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Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action
  • Level Foundation
  • Duration 25 hours
  • Course by University of Michigan
  • Offered by

About

Are you concerned about climate change? Would you like to learn how to address and respond to this challenge? If so, this course is for you. Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action is intended to help learners understand, address and respond to climate change as individuals and in partnership with their communities and political leaders. The course focuses on how to translate learning into action on climate change in the areas of food, energy, transportation and the built environment (cities). This course was co-developed and taught by Michaela Zint, Professor of Environmental Education and Communication, and University of Michigan Students. A range of academic climate change experts and professional leaders are featured. As a result of completing this course, you will be able to: 1) Identify individual, community, and political actions you can engage in to effectively address and respond to climate change. 2) Describe how insights from the social sciences can be employed to create change at the individual, community, and political levels. 3) Feel empowered to continue to influence how you, your community, and political leaders address and respond to climate change. Use #UMichActonClimate on social media to share what you're doing and connect with other learners.

Modules

Introduction to the Course

    • 1 Videos
    • 6 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Welcome to the course

6 Readings

  • Course Overview
  • Welcome to Act on Climate
  • Discussion Prompt - Introduce yourself
  • Optional resources
  • Help us learn more about you!
  • Syllabus

Climate Science and Policy

    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Check your understanding

2 Readings

  • Climate science and policy
  • Optional resources

Climate Mitigation and Adaptation

    • 2 Videos
    • 3 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Check your understanding

2 Videos

  • Meet Dahlia
  • Meet the expert - Dr. Rosina Bierbaum

3 Readings

  • Climate mitigation and adaptation
  • Video references and optional resources
  • Optional resources

Taking Action

    • 6 Readings
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6 Readings

  • Action types
  • Co-benefits and climate justice
  • Looking ahead
  • Take action to ensure your future success
  • Doing our part
  • Optional resources

Reflection

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Quiz: Assessment of actions
  • Discussion Prompt - What actions did you take?

Introduction to Food Module

    • 2 Videos
    • 5 Readings
    • 2 Assignment
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2 Assignment

  • Check your understanding
  • Check your understanding

2 Videos

  • Meet Chris
  • Meet the Expert: Dr. Sara Soderstrom

5 Readings

  • Food and climate change
  • Video references
  • Case Study
  • Discussion Prompt - Social Movements
  • Looking ahead

Individual Actions

    • 4 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Check your understanding

4 Readings

  • Anna’s story
  • Option 1: Eat less red meat
  • Option 2: Reduce food waste
  • Optional resources

Community Actions

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Brandon’s story
  • Engage with your community about food

Political Actions

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Nolan’s story
  • Influence decision making

Adaptation Actions

    • 3 Readings
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3 Readings

  • Alison’s story
  • Participate in farmer-to-consumer programs
  • Optional resources

Reflection

    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Assessment of actions

2 Readings

  • Quiz: Assessment of actions
  • Discussion Prompt - What actions did you take?

Introduction to Energy

    • 2 Videos
    • 3 Readings
    • 3 Assignment
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3 Assignment

  • Check your understanding
  • Check your understanding
  • Check your understanding

2 Videos

  • Meet Benjamin
  • Meet the expert - Dr. Kaitlin Raimi

3 Readings

  • Case study
  • Discussion Prompt - What would a climate action plan look like in your community?
  • Looking ahead

Individual Actions

    • 4 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Check your understanding

4 Readings

  • Stephanie’s story
  • Energy consumption
  • Optional resources
  • Discussion Prompt - Other tools for tracking energy use

Community Actions

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Alison’s story
  • Attend a community meeting about alternative energy

Political Actions

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Yousef’s story
  • Promote divestment from fossil fuels

Adaptation Actions

    • 3 Readings
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3 Readings

  • Stephanie’s story
  • Prepare for climate-related emergencies
  • Optional resources

Reflection

    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Assessment of actions

2 Readings

  • Quiz: Assessment of actions
  • Discussion Prompt - What actions did you take?

