Climate Change | Āhuarangi Hurihuri

Introduction | Kupu Whakataki

A catastrophe is an event that causes great and unusually sudden damage or suffering, a type of disaster. A catastrophe can be caused by natural processes like earthquakes and tsunami's, but it can also be caused by social action and human activities. For example, nuclear disasters and social discourse like racial issues can also be regarded as a catastrophe.

Ki te kahore he whakakitenga ka ngaro te iwi
Without foresight or vision, the people will be lost

1. A a class brainstorm recent catastrophes. Categorise these as natural and man-made (cultural) catastrophes.

2. Pick one to focus in on to break down the impact on environment and people. Set students to find articles etc and discuss as a class. (who what when how).

1. What do the words in bold mean?

2. What are the four factors of climate change?

Climate change and Aotearoa

Because Aotearoa New Zealand is a small country at the bottom of the world, it is tempting to think that we have little influence on the Earth’s systems – including the changing climate. But because our climate is part of the global climate system, we’re not immune from changes taking place elsewhere. For example, emissions from Southern Hemisphere countries have a substantial influence on ice loss in the Arctic, which is itself a long way from any significant human sources of heat-trapping gases. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the climate change related shrinking of our glaciers is a consequence of heat trapping gas emissions from throughout the world.