Revision2 Unit 4 Childhood Unbound

UNIT 4. ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

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Environmental Rights This unit will help students understand that the impacts of environmental degradation are often felt most by the people contributing to it the least. It will introduce them to the variety of intersectional human rights issues related to climate change and how different countries and communities are affected worldwide. In addition, students will learn how to be informed consumers and create change for the environment in their local communities.

Learning Outcomes Describe the impacts of climate change.

Differentiate between governmental, corporate, and individual impact on the environment.

Make connections between environmental protection and human rights.

Think critically about engaging your community around environmental issues.

Essential Questions: How does sustainable environmental protection help realize human rights?

How do human rights values promote environmental protection?

What are sustainable development goals? Are they working?

How has industrialization impacted the environment?

What is environmental racism?

How can we engage and include everyone in enjoying and protecting the natural environment?

How can governments, corporations, and individuals help protect the environment?

Skills: Analyze documents

UNIT 4

Apply investigative skills Compare and contrast

Lessons: Environmental Rights & Sustainable Development Goals Industrialization and the Environment Protecting the Earth The Outdoors is for All

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Lesson 1 Environmental Rights & Sustainable Development Goals The realization and enjoyment of all human rights depend on a healthy environment, and therefore they are vulnerable to environmental degradation. Human health intersects with environmental protections and human rights, as they seek to promote and protect human wellbeing and to allow the full development of each person, as well as the amplification of a person’s goals and interests. The current climate emergency gravely threatens the future existence of humanity putting at risk the right to life. Children and unborn generations will inherit an environment with extremely limited opportunities due to our dependence on fossil fuels and reckless exploitative economic models.

Some of the rights especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change are the right to health, water, food, housing, participation in cultural life, property, and to not be forcibly displaced. Other examples are the right to bodily integrity and to private life. Global warming is causing extremely grave and massive conflicts due to scarcity of resources and the lack of adequate living conditions, as well as land conflicts between displaced populations, triggering violations to the right to life, liberty, security and peace.

Environmental rights are intrinsically related to human rights. Human rights aspire to protect all people from harm and mistreatment. Environmental devastation harms all of Earth’s - human and non-human inhabitants which is why the protection of nature that sustains life on Earth should be a priority. If nature is the condition for life, an even broader protection that is up to date with the latest scientific developments is absolutely necessary. Economic interests have stood in the way of action for the environment. There is a blatant disregard for the fact that without a safe environment that allows for healthy living, the enjoyment of other human rights is not possible. A State knowingly allowing children to consume polluted water is arbitrarily depriving individuals of their right to life. This applies to companies and private entities that fail to do due diligence to protect the communities in which they do business.

More States are recognizing the right to a healthy environment as a right in itself that extends protections to seas, forests, and rivers, even without explicit evidence of a risk to humans. Nature is protected because of the importance to other living beings and organisms that deserve protection in their own right. This is known as ecological governance that prioritizes and guards Nature’s rights to flourish by providing legal personhood and subsidiary rights, including the right to restoration, the right to its natural processes, and the right to ecosystem functioning without interference. Human adaptability and flexibility is needed to limit human activities to allow natural self-regeneration processes. This includes the principles of i.

Mitigation or substitution for monetary/political gain; ii. Creation of sustainable projects to develop bearable levels of consumption instead of the encouragement of overconsumption; iii. Minimizing human footprint

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instead of increasing it and iv. Maintaining Nature’s integrity and the dynamic ecological processes.

There is still much to do towards that end. For example, American regulations have few restrictions on the use, and overuse, of the natural environment and fail to control pollution or regulate pesticides. Rarely are grant permits refused for projects deemed too ecologically damaging against the sustainable development

Lesson 1 Environmental Rights & Sustainable Development Goals goals. Sustainable development is a holistic concept that requires the strengthening of interdisciplinary linkages in the different branches of knowledge. We must reinforce environmental protection to balance other social – above all economic – interests. The systems regulating the exploitation of natural resources

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must be built with an understanding of the fundamental value of the environment as the condition for life.

