Climate Change 101: What’s Actually Happening
A clear explanation of the climate crisis and how we got here.
Climate Change 101: What’s Actually Happening is designed to help learners build a clear, practical understanding of the topic—without drowning in jargon. We start by grounding the “why” and the “what”: the key definitions, the mental models you’ll keep using, and the context that makes the rest of climate learning click.
You’ll explore the big ideas that matter most: what climate change is vs variability, evidence lines: temperature, ice, oceans, human drivers: GHGs, land use. Instead of treating these as abstract concepts, the course connects them to everyday decisions and real-world examples so you can recognize them in news, workplace conversations, and the choices you make at home.
We also go deeper into: how to talk about it without doom. Along the way, you’ll practice translating complexity into simple explanations, so you can communicate confidently and spot common misconceptions before they trip you up.
By the end, you’ll be able to describe what climate change is, what’s driving it, and what evidence we look at to know it’s happening, and you’ll have a few concrete next steps to keep momentum going.
Course Lessons
What Climate Change Actually Means
This lesson, “What Climate Change Actually Means,” is a focused module within the course “Climate Change 101: What’s Actually Happening.” You’ll start by grounding the topic with define climate vs. weather and climate change and explain natural variability vs. long-term trends, so the core idea is clear before moving on. Next, the lesson connects the concept to practical context by exploring introduce human-driven warming as a modern amplifier and clarify common misconceptions (cold day ≠ no warming), using plain-language explanations and a supportive visual. You’ll also work through a real-world example that helps you apply the idea to everyday decisions or common climate conversations. By the end, you should be able to summarize the lesson’s main point in your own words and answer a short quiz that checks true understanding—not memorization.
A Brief History of Earth’s Climate
This lesson, “A Brief History of Earth’s Climate,” is a focused module within the course “Climate Change 101: What’s Actually Happening.” You’ll start by grounding the topic with ice ages, warm periods, and natural climate drivers and orbital cycles, volcanoes, and solar variability (high level), so the core idea is clear before moving on. Next, the lesson connects the concept to practical context by exploring time scales: centuries vs. millennia vs. millions of years and what makes today different (rate + drivers), using plain-language explanations and a supportive visual. You’ll also work through a real-world example that helps you apply the idea to everyday decisions or common climate conversations. By the end, you should be able to summarize the lesson’s main point in your own words and answer a short quiz that checks true understanding—not memorization.
Human Activities and Greenhouse Gases
This lesson, “Human Activities and Greenhouse Gases,” is a focused module within the course “Climate Change 101: What’s Actually Happening.” You’ll start by grounding the topic with industrialization and fossil fuel combustion and co₂, methane, and nitrous oxide—what they are, so the core idea is clear before moving on. Next, the lesson connects the concept to practical context by exploring land-use change (deforestation) and agriculture and how emissions accumulate and shift earth’s energy balance, using plain-language explanations and a supportive visual. You’ll also work through a real-world example that helps you apply the idea to everyday decisions or common climate conversations. By the end, you should be able to summarize the lesson’s main point in your own words and answer a short quiz that checks true understanding—not memorization.
Observed Climate Changes Around the World
This lesson, “Observed Climate Changes Around the World,” is a focused module within the course “Climate Change 101: What’s Actually Happening.” You’ll start by grounding the topic with global temperature records and warming trends and melting ice, glaciers, and arctic sea ice changes, so the core idea is clear before moving on. Next, the lesson connects the concept to practical context by exploring sea level rise: thermal expansion + ice melt and changing extremes (heatwaves, heavy rainfall) vs. single events, using plain-language explanations and a supportive visual. You’ll also work through a real-world example that helps you apply the idea to everyday decisions or common climate conversations. By the end, you should be able to summarize the lesson’s main point in your own words and answer a short quiz that checks true understanding—not memorization.
Why Climate Change Matters to People
This lesson, “Why Climate Change Matters to People,” is a focused module within the course “Climate Change 101: What’s Actually Happening.” You’ll start by grounding the topic with health impacts (heat, air quality, disease range) at a high level and food and water systems: yields, drought, floods, so the core idea is clear before moving on. Next, the lesson connects the concept to practical context by exploring infrastructure and local economies (coasts, storms, insurance) and disproportionate impacts and resilience (equity without politics), using plain-language explanations and a supportive visual. You’ll also work through a real-world example that helps you apply the idea to everyday decisions or common climate conversations. By the end, you should be able to summarize the lesson’s main point in your own words and answer a short quiz that checks true understanding—not memorization.