Collection of podcasts exploring relationships between
climate change and society, listed alphabetically with brief
descriptions:
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Crazy Town
"With equal parts humor and in-depth analysis, Asher, Rob,
and Jason safeguard their sanity while probing crazy-making
topics like climate change, overshoot, runaway capitalism,
and why we're all deluding ourselves."
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The Climate Pod
Features conversations with experts on climate science,
politics, activism, economics and culture among other
topics. Hosted by Ty and Brock Benefiel.
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A Matter of Degrees
Storytelling about "powerful forces behind climate change
-- and the tools we have to fix it."
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The Great Simplification
Nate Hagens converses with a wide range of guests to explore
different dimensions of "...the system science underpinning the
human predicament."
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TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate)
"MIT podcast that breaks down the science, technologies, and
policies behind climate change, how it's impacting us, and
what we can do about it. Each quick episode gives you the
what, why, and how on climate change -- from real scientists
and experts -- to help us make informed decisions for our
future."
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Bioneers
Stories highlighting diverse voices from the climate and
envinronmental justice movements.
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Drilled
True-crime podcast on climate change hosted by environmental
journalist Amy Westervelt.
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For The Wild
"An Anthology of the Anthropocene."
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Generation Anthropocene
Host Michael Osborne explores connections between humans,
nature and the powers shaping a new geological age.
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Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question
"Podcast about all of the thorny emotions that come along
with the climate crisis - from anxiety and sadness to
motivation and hope - and how they are shaping fundamental
questions about whether, when, and how to have children."
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Speaking Across Knowledge Systems
Podcast series featuring conversations between Indigenous and
non-Indigenous environmental science scholars and
practitioners that aims to "move beyond a singular focus on
Western ways of thinkng and doing to achieve conservation
goals."
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How to Save a Planet
"Podcast that asks the big questions: what do we need to do
to solve the climate crisis, and how do we get it done?"
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Low Technology Podcast
Explores topics related to low technology, research,
sustainability and the environment.
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Outrage + Optimism
Co-hosted by former UNFCCC
Secretary Christiana Figueres the podcast covers a
wide range of climate-related topics and issues. Interviews
with climate leaders strike a balance between outrage and
optimism in responding to the climate crisis.
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Inherited
Climate storytelling produced by and for a generation of
youth confronting "the largest threat to life on earth and
humanity's collective future."
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Mothers of Invention
Podcast focused on feminist climate solutions. Hosted by
former Irish president Mary Robinson, comedian-writer Maeve
Higgins, and series producer Thimali Kodikar.
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What On Earth
CBC Radio podcast where host Laura Lynch explores climate
solutions.
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2050: Degrees of Change
CBC Meterologist Johanna Wagstaffe envisions a future living
with changes brought by climate change.
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Scene on Radio - The Repair
Season 5 of Scene on Radio podcast explores the "...cultural
roots of our current ecological emergency, and the deep
changes Western society will need to make to save the earth
and our species."
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CBC Radio Ideas: Climate Change and the
Unborn Future
Three part radio lecture series written
by Todd Dufresne that
examines intersections between climate change, philosophy,
capitalism and Covid-19.
Film, Television and Multimedia
Climate Fiction
Selection of historical precursors and contemporary works of
climate fiction, colloquially known as cli-fi.
Arts
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Artists & Climate Change
Website featuring a collection of essays, organizations,
course outlines
and programs that explore artistic works
on climate change.
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Warming Stripes
Simple visualizations designed by climate
scientist Ed Hawkings to show average temperature
change over the past 100+ years. The graphics seek to engage
diverse audiences in dialogues about climate
change. #showyourstripes
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School for Climate
"It's time for Art to redefine our Climate Moment."
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My Climate Hero
Comic art to represent heroes of the movement
for climate and environmental justice. #MyClimateHero
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Postcards from the Future
Museum of London exhibition (2010) featuring postcards that
imagined climate changed futures in iconic urban
environments.
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Art for Climate Justice
Posters by artists from across Canada that express their
perspectives on climate change and demand climate justice.
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Artists for Real Climate Action
Non-partisan network of Canadian actors, filmmakers,
musicians, playwrights, directors and other creators
"sounding the alarm over our climate crisis" through
creative storytelling.
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Jill Pelto
"My work focuses on communicating human-environment
connections. I incorporate scientific data directly into my
paintings to engage broad audiences using climate and
conservation graphs." Gallery
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Arts and Climate Initiative
Theatre group that uses storytelling and performance to
facilitate dialogues about the climate crisis, to imagine
just climate futures, and to cultive climate action.
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Climate Change Theatre Action
Worldwide biennale festival of short plays about the climate
crisis that are run to coincide with United Nations climate
summits.
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The Climate Museum
New York City museum devoted to exploring the climate
crisis.