What is climate change?

<p>What is climate change? What is causing climate change? How do you cool down the earth? How is climate change affecting the oceans? Kids are hearing about climate change and they have lots of questions. In this episode we explain the science of climate change and look at how humans will adapt to a rapidly warming planet. We speak with Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson, oceanographer at the University of South Carolina and Dr. Jola Ajibade, a geographer at Portland State University. This certainly isn’t a comprehensive look at the issue, but it’s a good way to start a conversation about this issue for families and teachers.</p> <p>Download our learning guides: <a href="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/cf/eb/6a9ecaad45ea96464cc3e4d897fa/what-is-climate-change.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PDF</a> | <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ru2ujhx8-m3ytaFz1ONZSOyMt_DN5OooLnshWpknTAk/copy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Slide</a> | <a href="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/cf/0c/e6fecb984116b2f3de4e15cfcbfa/butwhy-180-climatechange-transcript.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Transcript</a></p> <ul> <li><p>Climate is the long-term trend of temperatures and weather. You can think of the difference between climate and weather like a dog walking down a sidewalk: The dog might go from side to side of the sidewalk - that’s kind of like the weather - it varies. But the general direction of the dog is forward - that’s the climate.</p></li> <li><p>Since the 1800s we’ve had a lot of changes in technology that mean humans are burning a lot of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal, to power engines, run our cars, heat our homes and create electricity. That puts a lot of greenhouse gasses and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.</p></li> <li><p>The atmosphere is like a blanket around the earth. The increase in greenhouse gasses means that the blanket is getting thicker, making the earth warmer.</p></li> <li><p>Think of the earth like a human body: when a fever increases our body temperature by a few degrees, it can m