Section 4 of 4 · Line 4

Informed Hope & Action

About 12 minutes

Your slide
  1. Line 1,
  2. Line 2,
  3. Line 3,
  4. Line 4,

Step 1 · The line

The line we're fixing

Line 4 · The big message If everyone does their part, we can save the planet!

This line wants students to feel hopeful, and that matters. But “everyone does their part” makes every part sound the same. Section 2 showed that the power to make decisions is part of adaptive capacity, and Section 3 showed that climate risk isn't shared equally. “Save the planet” also makes climate change sound like a test we either pass or fail.

Before we go on: when you think about climate change, how do you feel? Choose any.

Nothing you choose here is saved or sent.

Step 1 · Quick prediction

“Are we doomed?”

A student in your class asks this. Three teachers answer.

A student asks, "Are we doomed?" Three teachers answer.A student with a raised hand and three teachers with speech bubbles. The text version below gives all three answers.Are we doomed?StudentDon't worry. If we allrecycle, it will be fine.Teacher AHonestly, it might betoo late.Teacher BIt's serious, and what we do stillmatters. Let me show you whatpeople are already doing.Teacher C

Text version of the scene

  • Student: “Are we doomed?”
  • Teacher A: “Don't worry. If we all recycle, it will be fine.”
  • Teacher B: “Honestly, it might be too late.”
  • Teacher C: “It's serious, and what we do still matters. Let me show you what people are already doing.”
Which answer is most likely to help the student keep caring and take action?

Step 2 · Learn

Three ways to respond

  • Despair

    “Nothing we do will make a difference.” It takes the problem seriously but sees no way forward, so people give up.

    Teacher B was answering with despair.

  • Uncritical optimism

    “It will all work out.” It feels good, but it hides how serious the problem is, so there's no reason to act.

    Teacher A was answering with uncritical optimism.

  • Informed hope

    It looks at the problem honestly and still sees real ways to act, especially together.

    Teacher C was answering with informed hope.

Go deeper: what research says about hope

A study of young people in Sweden (Ojala, 2012) found two kinds of hope. Hope that came from taking the problem seriously, and from trusting that people can act together, was linked to more climate action. Hope that came from denying the problem was not.

Go deeper: an analogy for your classroom

A doctor finds a serious illness. One doctor says, “There's nothing we can do.” Another says, “You'll be fine, don't worry about it.” A good doctor says, “This is serious. Here is what we know, here are the treatments, and here is what you can do.” The third doctor is giving informed hope.

Every bit counts

“Save the planet” sounds like all or nothing. But the IPCC reports that every increase in warming makes climate hazards worse. Switch between two levels of global warming and compare.

Show the world at:

Showing 1.5°C.

  • Coral reefsDecline by 70 to 90%
  • Arctic sea iceAn ice-free summer about once a century
  • Sea level rise by 2100Up to about 10 million fewer people exposed than at 2°C
See both levels side by side
ImpactAt 1.5°CAt 2°C
Coral reefsDecline by 70 to 90%Decline by more than 99%
Arctic sea iceAn ice-free summer about once a centuryAn ice-free summer at least once a decade
Sea level rise by 2100Up to about 10 million fewer people exposedUp to about 10 million more people exposed

Half a degree changes a lot. That is why “every bit of warming we prevent matters” is a more accurate message than “save the planet,” and it gives students a reason to keep going.

Source: IPCC (2018), Global Warming of 1.5°C, Summary for Policymakers (paraphrased).

Not everyone, not equally

“Everyone does their part” sounds fair. But many of the actions in Section 2, like a town switching to wind power or a community rewetting a peatland, are things people do together, not one household at a time. Section 3 showed that the people facing the most risk are often already leading. A better message asks who has the power to make big changes, and who is already making them.

  • A slogan asks“Can we save the planet?”
  • A better message asks“How much harm can we prevent, and for whom?”
Wet, grassy bog with a narrow channel of water. A low brown barrier crosses the channel, and dark water has pooled on one side of it.
Restoration on Carter Fell, a bog on the England–Scotland border. A low barrier blocks a drainage channel, so water stays in the bog instead of draining away.“Bog restoration, Carter Fell” by Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Try the three questions

Before you teach any climate action, ask three questions.

  1. Who benefits? Does it help the people facing the most harm, or mostly people who already have the most?
  2. Who decides? Are the people affected part of the decision?
  3. Does it break a loop? Does it deal with a cause, or only a symptom?