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TERMS TO KNOW

Sustainable Development Goals

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How does sustainable environmental protection help realize human rights?

How do human rights values promote environmental protection?

What are sustainable development goals? Are they working?

SUGGESTED RESOURCES United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: The 17 Goals The Paris Agreement for Young People Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action There’s Something in the Water The Rights of Nature: A Global Movement Sustainable Development Goals Index

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Lesson 1 Environmental Rights & Sustainable Development Goals ACTIVITY INTRODUCTION: In a variation of the Model UN format, the lessons in this unit will allow students to focus on one country and its best (and worst) practices and environmental policies.

PREPARATION BEFORE THE ACTIVITY: Read the Sustainable Development Goals and discuss them with your class.

What are the SDGs? When were they put in place? Why? By whom?

Through a class discussion, identify which goals are critical in protecting the environment.

Note: Challenge students to think past the conservation of natural resources. For instance, ask them how Zero Hunger, Good Health and Wellbeing, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions might also tie directly into environmental protection. Refer back to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Ask students to draw connections between the rights declared in the CRC and the UDHR and the Sustainable Development Goals: How do the Sustainable Development Goals/environmental protections allow for the actualization of human rights?

REQUIRED RESOURCES: The Sustainable Development Goals The CRC and UDHR ACTIVITY DURATION: 45 MINUTES ACTIVITY OUTLINE: 1. Assign students to different countries around the world. Give them a say in what country they choose and try to ensure that all regions of the world are represented.

Explain to students that they will be researching this country for the next few lessons with a debate at the end.

This means: They should organize their research by subtopic in a way they can easily refer back to.

They should develop an understanding of their country’s relationship with the environment

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and be able to understand the stance their country would take on various environmental issues.

Lesson 1 Environmental Rights & Sustainable Development Goals 2. Give students Worksheet 4.1 (pg. 115) to help prompt them to research what action steps their assigned country has done to work towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The worksheet will refer to the SDG Index’s country profiles and interactive SDG map.

3. Once complete, have students present to the class the findings of their research.

Guiding Questions: Ask students to note any commonalities or differences between approaches. Do they believe that the Sustainable Development Goals will be achieved worldwide by the 2030 target?

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Why or why not?

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Lesson 2 Industrialization and the Environment Our world was forever transformed during the 18th century due to the Industrial Revolution, which was sparked by the invention of machines that mechanized work that humans had traditionally done by hand.

This brought profound social and economic changes as economies moved from agrarian to industrial economies, creating businesses such as energy, metallurgy, textiles, chemicals, and transportation. One of the most significant characteristics of the Industrial Revolution was the marriage of technology and industry, which continues to shape every aspect of the economy and human activity in the past 200 years.

Dramatic changes since then have modified the natural processes of life itself; we are in the age of the Anthropocene, the age of human impact on Earth, in which environmental degradation and climate change present an unprecedented challenge to the survival of humanity.

Industrialization came with new models of energy production and disproportionate emissions of greenhouse gases. Emissions and unsustainable and unprecedented levels of resource consumption contributed greatly to climate change. Pollution harms the Earth and its inhabitants. It causes the loss of natural habitat, deforestation, extinction of species, excessive waste, and widespread pollution of vital resources such as water, air, and soil that have been contaminated. Fossil fuel companies have actively lobbied to delay global action by G20 countries that have the resources to create a solution.

Concerned citizens and grassroots organizations driven by the negative changes in their immediate environment have taken action to mitigate the worst effects of climate change pushing for an organized and structural approach to consumption. The best examples are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an urgent call for global action, which all of us can act upon. The SDGs set the “plan of action to build a global partnership for sustainable development to improve human lives and protect the environment.”

This plan tackles the effects of industrialization in regard to the widening gap between the rich and the poor. People experiencing poverty or from marginalized communities are disproportionately burdened by the issues the SDGs are attempting to address. Children in the United States were targeted to work in factories, coal mining, and cotton industries enduring awful labor conditions and health issues.

