Open Air

Open University attending COP15

November 9th, 2009 Posted by: lukebeaman

The Open University (OU) is attending COP15, The United Nations Climate Change Conference which takes place from 7 to 18 December this year.

COP15 provides an opportunity to create and realise a new global contract to reduce emissions, replacing the Kyoto protocol which is due to expire in 2012. Notable absences from the Kyoto protocol were Australia and the US, which it is hoped will change now that Barack Obama is in power.

The OU communications teams will be co-ordinating to widely cover the event via video and audio, online and print, reporting via numerous channels such as Twitter, Platform (more specifically here), Facebook, iTunes U, YouTube and OpenLearn.

OpenLearn content will be two-fold – there will be content in the LearningSpace to complement the units already available (see below) as well as new material in the LabSpace, which can be freely remixed and repurposed (in adherence to the Creative Commons license). LabSpace allows collaboration on topics, one major new project to create a space there being LLCC.

LLCC (Learning to Live with Climate Change) is a joint strategic collaboration between the Environment Agency of England and Wales and the OU. The project aims to support the development of new collaborative networks and practices required to move to a low-carbon and climate-adapted economy and society.

LabSpace also has a collaborative space for the 10:10 Climate Change Campaign which is led by a coalition that includes the Guardian, NGOs to major companies, leading political figures, and the Carbon Trust.

List of OpenLearn units related to climate change:

Climate change
Climate change is a key issue on today’s social and political agenda. This unit explores the basic science that underpins climate change and global warming.

Climate change: island life in a volatile world
What impact will global warming really have? This unit examines the potential problems faced by the people of the Pacific Island of Tuvalu as a result of rising sea levels. Where would you go if your island is only a few feet above sea level? Who would you blame?

Global warming
This unit provides an introduction to global warming. We will be considering the history of global warming by looking at the pattern of ice ages and analyisis of recorded temperatures. We will aim to gather meaningful information from this data. We will briefly assess the impact and influence of humans on global warming and, finally, we will examine climate models and how to predict future changes.

Managing coastal environments
Coastal environments are by their nature ever-changing. This unit looks at the example of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England, describing how the current state of the estuary came to be. It examines the contests and conflicts that centre on the estuary in terms of managing the environment for human needs and the needs of the other species who make their habitat there.

Water and human health
Water is a natural resource that is vital for human survival and health, although only a tiny fraction of the Earth’s supply is available to humans and terrestrial animals. In this unit we look at threats, such as pollution, to water’s capacity to support life around the world.

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