Try them on three actions from this module. Make your own guess first, then open each card to compare.

  • Rewetting Burns Bog

    Compare your answers
    Who benefits?
    People nearby, from cleaner water and slower flooding; wildlife; and everyone, because the carbon stays in the ground.
    Who decides?
    The governments that bought and manage the bog. A good follow-up question: whose traditional territory is it, and are those Nations part of the decisions?
    Does it break a loop?
    Yes. Wet peat keeps its carbon, which interrupts the drying loop from Section 1.

  • Fossil-powered air conditioning in every home

    Compare your answers
    Who benefits?
    Households that can afford it, during heat waves.
    Who decides?
    Each household, one at a time.
    Does it break a loop?
    No. The extra emissions add to warming, which feeds the loop instead of breaking it.

  • A city's cooling centres

    Compare your answers
    Who benefits?
    People who can't keep cool at home, often older adults, low-income households, and people without housing.
    Who decides?
    City governments. They work best when the people who use them help plan them.
    Does it break a loop?
    No. It protects people from a symptom, not the cause. That doesn't make it a bad action; people need protection now. It just can't be the whole answer.

Step 3 · Check

Fix the message

A teacher's slide ends with: “Don't worry, kids! If we all turn off the lights, we'll save the planet.”

Which rewrite turns it into informed hope?

Step 4 · Fix it

Rewrite Line 4, then build your slide

Be honest about the problem, give a reason to act, and show that people act together. One or two sentences. Your text saves on this device only.

Compare with one possible version

“Climate change is serious, but what we do still matters, and every bit of warming we prevent helps. People around the world are already acting together, and we can join them.”

This version is honest about the problem, gives a reason to act, and talks about people acting together.

Part B: Build your slide

Your lines from Sections 1 to 3 appear below from what you saved on this device. Edit any of them so the four read well together as one slide for Grade 6 students. Prefer to sketch it, make a poster, or record it? Do that instead.

You haven't written Line 1 yet. Write it here, or go back to Section 1.

You haven't written Line 2 yet. Write it here, or go back to Section 2.

You haven't written Line 3 yet. Write it here, or go back to Section 3.

Line 4 comes from Part A above.

Before

Climate Change (original)

Grade 6 lesson slide

  1. What causes it?Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, which traps heat and warms the planet.
  2. What can we do?Recycle, turn off the lights, and plant trees.
  3. Who is affected most?Indigenous communities and poor countries are the most vulnerable.
  4. The big messageIf everyone does their part, we can save the planet!
After: my version

Climate Change (my rewrite)

Grade 6 lesson slide

  1. What causes it?(not written yet)
  2. What can we do?(not written yet)
  3. Who is affected most?(not written yet)
  4. The big message(not written yet)
Self-check (just for you, nothing is saved):
Compare with one possible slide

Climate Change (one possible rewrite)

Grade 6 lesson slide

  1. What causes it?Burning fossil fuels warms the planet, and warming can set off loops that make it worse, like drying peatlands releasing even more carbon. But loops also have weak points where we can break them.
  2. What can we do?We can cut the pollution that causes warming, like switching to clean energy, and prepare for changes already here, like restoring wetlands that soak up floodwater. The best actions do both, and they work best when the people affected help plan them.
  3. Who is affected most?Many Indigenous Nations and lower-income countries face higher climate risks, largely because of colonialism and unequal access to resources. Many are also leading the response, like the Heiltsuk (Haíɫzaqv) Nation, whose clam gardens and Big House draw on knowledge passed down over generations.
  4. The big messageClimate change is serious, but what we do still matters, and every bit of warming we prevent helps. People around the world are already acting together, and we can join them.

Look back

Optional reading

Optional

Indigenous adaptation: Not passive victims

Nursey-Bray, M., Palmer, R., Chischilly, A. M., Rist, P., & Yin, L. (2022). In Old ways for new days: Indigenous survival and agency in climate-changed times (pp. 25–56). Springer.

Open the chapter by Nursey-Bray et al. (2022) (opens in a new tab)

You rewrote the whole slide

LineBeforeAfter
1One cause, one effectA loop, with places to break it
2Actions one person doesMitigation and adaptation, done together
3“The most vulnerable”People at risk who are also leading
4“Save the planet!”Informed hope: honest, and still worth acting on

Your students will see a slide like the first one someday. What will your version say?

Back to the overview

Back to Section 3