The June 24th, 2019 issue of TIME magazine was devoted to climate change. The article begins with a story about how complicated and out of the way it is to travel to Vunidogoloa, Fiji. The last leg of the trip follows a guide with a machete to arrive at the village. It was abandoned five years ago. Saltwater has encroached upon the environment. I noticed the magazine after attending a Climate Reality Leadership Corps training in Minneapolis, MN, in August of 2019.
The village administrator of Vunidogoloa says, “the rights of the living have been lost because of climate change.”
The full article is available online at the next link. Teachers who want to use my free instant download PDF work page may direct students to the TIME link to read the article.
https://time.com/longform/sinking-islands-climate-change/
Click on the next link for your free instant download PDF.
TIME-June-24-2019-discussion-questions-freebie-PDF
The free instant download PDF work page is a single page for students, with one corresponding answer page for teachers. This is an image of the student page:
This work is intended for students in upper grades and secondary school as the reading material has dense text. The United Nations, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, and words like Prime Minister would be helpful vocabulary for students to understand the article. An entire village had to be abandoned and moved to higher ground in Fiji. There are plans to move 40 more villages in the coming years. Wherever we live, this is important for us to understand. The implications are clear. Goals are for temperatures to rise no more than 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. However, temperatures will rise 3 degrees Celsius if countries only adhere to their current plans. More has to be done, of course. Students who are concerned about climate change will be interested in this TIME magazine.
Online articles are wonderful for schools as (after buying computers) there is free access to such resources. They are good for teacher information, as well.
A delegation who viewed the destruction in Fiji was brought to tears. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Guterres, is requiring nations to make commitments to reduce emissions. The U.N. is working on several efforts in this area.
Thank you for reading.
Carolyn
