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Climate change has become a difficult concept for the general public to imagine, with an array of scenarios each affecting the world differently. The federal government, nonprofit groups and individuals have come up with visualization tools to help the public better understand the impacts that climate change may have not only on the world, but also at the local level.

"Plans, tools and information  to help you build renewable energy andconservation projects. Hundreds of projects -- from changing a light bulb to building a solar homes. Design information and tools  for building renewable energy projects. An Experimental section for backyard inventors. Nothing For Sale here -- just free ideas, plans, and information."

"This free tool has been developed to help you quickly and easily monitor key areas of your business using a "triple bottom line" (economic, social, environmental) approach. Many businesses are adopting this approach because it provides a holistic assessment of business impacts. It is designed to compliment rather than replace conventional financial reporting to help you better understand and manage your business."

"The Swinburne Centre for Sustainability has developed an online software tool to allow small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to conduct a sustainability self-assessment of their operations. In addition to generating 'triple bottom line' reports for business, the tool provides practical information and resources to encourage SMEs to pursue immediate and realistic strategies to move towards sustainability"

Think Brick Australia is proud to present a new tool that makes designing for climate extremely practical and accessible: The Climate Design wizard. It is designed to use localised data from a number of key locations around the country including Geelong

"Fast, efficient and individualistic, the bicycle is no ordinary mode of transport. It's a church, a gym, a community creator, a cash printer, a protest placard, a dopamine generator, a mechanical expression of self-determination, an icon of hope. It is touchable, attainable freedom. It is also a tool for nature conservation and one that the City of Cape Town-indeed, any city-stands to benefit from."

Today the possibilities with pallets are endless, and the materials are often free. If you've got access to pallet wood and basic power tools (and the skills to use them), this project shouldn't take longer than an afternoon."

Check out this PDF from the UK's Agency of Design, entitled Designing with Energy. It provides real learning tools and perspectives that I suspect students would find engaging. It asks, and addresses, questions about our energy lives that we don't even know to ask, like do you know how much energy went into making the chair you're sitting on? The authors of this publication look to improvements in design and manufacturing to reduce the amount of energy embedded in our stuff.

"The Climate Reality Project, the organization Al Gore founded, released its latest Internet activism tool Thursday, Reality Drop. The new site is a gamified experience that rewards users for "dropping" facts about climate change into different online forums and comment fields on hot articles."

"Eniscope is an Energy Saving device that can help you save 20 to 30% off your monthly energy bill. A Smart Energy Meter, Sub-meter or Watt-meter. The Eniscope is a powerful Energy Saving tool that reveals what equipment is using your power and when it is being used"

"Carbon Visuals is dedicated to helping everyone on the planet make more sense of the invisible. Images, films, animations and interactive web tools provide a fresh and visual communications approach."

"Green Cross Australia helps people adapt to our changing climate, in ways that embrace sustainability and community resilience. We are motivated by our understanding of a resource-constrained, warming planet and our belief that this challenge presents opportunities for a bright future. Our mantra, Think + Act + Share = Change, is key to every project we deliver. We believe the power of our projects is empowering Australians to take practical, informed action. So we don't just focus on awareness, we encourage people to take action, and then give them the tools via social and digital media to share their actions with their friends."

"The 'Pathways to Deep Decarbonisation in 2050: How Australia can prosper in a low carbon world' report, released 23 September 2014, presents an illustrative deep decarbonisation pathway for Australia - just one of many possible pathways - developed using a combination of well-established modelling tools to identify feasible and least-cost options.  This work finds that Australia can achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and live within its recommended carbon budget, using technologies that exist today, while maintaining economic prosperity. Major technological transitions are needed in some industries and many activities, but no fundamental change to Australia's economy is required. The technologies required for decarbonisation are currently available or under development. The analysis shows that deep decarbonisation requires neither substantial lifestyle changes nor large changes in Australia's economic structure."

The Climate Reality Project, founded and chaired by former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore, is dedicated to unleashing a global cultural movement demanding action on the climate crisis. Despite overwhelming international scientific consensus on climate change, the global community still lacks the resolve to implement meaningful solutions. The Climate Reality Project exists to forge an unwavering bedrock of impassioned support necessary for urgent action. With that foundation, together we will ignite the moral courage in our leaders to solve the climate crisis. The Climate Reality Project employs cutting-edge communications and grassroots engagement tools to break the dam of inaction and raise the profile of the climate crisis to its proper state of urgency. With a global movement more than 5 million strong and a grassroots network of Climate Leaders trained by Chairman Al Gore, we stand up to denial, press for solutions, and spread the truth about climate change to empower our leaders to solve the climate crisis.

"Climate change in Australia provides essential tools for government, industry and the community to understand the likely magnitude of climate change in Australia and the possible impacts." It studies Temperature, Rainfall, Humidity, Sea surface Temperature, Wind speed, Potential evapotranspiration, Downward solar radiation

"Bringing together technologists and environmental professionals to collaboratively build awesome tools to understand, protect, and revive the natural world."

Climate Commons is a map-based interactive platform that contains layers of news and information on climate change in the US. It is designed to provide academics, policymakers, journalists, and the general public with the latest data and stories on the causes and impacts of, and responses to climate change across the country. The map combines the most recently available data on climate change indicators, such as temperature, precipitation, and emissions, with the latest, geo-tagged stories on climate change in the United States. By providing users with the ability to compare recent data and media coverage on a local, regional, and national level, Climate Commons aims to inform Americans about the impacts of and responses to climate change in their own towns, regions and states. It also serves as a tool for better analyzing the perception and realities of climate change across the US.

"This online course will emphasise a multitude of ways to enrich your teaching programs using the theme of sustainability. As a cross-curriculum priority of the Australian Curriculum, you will learn practical and creative ways to make sustainability come alive in your classroom. Busy teachers will find this course incredibly valuable, as you will be provided with a complete Education for Sustainability (EfS) 'getting started toolkit'. You will gain a: * A clear definition of what EfS is and why it is important to integrate it into teaching practices * Guidance on how and where it can be integrated into your classroom using the Australian Curriculum * Examples of best practice from leading schools and other inspirational teaching ideas * Strategies in overcoming barriers and enabling staff and students * Hundreds of FREE to access, high quality ready-made classroom lessons and hands-on activities that can be used by all teachers within your school. Get a head-start on 2015 and enrich your curriculum today!"