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History Lesson:

Is Climate Change Ecocide?

8th-12th Grade

≅90 minutes

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Primary Standards


	HS.52 Evaluate continuity and change over the course of world and United States history.
OR Social Sciences	HS.74 Analyze an event, issue, problem, or phenomenon, critiquing and evaluating characteristics, influences, causes, and both short- and long-term effects.
	8.34 Analyze how a specific problem can manifest itself at local, regional, and global levels over time, identifying its characteristics and causes, and the challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address the problem.


	D2.Civ.12.6-8. Assess specific rules and laws (both actual and proposed) as means of addressing public problems.
C3 Framework	D2.Civ.12.9-12. Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
	D2.Geo.4.6-8. Explain how cultural patterns and economic decisions influence environments and the daily lives of people in both nearby and distant places.
	D2.Geo.4.9-12. Analyze relationships and interactions within and between human and physical systems to explain reciprocal influences that occur among them.

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Supporting Standards

OR Social Sciences	HS.40 Use geographic data to analyze the interconnectedness of physical and human regional systems (such as a river valley and culture, water rights/use in regions, choice/impact of settlement locations) and their interconnectedness to global communities.
	HS.68 Select and analyze historical information, including contradictory evidence, from a variety of primary and secondary sources to support or reject a claim.
	HS.71 Construct arguments using precise claims, integrating and evaluating information, provided by multiple sources, diverse media, and formats, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary strengths and weaknesses.
	HS.75 Evaluate options for individual and collective actions to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.
OR English Language Arts	6-12.WHST.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
	11-12.RH.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a question or solve a problem.
	9-12.SL.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

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Supporting Standards

C3 Framework	D2.Geo.2.6-8. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions, and changes in their environmental characteristics.
	D2.Geo.2.9-12. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.

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Essential Questions

What is the role of international law in holding

individual actors and society accountable?

What is the role of international laws in ensuring

a healthy planetary ecosystem?

How can understanding ecocide expand our understanding of humans’ relationship with and responsibility to nature?

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Learning Outcomes

I can evaluate the claim that climate change, manifested locally, regionally, and globally, fits the definition of ecocide.

I can understand how international principles and laws can ensure accountability for preventing or responding to climate change.

I can identify underlying and immediate causes and consequences of climate change.

I can defend a claim using evidence and reasoning, about the impact and culpability of contributors to human-induced climate change.

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Agenda

Inquire

Investigate

Inspire

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Inquire

≅10 minutes

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What phenomenon is being described?

“[sea rise and global heating of 1.5 degrees beyond pre-Industrial times] are not naturally occurring threats or changes…[and] share a key root cause in the mass damage and destruction of ecosystems, now increasingly being named for the crime that it is: ecocide”

-2021 Stop Ecocide Foundation source

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What is the claim about climate change?

Write a claim (a statement said to be true) linking climate change to ecocide based on the quote:

“[sea rise and global heating of 1.5 degrees beyond pre-Industrial times] are not naturally occurring threats or changes…[and] share a key root cause in the mass damage and destruction of ecosystems, now increasingly being named for the crime that it is: ecocide”

-2021 Stop Ecocide Foundation source

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What effects of climate change at the local, regional, national, or planetary level have you heard or read about?

Have you experienced climate change?

How is it harming people and nature?

Definition of climate change (NASA):

Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional, and global climates. These changes have a broad range of observed effects that are synonymous with the term.

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Ecocide refers to “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”

-from the proposed legal definition from an Independent Expert Panel for a proposed amendment to the Rome Court Statute of the International Criminal Court source

ecocide

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Term	Definition of Term (source)
unlawful	against the law; illegal; against moral or ethical standards
wanton	with reckless disregard for damage which would be clearly excessive in relation to the social and economic benefits anticipated
act	includes single acts or omissions, or cumulative acts or omissions
severe	damage that involves very serious adverse changes, disruption, or harm to any element of the environment, including grave impacts on human life or natural, cultural, or economic resources.

Review Terms Part 1

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Term	Definition of Term (source)
widespread	damage that extends beyond a limited geographic area, crosses state boundaries, or is suffered by an entire ecosystem or species or a large number of human beings
long-term	damage which is irreversible or which cannot be redressed through natural recovery within a reasonable period of time
environment	the earth, its biosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere, as well as outer space
with knowledge*	to be determined

Review Terms Part 2

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Do you agree with the idea that human-caused climate change is ecocide?

Definition of climate change (NASA): Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional, and global climates. These changes have a broad range of observed effects that are synonymous with the term.

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Investigate

≅60 minutes

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Part 1:

Ecocide & the effects of climate change

Do the effects of climate change fit the definition of ecocide?

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Listen to a podcast about the effects of climate change in the Pacific Northwest.

Click image above to listen to podcast.

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Read about the effects of climate change in the Northwest.

Click image above to read.

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Scan the list of national climate risk topics in the 5th National Climate Assessment.

Click image above to read.

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Part 2:

Ecocide & the causes of climate change

Do the causes of climate change fit the definition of ecocide?