Communities have suffered the effects of environmental racism. Climate justice movements demand the overhaul of the whole system with reparations for the damages inflicted and climate-friendly investments and business practices.

There is a link between modern slavery and the business models that contribute to the degradation of the

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environment. It has become clear that without the elimination of modern slavery –including child labor- the SDGs cannot be accomplished. Industries that fuel modern slavery directly finance illegal human and environmentally degrading activities. Companies are also key in combating climate change. They must mitigate their human and environmental impacts by ensuring humane working conditions and the sustainable use of environmental resources in their entire supply chain. The SDGs reveal the actions we

Lesson 2 Industrialization and the Environment need to take to counter the worst effects of the industrialization of the world economies. By merging calls for social justice with accurate reporting and scientific knowledge we can arrive at a comprehensive plan of action that serves as a compass for citizens, decision-makers, and other social actors to protect our only

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Earth.

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TERMS TO KNOW

Fossil Fuels Industrialization Green Industrialization Emissions Green washing Climate Justice Environmental racism

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How has industrialization impacted the environment?

SUGGESTED RESOURCES Industrial Revolution Timeline The Industrial Economy- John Greene How humans disrupted a cycle essential to all life Understanding the Carbon Cycle & Climate Change How Nine Girls Beat the Oil Industry in the Ecuadorian Amazon Anthropocene: The Age of Human Impact on Earth Young Activists Reveal How the Climate Crisis is Shaping Their Lives Zero Hour – Young American Climate Activists Industrial Revolution & Child Labor

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Lesson 2 Industrialization and the Environment ACTIVITY INTRODUCTION: Industrialization and the Environment This activity will allow students to build on their knowledge of SDGs from lesson one and understand the root causes of and history behind environmental degradation as we see it today.

PREPARATION BEFORE THE ACTIVITY: Define industrialization and give your students a brief background on industrialization in the United States and worldwide.

Define Environmental Racism.

RESOURCES REQUIRED: Worksheet 4.2 (pg. 117) ACTIVITY DURATION: 55 MINUTES ACTIVITY OUTLINE: 1. Assign students to different countries around the world. Try to ensure that all regions of the world are represented.

Note: If students were already assigned a country in Lesson One, it is suggested that they continue researching their originally assigned country.

2. Assign Worksheet 4.2 which will prompt students to research how industrialization has impacted their nation.

3. Once complete, have students present to the class the findings of their research.

Ask students to note any commonalities or differences between industrialization, the impacts on the environment, and action steps taken to create environmentally sustainable industries in their

UNIT 4: LESSON 2

countries.

Lesson 2 Industrialization and the Environment INDEPENDENT LEARNING ACTIVITY #1 (IN CLASS/ASSIGNMENT): Ask students to find the heroes fighting against climate change in their country. It can be an individual, a movement, a non-profit organization, etc.

Have students report on these heroes in whatever way they see fit and turn it in to be graded. Reports can include but are not limited to: A one-page biography of an individual.

The creation of a mock social media or website page for a movement.

Creating a Twitter campaign with sample tweets and campaign goals.

Performing an ask of the campaign itself, eg. letter writing, signing/sharing petitions, etc.

A slideshow/short video .

A poem/creative art piece.

INDEPENDENT LEARNING ACTIVITY #2 (IN CLASS/ASSIGNMENT): Ask students to complete the UN Lifestyle Calculator.

Have students share their carbon footprint score and write a one-page response: Where do they believe they use the most energy?

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How can they do better as individuals?

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Lesson 3 Protecting the Earth Climate change can trigger an increase in child labor and makes children even more prone to multiple violations of their rights. They are the most vulnerable population to the effects of climate change and harmful environmental conditions. Children and future generations haven’t contributed to the present climate emergency but will suffer its catastrophic impacts. It is critical that we move away from fossil fuels and invest in cleaner sources of energy for the sake of environmental and human sustainability.

