Global Picture
People have it pretty good here in North America, but what Americans do here is impacting other people all over the world. The United States releases more greenhouse gases per person than any other country, and those gases don't just stay above the United States and cause global warming here; it creates global warming for everyone.
Global Warming Around the Globe
It's important to understand that global warming impacts everyone, everywhere, in many different ways. Glaciers around the world are shrinking. You can find before and after pictures online or refer to Al Gore's book An Inconvenient Truth for some striking images of how places used to look and how they look now. While the corresponding movie is certainly overwhelming for a child, the book offers some compelling images of how things are changing around the world. For instance, there are pictures of lakes and rivers that have dried up and images of flooding. In addition, for older children, there are charts and graphs with statistical data of the changes over time.
Try to get your students thinking about emissions at every opportunity. How did they get to school? Bus? Car? Bicycle? When are you using electricity or heating or air conditioning? Listen for when the HVAC system kicks in. Much of being a good steward of the planet is getting into the habit of always thinking about it.
Who's Making Gas?
Greenhouse gases are released from burning gasoline for fuel for our cars and other vehicles, from burning coal for electricity for our homes, and from the burps of cattle, pigs, and chickens. You can do a quick comparison of who's creating the most gases by comparing pictures of different places around the world. For instance, by looking at a picture of a big city like New York City or Tokyo, you can see streets filled with cars and lights and signs that need electricity all the time. In the picture of Tokyo, you may see many more people riding bicycles, which don't release greenhouse gases. Compare these images with some from a village in Africa or South America. You'll probably have a hard time finding any sources of greenhouse gases in these images other than small fires that people may use for cooking food.
In the same vein, you can have children go through old magazines and find pictures of air pollution. Make a collage of the images they find. Make another one showing clean air images.