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What are the main causes of climate change?

What are the effects of greenhouse gases

on global temperature?

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Discuss the data about global temperature and carbon emissions using the links to the graphs on your Student Document

Berkeley Earth

NOAA Climate.gov

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The Causes of Climate Change

NASA

Human Caused Warming

NCA5

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Ecocide refers to “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”

-from the proposed legal definition from an Independent Expert Panel for a proposed amendment to the Rome Court Statute of the International Criminal Court (source).

ecocide

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Part 3:

Ecocide & the responsibility for climate change

Is the criterion for “with knowledge”

in the ecocide definition met?

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The Forgotten Oil Ads That Told us Climate Change was Nothing

The Guardian

Assessing ExxonMobil’s Global Warming Projections

Science.org

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Is it reasonable to say that ExxonMobil acted with knowledge (of) substantial likelihood of severe and widespread or long-term effects?

Discuss

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Who else is responsible for carbon emissions? Brainstorm a list of 10 groups or entities:

[add student answers here]

Brainstorm

The goal is to get kids' creative juices flowing and generate many possibilities. Students might blame individuals, corporations, governments, or specific entities.
Some points that might come up in a discussion:

How long has the government known about the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions? (Scientists as early as 1896 have linked emissions to global warming.)
How long has the public known that fossil fuels, such as those in automobiles, are causing global warming? (By the 1980s, scientists were starting to sound alarms; Al Gore’s 2006 widely-viewed “An Inconvenient Truth” also sounded the alarm; In 2021, 72% of Americans said they believe global warming is happening but only 57% said it was human-caused or that scientists believe it, even though 97% scientists believe it is human-caused)
If someone knows they are doing harm, do they have a moral obligation to make that knowledge public or change their behavior to stop the harm?

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Is the macro level, such as institutions like corporations and governments, more impactful than the micro level, such as individuals and consumers?

In what ways are both macro-level and micro-level actors important for creating systemic change?

How might someone from different regions of the world, or from different socio-economic circumstances or demographic groups, answer the question of responsibility differently?

Discuss

Teacher Note: This is not meant to detract from the culpability of the fossil fuel companies, nor is it in any way supposed to induce guilt in young people who are the least responsible for climate change. The goal is to add to a larger point about our collective responsibility to address climate change. It is important to emphasize the macro or structural level, more than on the individual level, because of the degree of power. Most of us as consumers are limited by the choices the government or corporations offer (e.g., most drive gas cars because of the way cities were designed and the majority of automobiles are manufactured) or our socio-economic circumstances. That said, it is important also to consider that we all have a responsibility in our economy to the degree that we can make choices as consumers. The government has a responsibility to regulate and uphold international agreements. While multinational corporations (MNCs) are the only entity mentioned in the video and article, students could argue that the government was complicit by not regulating them more as evidence has mounted over the years of their harm, or that consumers at a certain point have benefited from using fossil fuels. These are ideas to explore that will come into play in the next section.

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Inspire

≅20 minutes

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What is the relationship between ecocide and climate change?

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Condition	Definition	Evidence	Present/ Absent
Causes of Climate Change
unlawful	against the law; illegal; against moral or ethical standards
wanton	with reckless disregard for damage which would be clearly excessive in relation to the social and economic benefits anticipated
act	includes single acts or omissions, or cumulative acts or omissions
with knowledge (of)

Causes Chain

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Condition	Definition	Evidence	Present/ Absent
Effects of Climate Change
severe	damage that involves very serious adverse changes, disruption or harm to any element of the environment, including grave impacts on human life or natural, cultural, or economic resources
widespread	damage that extends beyond a limited geographic area, crosses state boundaries, or is suffered by an entire ecosystem or species or a large number of human beings
long-term	damage that is irreversible or which cannot be redressed through natural recovery within a reasonable period of time
environment	the earth, its biosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere, as well as outer space

Effects Chain

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Ecocide

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Guiding question: “Is climate change ecocide?”

Individually:

Find a single artifact (piece of evidence) or create your own representation that illustrates a cause, effect, or actor contributing to climate change.

Examples: a photo, a quote, a data graph, a graphic design, or a drawing
It should reflect a personal, regional, national, or planetary perspective.
Write an original paragraph explaining why you contributed that artifact.

Working together:

Arrange artifacts into a collective representation or series of representations of the guiding question. This could look like a mural, collage, cause-effect chain, timeline, concept map, etc.

Create a Visual Representation of the Evidence

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Is there something you learned in this lesson that’s on your mind as we wrap up?
Describe your thoughts and feelings as we covered these topics.
Has exploring climate change through the lens of ecocide changed the way you see the role of governments, corporations, or individuals?
Do you think understanding climate change as “ecocide” could have an overall positive or negative impact on moving the world towards climate solutions?

Closing Reflection

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Share your journey with us!

@subjecttoclimate

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Creators & Collaborators

Breck Foster

Authors

Archibong Akpan, PhD

Scientist Reviewer

Template Slides:

SlidesGo

Images from:

Flaticon, Freepik, Pixabay, Unsplash

Image Resources