There is a strong correlation between the degradation of the environment and child labor. The worst areas of environmental degradation are typically sited in the poorest communities. Pipelines run through Native American reservations, water is poisoned in Flint, Michigan, oil palm plantations are located on the land of Indigenous communities with no say. Very often, these projects are sold to communities as economic opportunities, but the poisoning of their land, water, and bodies hollows out their economy and perpetuates the cycle of poverty. As a result, children are forced into child labor in inhumane and hazardous conditions for cheap or almost nothing.

In some industries where child labor is present, such as agriculture, logging, mining, and brick making, children are exposed to pollution and harmful agents like smoke, chemicals, pesticides, mercury, toxic waste, trash, and cleaning ingredients detrimental to their health and the environment. According to the UN High Comissioner of Human Rights, pollution contributes to early mortality, disease, and disabilities due to consumption of poisoned water and air contamination.

It is clear that the existing mechanisms of prevention and protection related to child labor rarely consider the long-term effects of environmental damage. Changes in weather patterns, extreme weather events, and other consequences of climate change force children into work in some of the worst forms of child labor, or increase or change the kind of work they engage in. This has a serious impact on their rights and their access to opportunity.

In addition, climate change and the loss of biodiversity threaten to cause long-term effects disrupting the lives of children and generations to come.

Young children are most at risk from high temperatures and climate-induced migration. Remarkably troublesome is the danger presented to food supply chain security. Children are at the greatest risk from an increase in malnutrition and the negative consequences in development and learning abilities that it brings. A massive and multidimensional effort including child-centered climate policies, effective corporate social responsibility, and redirecting governmental subsidies and tax breaks towards greener investments

UNIT 4: LESSON 3

could intercept and even diminish the worst and still unknown effects of climate change. These changes must protect populations at risk, especially in economically fragile developing countries with weaker infrastructure that are dependent on agriculture.

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TERMS TO KNOW

Bloc Resolution

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS How can governments, corporations, and individuals help protect the environment?

What are Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Are they working?

SUGGESTED RESOURCES Model UN Rules of Procedure Model UN General Assembly Guide Wildfires and Palm Oil Plantations illegal burns in Indonesia to clear land for palm oil plantations

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Lesson 3 Protecting the Earth ACTIVITY INTRODUCTION: Using the information they have gathered so far in Unit 4, students will debate the topic of environmental sustainability. Have students represent different countries in the world, ensuring that all regions are represented. Remind them they are representatives of their country, therefore, their arguments must be through the perspective of a government official or a country environmental advocate, not of their own.

PREPARATION BEFORE THE ACTIVITY: Set up your classroom in a configuration conducive to class discussion, similar to how you might set up for a Socratic seminar.

Set a speaking time for students. This will be the amount of time that students have to present their arguments throughout the activity. It can be as short as 30 seconds.

This activity is going to require ample instruction from you, and preparation from the students. You may choose to proceed with steps 1-3 in the activity outline and then give students time to prepare and ask any questions they might have about the debate process. Check the suggested resources to learn more about running a Model UN-like debate in your classroom, but feel free to adjust it to the needs of your students.

RESOURCES REQUIRED: Timer Hand out paper/flashcards for students to use as name cards on their desks - from now on only refer to them as representatives from their country.

ACTIVITY OUTLINE: 1. Introduce the speaking time and the rules to the students.

2. Have all students introduce their country and what position (subtopic) from their research they believe is most important in regards to environmental protection (i.e. Sustainable Development Goals, impacts of industry on the environment, populations impacted by environmental change, etc.).

3. Take a vote around the room on what subtopic country representatives (students) would like to debate and choose how long you would like to debate that topic.

4. Throughout the sub-debates, allow students to pass notes/send chats to countries they might align their views with. Encourage them to make “blocs” (groups/breakout rooms) – these will be the groups they might end up writing resolutions with.

