Entering

Chapter 1 Weather and Climate
What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate? | How to Obtain Weather Information | The Four Earth Systems | The Interacting Climate System |
Does the Earth Record Climate? | Suddenly, the Ice Age

Chapter 2: Earth's Climate Zones
The Ancient Greeks' Climate Classification System | Köppen's Climate Classification System | Tropical Rainforest Soils Are Malnourished | Savannahs: The Gatekeepers of Desertification |
Deserts, the epitome of dry climates | What exactly is a drought? | Tundra, Earth's refrigerator | Polar regions, Earth's reflector

Chapter 3: Factors that Control Climate
Climate Control Factors | Volcanoes and Climate | Milankovitch Cycle | The Sun and Climate | Trace Gases and Climate

Chapter 4: Climate and Ecosystems
Mass Extinction | Daisy World | Anthropocene | Frogs and Lizards | Livestock | Humans

Chapter 5: Zero Net Emissions!
Media | Politics | Climate Action | Refrigerators and Air Conditioners | Women | Walking | Renewable Energy | Climate Justice

References

Weather and climate, ecosystems and the Anthropocene,
From climate justice to climate action
Contains everything about climate change that projects the future of the Earth.

The 9th volume of the Youth Culture Science Series, "A place for heated scientific discussions that leap to a higher level," titled "Teenagers who know a little about climate change: Respond to the climate crisis with the echo of climate justice," has been published.
Dr. Lee Ji-yu, a leading author of popular science books, was in charge of writing and illustrating.
It covers the core content from elementary school curriculum to integrated middle and high school curriculum, but it is written in a smooth and comfortable way that anyone from elementary school students can read and nod along to, allowing them to understand all aspects of weather and climate knowledge at once.
It's like a science webtoon, with cute illustrations that support the content.
Density and comfort are two words that describe this book.
Of course, just because it is easy to read doesn't mean the content it conveys is easy to read.
The Earth is in a state of crisis where the alarm lights have been turned on long ago, to the point where even the term climate change can be taken lightly.
With summers that are hotter, come earlier, and last longer than ever before, and winters that are unusually cold in some years and unusually warm in others, people's concern about climate change and sense of crisis are spreading widely.
Climate change is becoming increasingly difficult to predict, and while this unpredictability is frightening, we haven't yet grasped the magnitude of the threat enough to translate that sense of crisis into action.
As it gets hotter, we turn the air conditioner on higher and run it longer, and as it gets colder and hotter, we spend more time hiding in our cars.
As the heat makes it harder to step outside, we use more disposable products through delivery food and travel more frequently to better vacation spots further afield to enjoy the comfort.
Even elementary school students already know that carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels is the main culprit of global warming, but efforts to reduce carbon dioxide are not as urgent as efforts to find convenience and comfort in our current lives.

This book describes the current crisis situation with a serious attitude.
But what is even more necessary is a scientific approach to current climate change.
We will examine step-by-step what climate is, why it changes, what factors control climate, and how climate affects the entire ecosystem.
But giving up is forbidden.
Even if it is a fire at our feet, we also have a fire extinguisher in our hands to put it out.
Even if it is a small practice, if everyone does it together, everyone's crisis can end with everyone's safety.
The purpose of this book is to find solutions to overcome the climate crisis.
Let's digest various practical methods to achieve zero net emissions!


Become an astronaut and explore climate change on Earth from afar.
This is Earth.
The third planet in our solar system, located on the outskirts of a spiral arm of our galaxy.
A place where the thin atmosphere surrounds the Earth, water covers 70 percent of the surface, and the rest is land.
It is a place where plants, animals, and non-plants and non-animals live in harmony because of the atmosphere and water.
However, recently, humans, who are called the most intelligent life forms on Earth, are burning fossil fuels indiscriminately and releasing carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere, which is causing the Earth's temperature to rise and putting many creatures in danger of extinction.
The book begins with a guide explaining the climate change and crisis situation on Earth to a spaceship carrying 10 intergalactic students on a school trip to Earth.

The reason for the setting is clear.
That in order to face our problems squarely, we must distance ourselves enough to be able to see ourselves objectively.
When telling your own story, you tend to rationalize it, but when you look at it through someone else's eyes, you gain the ability to look at the issue holistically and organically, removing the emotional elements.
But why, when it comes to climate change, do we have to look beyond our own eyes to see what others have to say, even the eyes of astronauts looking at Earth from afar?
That's because the matter is that urgent.
The current state of the Earth has been on red alert for a long time, to say simply 'change'.
We think, “Surely it can’t be just us who live there,” and continue to consume carelessly like yesterday, thinking it’s someone else’s problem, but when we look down at the Earth, we see that it is emitting red heat due to global warming.
The present of all Earthlings in the Earth's circulation system is so unthinkable that it is impossible to pinpoint who is at fault.
If you don't change now, there is no future.
This book was written to tell us what we should do in the era of climate crisis.
However, in order to objectively show the extent of the crisis, we will talk about the climate in general while maintaining a distance.
We will examine how weather, commonly referred to as climate, differs from climate, what the Earth system and climate system are, and how the Earth is divided into climate zones and examined one by one, as well as the various factors that control climate.
It also explains the Anthropocene, the geological epoch in which humans have influenced the Earth, while examining the impact of climate on the entire ecosystem.
It examines the causes of climate change, including carbon dioxide, and synthesizes efforts and practical methods to reduce greenhouse gases, including politics, media, women, lifestyle, mindset, climate justice, and climate action.
You could think of it as a digest dictionary about climate.

