Professor
Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action
What You'll Learn
- Identify individual, community, and political actions you can engage in to effectively address and respond to climate change.
- Describe how insights from the social sciences can be employed to create change at the individual, community, and political levels.
- Feel empowered to continue to influence how you, your community, and political leaders address and respond to climate change.
7 Modules
21 Hours
3 hrs per module (approx.)
Rating
About Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action
Are you concerned about climate change? Would you like to learn how to address and respond to this challenge? If so, this course is for you.
Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action is intended to help learners understand, address and respond to climate change as individuals and in partnership with their communities and political leaders. The course focuses on how to translate learning into action on climate change in the areas of food, energy, transportation and the built environment (cities). This course was co-developed and taught by Michaela Zint, Professor of Environmental Education and Communication, and University of Michigan Students. A range of academic climate change experts and professional leaders are featured.
As a result of completing this course, you will be able to:
1) Identify individual, community, and political actions you can engage in to effectively address and respond to climate change.
2) Describe how insights from the social sciences can be employed to create change at the individual, community, and political levels.
3) Feel empowered to continue to influence how you, your community, and political leaders address and respond to climate change.
Use #UMichActonClimate on social media to share what you're doing and connect with other learners.
Skills You'll Gain
- Social Justice
- Sustainability Initiatives
What You'll Earn
- Certificate of Completion:
- Certificates of completion acknowledge knowledge acquired upon completion of a non-credit course or program.
Welcome Message
Welcome to Act on Climate, a course that empowers learners to translate knowledge about climate change into meaningful individual, community, and political action. Grounded in social science perspectives, this course explores how values, systems, and collective action shape climate responses. You will develop practical strategies to engage with climate challenges across everyday life and civic contexts.
This abbreviated syllabus description was created with the help of AI tools and reviewed by staff. The full syllabus is available to those who enroll in the course.
Course Schedule
Modules 1: Introduction
- Reading: Course Overview
- Video: Welcome to the course
- Reading: Welcome to Act on Climate
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - Introduce yourself
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Help us learn more about you!
- Reading: Climate science and policy
- Reading: Optional resources
- Video: Meet Dahlia
- Reading: Climate mitigation and adaptation
- Video: Meet the expert - Dr. Rosina Bierbaum
- Reading: Video references and optional resources
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Action types
- Reading: Co-benefits and climate justice
- Reading: Looking ahead
- Reading: Take action to ensure your future success
- Reading: Doing our part
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Quiz: Assessment of actions
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - What actions did you take?
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Assessment of actions
Module 2: Food
- Video: Meet Chris
- Reading: Food and climate change
- Video: Meet the Expert: Dr. Sara Soderstrom
- Reading: Video references
- Reading: Case Study
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - Social Movements
- Reading: Looking ahead
- Reading: Anna’s story
- Reading: Option 1: Eat less red meat
- Reading: Option 2: Reduce food waste
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Brandon’s story
- Reading: Engage with your community about food
- Reading: Nolan’s story
- Reading: Influence decision making
- Reading: Alison’s story
- Reading: Participate in farmer-to-consumer programs
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Quiz: Assessment of actions
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - What actions did you take?
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Assessment of actions
Module 3: Energy
- Reflection Activities – Discussion Prompts
- Assessment of Overall Actions – Graded Assignment
Module 7
- Video: Meet Benjamin
- Video: Meet the expert - Dr. Kaitlin Raimi
- Reading: Case study
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - What would a climate action plan look like in your community?
- Reading: Looking ahead
- Reading: Stephanie’s story
- Reading: Energy consumption
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - Other tools for tracking energy use
- Reading: Alison’s story
- Reading: Attend a community meeting about alternative energy
- Reading: Yousef’s story
- Reading: Promote divestment from fossil fuels
- Reading: Stephanie’s story
- Reading: Prepare for climate-related emergencies
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Quiz: Assessment of actions
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - What actions did you take?
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Assessment of actions
Module 4: Transportation
- Video: Meet Stephanie
- Reading: Video references and optional resources
- Video: Meet the expert - Brandon Schoettle
- Reading: Video references
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - Reflection on Brandon's interview
- Reading: Case study
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - The tricky issue of ride-hailing and carpooling
- Reading: Looking ahead
- Reading: Anne Marie’s story
- Reading: Reduce emissions from transportation
- Reading: Haley’s story
- Reading: Join or organize a community bike event
- Reading: Derell’s story
- Reading: Interacting with your transit authority
- Reading: Encourage resilient transportation
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Quiz: Assessment of actions
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - What actions did you take?
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Assessment of actions
Module 5: Built Environment
- Video: Meet Haley
- Reading: Why the built environment is important
- Video: Meet the expert - Doug Kelbaugh
- Reading: Case study
- Reading: Lessons from Geraldton - Interview with Janette Hartz-Karp
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Looking ahead
- Reading: The breakdown on New Urbanism
- Reading: Explore your city with New Urbanism
- Reading: Melanie’s story
- Reading: Participate in a resource sharing program
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - Community resources
- Reading: Chris’s story
- Reading: Contact local government about using democratic reform
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - Deliberative democracy and participatory budgeting near you
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Plant a tree
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Quiz: Assessment of actions
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - What actions did you take?
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Assessment of actions
Module 6: Climate Action Plan
- Video: Meet Priscila
- Reading: Introduction to Climate Action Plans
- Reading: Case study
- Video: Meet the expert - Dr. Jennifer Hirsch
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Bringing it home - Community Climate Action Plan
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - Apply the asset-based approach to your community
- Reading: Introduction to Personal Climate Action Plan Assignment
- Reading: Assignment overview
- Reading: Build your Personal Climate Action Plan
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Peer review
Module 7: Conclusion
- Video: Meet Sachi
- Reading: Introduction
- Video: Meet the expert - Dr. Raymond De Young
- Reading: Optional resources
- Reading: Improving community engagement
- Reading: Optional resources: Climate-related films
- Reading: Run for office
- Reading: Optional resources
- Video: Meet the expert - State Representative Yousef Rabhi
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - Activism through art
- Video: Meet the expert - Mayor Amanda Edmonds
- Reading: Discussion Prompt - Reflection survey
- Video: Dr. Michaela Zint concludes the course
- Reading: Acknowledgments
- Reading: Post-Course Survey
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Check your understanding
- Graded: Assessment of overall actions
Grading Policy
Learners must earn 80% overall to pass. Quizzes are worth 60% of your final grade, and the Climate Action Assignment is worth 40%.
Course content developed by U-M faculty and managed by the university. Faculty titles and affiliations are updated periodically.
Beginner Level
No prior experience required