5. Ask students if they have created blocs – if anyone has not joined a bloc yet, place them with countries

UNIT 4: LESSON 3

that have similar issues/plans.

Lesson 3 Protecting the Earth 6. Once in their blocs, ask students to create resolutions. Provide them with a template of how United Nations resolutions are formatted.

7. Have blocs present to the large group – allow for a question-and-answer session.

8. If needed, encourage students to make any edits to the resolutions presented.

9. Have blocs present their final resolutions.

10. Have students vote on what resolution they believe would be most effective in ensuring a sustainable environment and reaching SDGs by 2030. This vote can be in their own perspective, not the perspective of

UNIT 4: LESSON 3

their country.

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Lesson 4 The Outdooors is for All Sixty years ago, Jane Goodall revolutionized the concept of what it meant to be human. She proved that animals can experience emotions, are intelligent, and have distinct personalities, characteristics formerly attributed to humans only. This changed the perception of the natural world. The relentless pursuit of awareness and education on the topic of the earth by people like Jane Goodall has changed the world. It has inspired current work from young people, scientists, community leaders, conservationists, regular citizens, diplomats, and activists. New scientific discoveries combined with ancient practices and knowledge are changing the way human beings interact with our environment. People are beginning to understand how our actions, choices, and omissions affect the natural processes of the Earth. More than ever, there is a need for action, hope, and activism. We must find and support new ways of existing in alignment with the natural world and its limited resources. We are not masters of the earth, we are a part of it.

Protecting Indigenous People and their lands is a proven solution to the effects of climate change.

Indigenous People have always been the most effective stewards of the environment. Denying their rights to their land, as well as their right to self-determination is a threat to fragile ecosystems, biodiversity, and life. According to the World Bank, Indigenous Peoples own, occupy or use just a quarter of the world’s surface area and yet they safeguard 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity. As knowledge keepers of how to live in nature, they hold crucial ancestral knowledge and expertise for adaptation to face the climate and disaster risks. Without consulting, respecting, and listening to Indigenous People and their extremely valuable knowledge, it will be impossible to reach the Paris Agreement or the SDGs. Indigenous People are key, but cannot shoulder this burden alone. Anyone can, and should, become an advocate for the environment.

A State has the obligation to protect people from harm caused by its agents or by third parties such as companies and individuals. States also have the obligation to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change by taking the most ambitious measures possible to prevent or reduce greenhouse emissions within the shortest possible time frame, according to the Paris Agreement. This will help everyone within their jurisdiction adapt to the foreseeable and unavoidable effects of climate change, consequently minimizing the impact on their human rights. Environmental violations usually intersect with grave human rights abuses - including child labor - due to States granting concessions to exploit the natural resources in favor of extractive industries, mines, logging, hydroelectric dams, public and private infrastructure, amongst others.

States are equally responsible when they fail to tackle illegal exploitation. For example, the current food

UNIT 4: LESSON 4

industry based on large-scale monocultures releases high greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to deforestation and land degradation without any free, prior, and informed consent from the affected communities. This is often the case with Indigenous Peoples’ territories, often large portions of untouched land. They are vulnerable, not only to violence and forced displacement from outsiders but to the pollution

Lesson 4 The Outdooors is for All that affects their entire way of living. Even carbon-neutral projects meant to forward the environment can push Western ideas of “green” that don’t correspond with Indigenous ways of living. Efforts to address climate change must not resort to measures that directly or indirectly violate human rights. The transition to a carbon-neutral economy must be just and lead to a more equal society, rather than putting most of the costs and burdens on those least able to carry them.

The current pledges made by governments to mitigate climate change are completely inadequate, as they would lead to a catastrophic 2.5°C increase in average global temperatures over pre-industrial levels by 2100. People, including children, in many countries around the world, are using human rights arguments to take their governments to court for their failure to establish sufficient climate change mitigation targets

UNIT 4: LESSON 4

and measures.

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TERMS TO KNOW Environmental Racism Diversity Inclusion

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS What is environmental racism?

