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About Creative Climate at the OU

Creative Climate is a diary project recording how people understand and respond to environmental change over the next decade – Joe Smith, director of Creative Climate, explains the thinking behind this ambitious ten-year project

30 Nov
2009

Everyone matters when it comes to understanding and acting on environmental issues such as biodiversity, climate change and resource use. This project brings together accounts of the creativity, imagination, struggle and determination that are an essential part of our responses to these challenges.

Creative Climate invites you to start your story which will help to track humanity’s progress in the face of these challenges. Taken together, the stories will grow into a living archive of our experiences and ideas in a fascinating and important period of time. We are making history and this project invites a global public to help 'write the first draft'.

The project is collecting thoughts and stories from doorstep to workplace, from lab to garden; from international conference to community meeting – from all over the world. Many people will start a story as an individual, but others will want to post as a group, or as an institution. Some may also want to submit on behalf of some thing or some place: a street; a glacier; an insect. Others may gather stories from other people, acting as independent researchers of changing understanding and action.

Creative Climate started in 2009 and already we have hundreds of diary entries from across the world – explore the collection and start your own story. When you have shared yours, help others to contribute by sharing the page with your friends using the share button below.

 

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Climate Change or Global Warming?

Andres Toro

Why is it now called Climate Change and not Global Warming anymore?

Could it be because it has been announced recently in the news that we had the coldest winter ever recorded?

Isn't change an innate property of climate/weather? If so, why so much emphasis on something obvious?

Hi Andres, Many thanks for

Openlearn Moderator

Hi Andres,

Many thanks for your comment, the official answer from the US government's Environmental Protection Agency site is as follows:-

'The term climate change is often used interchangeably with the term global warming, but according to the National Academy of Sciences, "the phrase 'climate change' is growing in preferred use to 'global warming' because it helps convey that there are [other] changes in addition to rising temperatures."

Climate change refers to any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer). Climate change may result from:

natural factors, such as changes in the sun's intensity or slow changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun;
natural processes within the climate system (e.g. changes in ocean circulation);
human activities that change the atmosphere's composition (e.g. through burning fossil fuels) and the land surface (e.g. deforestation, reforestation, urbanization, desertification, etc.)

Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns. Global warming can occur from a variety of causes, both natural and human induced. In common usage, "global warming" often refers to the warming that can occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities.

I hope this answers your question - please feel free to visit the website at the following address - http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basicinfo.html

Many thanks
OpenLearn Moderator

Terminology

Myles Thompson

'Acid rain' is another one that disappeared from the vernacular.

Great idea...

Simon Pardoe

I'll try and contribute once this U316 end of year assessment is finished!
All the best,
Simon

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