The Reality of the Climate Crisis Through the Eyes of Science
What on earth is climate?
Every day, we listen to and watch the weather forecast to decide whether it will rain tomorrow, whether it will be hotter than today, or whether it will be windy, and whether we should bring a coat or umbrella.
Isn't this kind of weather information climate? Simply put, climate is the average of weather data accumulated over 30 years in a single region.
Information about temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind direction, wind speed, and fronts obtained from that area forms the basis of climate.
Although it is difficult to accurately predict tomorrow's weather, it is not difficult to predict the climate of a region.
Because climate is a tendency or trend.
Among the numerous climate classifications that exhibit this tendency, this book introduces the climate classification system created by German climatologist Köppen.
This is because it is the most widely used classification method, based on very simple criteria such as monthly average, annual average temperature, and precipitation.
Let's look at tropical rainforests and savannas as areas that represent trends.
A tropical rainforest located near the equator, composed of lush, green broadleaf trees all year round.
The savannah region, which Serengeti National Park is much more familiar with, is a 'tropical humid dry' region between the rainy tropics and the desert.
This is where drought-tolerant trees grow spaced apart.
The problem, however, is that changes have occurred in areas where climate trends can be clearly identified.
As humans cut down various types of trees that support the rainforest to use them for agricultural purposes, the soil of the rainforest is losing all its nutrients and turning into a barren land where life cannot survive.
The Savannah region is no different.
The savanna is turning into a desert as humans burn even the few scattered trees.
Desertification is also linked to the ugly exposure of the lakebed of the Aral Sea, once called the sea.
Desertification, where areas where trees and land grow turn into deserts.
The recent trend of desertification has become much more severe.
Why? Because humans are cutting down forests and diverting water from the surrounding areas for agricultural purposes, the amount of water is drastically decreasing.
If this trend continues, there will be no water to eat or drink, let alone farming, but people cannot give up farming to secure immediate food.
The vicious cycle continues.
The risk situation in the Han Dae region is not much different.
The permafrost underground in the tundra region, which is said to never melt, is melting, and methane, the main greenhouse gas, is leaking out.
As global warming melts polar ice, it is no longer able to act as a reflector to block sunlight, and as a result, the Earth is caught in a vicious cycle of rising temperatures.
A climate crisis means that the climate, which had certain trends and predictability, has reached a point where it can no longer be predicted.
The cause is the excessive activity of humans that surpasses the speed of nature.
We draw water before it reaches the surface again, and the convenient tools created by scientific and technological advancements continue to burn fossil fuels.
The crisis is accelerating and growing out of control because we cannot immediately see the carbon dioxide and trace gases produced by burning fossil fuels, and because we have a dangerous, complacent hope that if there is a water shortage this year, it will rain again next year.
This book's approach to examining the state of climate change on Earth is meticulous.
We analyze the climate conditions of each region one by one according to the climate zone and examine the factors that control the climate one by one.
After examining various climate-regulating factors such as latitude, land, water, wind, and mountain ranges, we will explore the interrelationships between volcanoes and climate, the sun and climate, and trace gases and climate.
It also does not omit an explanation of the Milankovitch cycle, which is a mathematical synthesis of the Earth's orbit, changes in the Earth's rotation axis, and precession.
This is because without a scientific understanding of the climate system, in which numerous factors, including the atmosphere, water, and ecosystems, are closely interconnected and interact, it is impossible to properly understand climate change and find solutions.
This book focuses on presenting objective evidence on the issue in a systematic and sequential manner, avoiding the mistake of conveying climate change through vague hopes or an excessive sense of crisis.

The climate crisis can be overcome with small, just actions.
Any solution must have a clear philosophy to be successful.
The same goes for overcoming the climate crisis.
In order to come up with specific implementation methods, there must be principles and direction for the solution.
The directions presented in this book are ‘climate justice’ and ‘climate action.’

Climate justice begins with the question, “Is climate change fair to everyone?”
When climate change causes devastating hurricanes like Katrina, who should bear more of the blame?
Among those who have money and those who don't.
Of course, he is a person with money.
They turned on the air conditioner more, and the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by one person from refrigerators, cars, various manufactured goods, and food products, etc., was much greater for wealthy people.
However, the damage is greater for those without money, and when compensation is received, everyone receives the same proportion.
Even when we expand the scope from individuals to countries, the damage caused by climate change is unfortunately being borne by developing countries and the poor.
Compared to developed countries that are well prepared for the damage caused by natural disasters due to climate change, developing countries lack technological preparedness to deal with disasters.
Ultimately, we will inevitably suffer significant damage from natural disasters such as tsunamis and floods caused by climate change.
Although developed countries have emitted more greenhouse gases that have caused climate change, developing countries are bearing the responsibility.

Even in climate issues, inequality exists.
To address inequality, developed countries that have achieved economic growth while emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide need to establish a fund to help developing countries overcome the damage caused by climate change, and the power of international organizations and agreements that govern relations between countries needs to be strengthened.
A climate justice perspective is not only necessary for solving large-scale national problems.
It can also become a principle of action in individual practice.
Taking responsibility for one's own actions is the key to solving the climate problem.
Climate action is the action we take to prevent the climate from reaching a point of uncontrollable crisis.
Climate action, which became known to the world through the one-person protest of Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg's 'Fridays for Future', has become something that many people participate in.
The 2018 ICPP Special Session proposed that carbon dioxide emissions should be reduced to zero by 2015 to prevent runaway global warming.
Efforts to raise awareness and call for action by people around the world continue.
To reduce greenhouse gases, we need to change our lifestyles.
We need to reduce the use of refrigerators and air conditioners, switch to renewable energy sources, walk more, and achieve gender equality.
The book tirelessly guides us through why these things can be solutions.

If today's heat is suffocating you, if you feel like you can't go on living like this, open "Top 10 Things You Should Know About Climate Change."
You will hear logical answers to why and cool answers to how.