How can we engage and include everyone in enjoying and protecting the natural environment?

How can governments, corporations, and individuals help protect the environment?

SUGGESTED RESOURCES Be a Climate Action Superhero - Take Action Now! The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving the World How to Save A Planet - Calls to Action and Resources What Youth - Led Movements Teach Us About Democracy Frontiers | The Role of Adults in “Youth Led” Climate Groups: Enabling Empowerment Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez, Earth Guardians speaks at UN Climate Reception - 21 April 2016 Nemonte Nenquimo 2020 Champion of the Earth Get inspired meet the Young Champions of the Earth!

Autumn Peltier - the Teen Fighting to Protect Canada’s Water On Being podcast with Jane Goodall IPCC 2023 Climate Report

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Lesson 4 The Outdooors is for All ACTIVITY INTRODUCTION: This lesson will ask students to think critically about their environment and the relationship with the outdoors in their community.

PREPARATION BEFORE THE ACTIVITY: Assign Worksheet 4.4 (pg. 118) to students to complete before this lesson If possible, take students outside for this lesson. Find a green space and sit or walk as you lead the discussion.

RESOURCES REQUIRED: Students should have their completed Worksheet 4.4 with them for this lesson.

ACTIVITY DURATION: 60 MINUTES ACTIVITY OUTLINE: 1. After they have completed Worksheet 4.4, ask students how they feel about inclusion (or lack thereof) in the outdoors.

Is it an issue they have thought about before?

How did the organizations they discovered in their independent research change their mindset?

2. Ask students whether they feel comfortable in the outdoors/if they grew up having meaningful experiences outside.

Do they feel their local community does a good job of getting people engaged with nature?

How could their student organizations, school, or town do better?

3. Tell students it is their right to be outside. They have a right to clean air, clean water, and a safe space to exist in the outdoors.

4. Return to the classroom and discuss the idea of environmental racism.

Not only do BIPOC individuals often feel unsafe or not included in the outdoor space, but underrepresented communities are also often burdened with the power plants, dumps, nuclear reactors, roads, pipelines, etc

UNIT 4: LESSON 4

Use Flint Michigan and Native American Reservations as examples.

5. Discuss the realities of climate change and how it has already had a massive impact on underrepresented communities and children.

Lesson 4 The Outdooors is for All 6. Show I Will Be a Hummingbird with Wangari Maathai Tell students they all can make a difference in their environments. Whether that is taking steps in engaging their community with the outdoors, diversifying the outdoor industry, planting trees, or fighting climate change, they all have unique talents to bring to the cause.

Share the UN Be a Climate Action Superhero campaign with students to help underline that there are so many ways to help in the fight against climate change. This resource can help them engage other young people in the issue.

7. If you have class time, have students complete the Climate Action Venn Diagram by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson or assign it as independent work. Every single action students take is meaningful in the fight against climate change. This diagram will help them figure out where to start. If interested, students can post their completed venn diagrams online and tag @How2SaveAPlanet to join a large community of climate activists.

8. Using what they learned from the diagram, ask students to draft a plan on how they can take action in

UNIT 4: LESSON 4

their own communities to help improve the environment. Ask them to write at least five action steps they can take.

9. Remind students of the youth-led movements in the fight for environmental justice. Encourage them to take action on an individual level, while reminding them of the importance of keeping governments and corporations accountable.

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Lesson 4 The Outdooors is for All INDEPENDENT LEARNING ACTIVITY (IN CLASS/ASSIGNMENT): This lesson will ask students to explore their own environments and investigate what they see every day.

The goal of this activity is to facilitate student engagement with their environment, and in-depth thinking about their surroundings.

1. Have your students download an app or take out a guide book to help them explore the environment around them.

App Examples: iNaturalist, Merlin Bird ID Book Examples: Audubon Guide to North American Birds, Natural Anthologies 2. Ask students to identify two species in their own backyards. Discuss: What did they find?

What surprised them?

How did it feel to get outside and investigate their environment?

