Raising awareness for climate change
Overview
In recent years, people have started to discuss the severity of the climate change crisis more activity. In fact, there has been a drastic increase in the advocacy for solving this problem, by climate change activists, government officials, and businesses alike. However, it is still unlikely to raise awareness of the crisis, simply because the scope of climate change is too massive and complex for average citizens to grasp. People have no idea of how their actions, as insignificant as using plastic straws, might cause a giant shift for nature. Hence, to effectively solve the problem of climate change, we must first resolve the problem of how we should educate our citizens about the crisis.
What Taiwan has done
The Taiwanese government implemented several regulations and held activities to advocate climate change. Firstly, in accordance to the Environmental Education Act, teachers, students, and employees must complete at least four hours of courses to understand environmental ethics, enhance knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of environmental protection, and practice responsible environmental behaviors. Moreover, rules such as the Air Pollution Control Act and the Establishment and Management of Special Units or Personnel for Waste (Sewage) Water Treatment Act are also executed. These edicts prevents excessive pollution and contamination in the natural habitat, and businesses, organizations, or individuals that violate these laws will be penalized. By publicizing information about environmental protection and utilizing proper laws and regulations, the government can educate the public about climate change and the methods to alleviate its effects.
Ways to raise awareness for climate change
Social Media
Social media is ubiquitous in the modern world, and it is certainly one of the major methods we use for spreading and receiving information. With proper utilization of such tool, we can create massive influence upon a great amount of people efficiently and inexpensively. In no time, we can educate the general public about the essential knowledge about the current climate change trend. For example, people can learn about important events such as COP26 negotiations by using social media for accessing live streams, watching speeches, and reposting or resharing information. Another example of using social media to spread influence about climate change is how Sweden youth climate activist Greta Thunberg frequently posting about her worries about the current and future state of the climate change crisis. Her efforts make this topic a more tangible and relatable topic for many youths of her age, proving yet again that social media is an incredibly potent tool for raising awareness for climate change.
Influential people
People with immense power and popularity such as celebrities and government officials often have the most influence over the opinions of people. Hence, they also play a big role in inspiring people to engage in environmental conservation efforts and promote sustainability. Some also draw attention to the issue by funding climate protection organizations or publicly voicing the urgency of the crisis. For example, renowned actor Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the most active and outspoken Hollywood environmentalists. He also established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998, which focuses on publicizing information about environmental issues, restoring the vital ecosystems, and protecting endangered species. Until recently, the foundation has awarded about $80 million and has funded several projects in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Highlight local issues
It is unlikely to raise people’s awareness for climate change if the issue is intangible and unrelatable. Therefore, one of the more effective ways of spreading influence about environmental conversation is directly introducing local problems related to climate change in order to emphasize how climate change is happening constantly around us and will eventually affect us to a great extent. In terms of Taiwan, for example, citizens have been noticing the problem of intense heat waves and lack of water in recent years. These problems have been affecting Taiwan’s economy, threatening people’s welfare, and limiting the generation of hydroelectricity. If the government educate people that these issues are fundamentally caused by increasing greenhouse gases that led to increasing global temperature, citizens might put in more efforts in environmental conservation as these problems are much more relatable.
Education
Climate change should be a widely taught topic in every level of education in order to change people’s attitude and behavior essentially, or help make informed decisions toward the subject. In the classroom, students can receive large amount of organized and correct knowledge about the impact of global warming and learn how to adapt to climate change. Moreover, schools can hold educational events about climate change such as beach cleanups, recycling workshops, and farm or ranch visits. This effectively eliminate the fear and confusion of students toward the topic of climate change, eventually motivating them to take action against it. Over a long period of time, the participation of the public in environmental conversation would increase significantly, and the effects of climate change education would be obvious.