Introduction to Transportation

    • 2 Videos
    • 7 Readings
    • 3 Assignment
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3 Assignment

  • Check your understanding
  • Check your understanding
  • Check your understanding

2 Videos

  • Meet Stephanie
  • Meet the expert - Brandon Schoettle

7 Readings

  • Video references and optional resources
  • Video references
  • Discussion Prompt - Reflection on Brandon's interview
  • Case study
  • Optional resources
  • Discussion Prompt - The tricky issue of ride-hailing and carpooling
  • Looking ahead

Individual Actions

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Anne Marie’s story
  • Reduce emissions from transportation

Community Actions

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Haley’s story
  • Join or organize a community bike event

Political Actions

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Derell’s story
  • Interacting with your transit authority

Adaptation Actions

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Encourage resilient transportation
  • Optional resources

Reflection

    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Assessment of actions

2 Readings

  • Quiz: Assessment of actions
  • Discussion Prompt - What actions did you take?

Introduction to Built Environment

    • 2 Videos
    • 5 Readings
    • 2 Assignment
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2 Assignment

  • Check your understanding
  • Check your understanding

2 Videos

  • Meet Haley
  • Meet the expert - Doug Kelbaugh

5 Readings

  • Why the built environment is important
  • Case study
  • Lessons from Geraldton - Interview with Janette Hartz-Karp
  • Optional resources
  • Looking ahead

Individual Actions

    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Check your understanding

2 Readings

  • The breakdown on New Urbanism
  • Explore your city with New Urbanism

Community Actions

    • 3 Readings
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3 Readings

  • Melanie’s story
  • Participate in a resource sharing program
  • Discussion Prompt - Community resources

Political Actions

    • 4 Readings
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4 Readings

  • Chris’s story
  • Contact local government about using democratic reform
  • Discussion Prompt - Deliberative democracy and participatory budgeting near you
  • Optional resources

Adaptation Actions

    • 2 Readings
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2 Readings

  • Plant a tree
  • Optional resources

Reflection

    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Assessment of actions

2 Readings

  • Quiz: Assessment of actions
  • Discussion Prompt - What actions did you take?

Climate Action Plans

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Meet Priscila

1 Readings

  • Introduction to Climate Action Plans

Case Study

    • 1 Videos
    • 4 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Check your understanding

1 Videos

  • Meet the expert - Dr. Jennifer Hirsch

4 Readings

  • Case study
  • Optional resources
  • Bringing it home - Community Climate Action Plan
  • Discussion Prompt - Apply the asset-based approach to your community

Personal Climate Action Plan

    • 3 Readings
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3 Readings

  • Introduction to Personal Climate Action Plan Assignment
  • Assignment overivew
  • Build your Personal Climate Action Plan

Peer reflection on Personal Climate Action Plan

    • 1 PeerReview
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1 Peer Review

  • Peer review

Personal Climate Change

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Meet Sachi

1 Readings

  • Introduction

Sustaining Individual Engagement

    • 1 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Check your understanding

1 Videos

  • Meet the expert - Dr. Raymond De Young

1 Readings

  • Optional resources

Sustaining Community Engagement

    • 2 Readings
    • 1 Assignment
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1 Assignment

  • Check your understanding

2 Readings

  • Improving community engagement
  • Optional resources: Climate-related films

Sustaining Political Engagement

    • 2 Videos
    • 3 Readings
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2 Videos

  • Meet the expert - State Representative Yousef Rabhi
  • Meet the expert - Mayor Amanda Edmonds

3 Readings

  • Run for office
  • Optional resources
  • Discussion Prompt - Activism through art

Looking to the Future

    • 1 Videos
    • 5 Readings
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1 Videos

  • Dr. Michaela Zint concludes the course

5 Readings

  • Discussion Prompt - Reflection survey
  • Assessment of overall actions
  • Acknowledgments
  • Post-Course Survey
  • Keep Learning with Michigan Online!

Auto Summary

"Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action" is a foundational course in Science & Engineering, designed for those concerned about climate change. Led by Professor Michaela Zint and University of Michigan students, the course focuses on actionable steps in food, energy, transportation, and urban environments. Learners will gain insights from social sciences to drive change at various levels. The 1500-minute course is available through Coursera with Starter and Professional subscription options, targeting individuals eager to make a difference in their communities and beyond.

Michaela Zint
Instructor

Michaela Zint