3. Talk about some rights associated with the outdoors such as: The right to clean air.

The right to clean water.

UNIT 4: LESSON 3

The right to play/explore.

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WORKSHEET 4.1 ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS & SDGS

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In class, you have been assigned a country to focus on in terms of its relationship to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. You will be researching this country for the next few lessons with a culminating debate at the end of the unit.

This means you should organize your research by subtopic in a way you can easily refer back to. Use your completed worksheets as a resource, or create your

own

notecards

or

online

documents.

You

should

develop

an

understanding of your country’s relationship with the environment and be able to understand the stance your country would take on various environmental issues. Below are some guiding questions and resources to aid you in your research.

Get to know your country: What is your country?

Where is it?

What languages are primarily spoken?

What is the population?

Who are some of the major decision makers?

What are their major exports?

Give us a fun fact about your country!

Use the country profiles and interactive SDG map on the SDG Index website to answer the following questions.

What is your country’s SDG Index Rank, SDG Index Score, and Spillover Score? What do each of these mean?

How is your country trending on SDGs related to the environment?

Find your country’s Performance by Indicator page in the Sustainable Development Report 2023.

What specific aspects of the environmental SDGs is your country failing to deliver on?

Where are they succeeding?

Save your country’s Performance by Indicator page for your research

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Find your country on the Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform.

What are some strategies your country has implemented to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals?

Have these strategies been successful so far? Are there any negative effects?

Have there been critiques of your country's environmental protection policies?

Some follow-up questions: How do the SDGs impact children's rights in your country and beyond?

Do they intersect with the prevention of child labor? Explain.

What action steps have been taken in your country to protect the environment?

Note: It does not have to be a national law, SDG, or policy. You can also

highlight

any

interesting

movements in your country.

innovations

or

community

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When investigating sustainable development goals and climate change, it is necessary

to

understand

the

root

causes

of

and

history

behind

environmental degradation as we see it today.

WORKSHEET 4.2 INDUSTRIALIZATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Use reputable sources to research the history of industrialization in the country you have been studying so far. Answer the following questions: When did industrialization take place in your country?

What are mass industries that are important to your country’s economy?

How is your country impacted by global trade? What other countries do you often trade with?

Do these mass industries have any positive or negative environmental impacts? What groups of people are most impacted?

What

steps

has

your

country

taken

to

make

these

industries

“green”/environmentally sustainable?

How are regions of your country affected differently?

How is the wealth divide defined by environmental issues?

Who is the most affected by the environmental effects of climate change?

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You have a right to get outside and experience the outdoors. As climate justice advocate Pattie Gonia says, “Nature doesn’t care who we are. Nature just is. And it’s beautiful. And we’re beautiful. Just as we are.” This worksheet

WORKSHEET 4.4 THE OUTDOORS IS FOR ALL

will help guide you in investigating the issue of making the outdoors accessible for all.

1. Read a conversation with environmentalist drag queen Pattie Gonia, or listen to it on the How to Save a Planet Podcast, introducing Pattie Gonia and her work diversifying the outdoors!

Write down some quotes that stand out to you or new ideas you were introduced to that you haven’t considered before.

2. Watch these short videos introducing Outdoor Afro, a cutting-edge network that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature.

Outdoor Afro - Who We Are and Reflections on 2020 Outdoor Afro is a Love Story Outdoor Afro - Black Leadership in Nature What are your reactions? What strikes you as most important about the actions of this organization?

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3. There are so many activists and organizations working to make the outdoors a more welcome place for all. Explore a couple of them! Maybe there are a few in your area, or ones that promote outdoor activities you are

WORKSHEET 4.4 THE OUTDOORS IS FOR ALL

interested in. Here are some good resources to look for organizations: The groups listed on Melanin Basecamp.

The members of Diversify Outdoors.

Write down a few groups that you find interesting: Name of Group: Mission: Why is this important?

Name of Group: Mission: Why is this important?

Name of Group: Mission: Why is this important?

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