Dr. LuAnne Thompson, UW Oceanography
Exploring Issues of Coastal Climate Justice Through Haikus
This lesson was originally taught as part of OCEAN 320: Coastal Oceanography. By incorporating climate science, media literacy, and communication skills, the environmental justice issues associated with anthropogenic change and coastlines are highlighted in an educational and engaging way.
Overview
- Climate Justice Issue: This course explores the unique and disparate impacts of climate change on coastal environments, with particular emphasis on vulnerable regions and ecosystems.
- Target Audience: University-level undergraduates
- Lesson Length: 2 class periods
- Learning objectives:
- Develop an understanding of the impacts of climate change on key aspects of coastal oceanography
- Communicate their ideas precisely in both oral and written format
- Translate those ideas for a general audience
- Topic Overview: Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its impacts are often felt more heavily in specific places. Coastlines are an example of such a region, as the unique processes, ecosystems, and communities, as well as the confluence of multiple climate change-driven threats, produce many unique threats to environmental justice. These threats come from the degradation of unique ecosystems that support reliant communities, including the destruction of tidal marshes, wetlands, and mangrove forests, the erosion of the Arctic, or damage caused by marine heatwaves. When these vital areas are endangered, certain people are unfairly impacted, whether through increased impact of disasters, loss of key aspects of economic stability or cultural heritage, or forced relocation due to rising environmental hazards.
- Chapter Components:
- Lesson Overview
- Instructor Guide
- Lesson Plan
- Also available as a PDF
- Attribution
Instructor Guide
Instructor Notes
- This assignment was written for a class of 24 and was assigned in week 9 of a 10 week quarter.
- The course is called Coastal Oceanography and is for Oceanography Majors. The class met on MWF for an hour.
- Part 1 of the activity was due on Wednesday evening of week 10, and Part 2 was an in-class Haiku activity done on Friday of the same week.
Lesson Plan
Part 1: Critique of News Article
Writing Assignment: Coastal Oceanography and Climate Change (46 pts)
This assignment will prepare you for an in class small group discussion on the impacts of climate change on the coastal zone. I will assign you to one of 8 groups, with each group reading a different article on one of the following topics in the context of climate change:
- Mangroves
- Marine Heatwaves in the coastal zone
- Climate Change and erosion in the Arctic
- Wetlands
You will summarize the article that you are assigned as follows:
- Explain how is this article is related to a topic discussed in class. Be as specific as you can. Was there a lab question or class lecture that is related to this topic? How is it related? (12 pts)
- What quantitative aspect of the course is related to your article? Give an example calculation to estimate one quantitative aspect of the article using an equation from one of the labs or lectures. Write a short paragraph describing the implications of your calculation. This could be a comparison of the topic discussed in the article and a related topic discussed in class, an estimate of how big the effect might be, or an extrapolation of a magnitude or rate into the future, given realistic parameters.
(Note: You will probably have to estimate values for some of the variables in your equation. If you’re having trouble determining a realistic estimation for a variable, ask for help from one of the course instructors. Justify any estimations you make in the write up). 8 pts for the calculation
6 pts for the explanation and connection to class material - Discuss how what is discussed in the article is important for people in the region of focus. You can also discuss the relevance for ecosystems and/or the economy. Be specific. What population of people are potentially impacted? Are these people particularly vulnerable? Are there solutions offered? How realistic are the solutions (10 pts)
- Writing skill including Grammar and clarity (10 pts)
Article reading Assignments
These articles are chosen from mainstream media (NY Times, Washington post) or scientific sources that are written for general audiences (i.e. EOS from the American Geophysical Union). Each person is assigned one article to read and summarize.
- Arctic and Sea Ice:
- Tidal Marshes and wetlands:
- Mangroves:
- Marine heatwaves:
Part 2: Climate Change in the Coastal Zone Haiku Summaries (10 pts for submitted one or more Haiku’s in the assignment)
- Divide into four topical groups of 6 students each to synthesize the information in the news articles that you analyzed by composing haikus. This exercise is based on the summary of a IPCC Working Group I report by Greg Johnson in 2013.
- First, read these Haiku’s that can be found at
- Use the haiku form of haiku three lines, five syllables in the first line, seven in the second line and 5 in the third line.
- Include reference to people and climate change in some way in at least one of the haiku’s from your group.
- Students may submit a group of linked haikus.
- Haikus will be submitted on Canvas and a shared Google Doc, and may be shared with the class and the broader community.
Attribution: Thompson, L. “Exploring Issues of Coastal Climate Justice Through Haikus”. Climate Justice in Your Classroom, edited by Bertram, Brooks, and Olson, 2021. https://uw.pressbooks.pub/climatejustice/chapter/exploring-issues-of-coastal-climate-justice-through-haikus/ Date of Access.
