Script to accompany Powerpoint Presentation
Calling all Planet Earth Power Kids.
Save energy. Save the world.
Slide 1 (kids)
Who here is good at solving problems?
That’s good. I hope you’ve brought your thinking caps today - because I need your help
to fix a big problem.
Slide 2 (sick kid)
How do you feel when you have a temperature?
Having a temperature can be a sign you are sick.
You might have to take some medicine.
You might have to make some changes to your day to get better – like resting instead of
running around.
Even staying in bed and not going to school for a day!
Someone might have to look after you so you can get better.
Slide 3 (sick earth)
The earth has a temperature too.
Scientists can take the earth’s temperature. They measure the temperature of the water in
the ocean and the air.
They can work out if the earth’s temperature is changing by looking for a pattern –
changes that are happening over a long time.
Just like when we’re sick, scientists have discovered our planet has a temperature too.
It’s getting warmer.
Just like when we’re sick, our planet’s temperature is telling us there’s something wrong.
Our planet needs people to look after it so it can get better too.
And we need to make some changes to the things we do each day to help it get better.
When we’re sick our mums or dads or family or people who love us help us get better.
Now it’s our turn. We need to help Planet Earth get better.
Slide 4 (Surfer)
Did you know that the ‘Globe’ is another name for our earth?
Because the globe - the planet earth - is slowly getting warmer, we call it ‘Global
Warming’.
You might hear people talk about ‘Climate Change’ too, because as the planet gets
warmer, our climate is changing too.
Places that used to be cold are getting warmer. Places that are warm are getting hotter.
Maybe we should call it ‘Global Warning’ instead of ‘Global Warming’– because it’s
telling us something is wrong.
Slide 5 (?)
So the earth is getting warmer.
So what?
Does it matter? Should we care?
Or does a warmer planet sound good to you?
People that live in cold places will have warmer weather. They might like that.
Maybe we could all go to the beach and swim in winter!
That would be nice.
Slide 6 (ocean, air, water etc)
Or would it?
Even a small increase in temperature over time can make big changes to our climate.
Things we need to live might change – like the ocean, the places where we plant crops to
grow food, the air we breathe, and the water we drink.
Slide 7 (?)
What might happen?
Slide 8 (Floods/ Drought)
If we don’t do anything to stop Global Warming, these are some of the things some
scientists think could happen over the next 100 years.
The level of the sea could rise by almost a metre. Glaciers – huge mountains of ice –
might melt. Water takes up more space than ice – so all that extra water in the ocean
would make the sea get higher.
It would be like pouring extra water into a swimming pool that is already full. The extra
water will overflow.
That could cause floods in coastal places – where the land meets the ocean, like beaches.
The sand and grass and plants at the beach could get covered and washed away. That's
called erosion.
Small islands in the middle of the ocean might totally disappear because the higher water
will cover them.
Even buildings along the coast could end up getting flooded.
The salt water that flows further inland could hurt plants and animals that live near the
coast. Salt is bad for a lot of plants and animals that aren’t used to it. They need fresh
water.
Fish and animals that live in warm or cold water might not survive if the water gets too
hot.
So some people will have too much water because of floods….
And others won’t have enough water because of droughts.
There might be less rain in dry parts of the world.
Plants and animals that need a cold or cool or warm place to live might not survive if it
gets too hot for them.
Lots of people might not have enough to eat. If there’s not enough rain, they won’t be
able to grow the food they need.
They might not be able to get the water they need for drinking, cooking, washing and
growing crops for food.
Many of the countries that would have the biggest problems are already very poor and
already have problems with drought and not enough food.
There might be less rainforests – and less trees.
We need trees because they take carbon dioxide out of the air.
Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas.
We’ll find out a bit more about greenhouse gases in a moment.
Slide 9 (?)
So what’s making the earth get warmer?
Slide 10 (earth in agreenhouse)
Global warming is caused by the “greenhouse effect”.
It’s what keeps our planet at a nice comfortable temperature.
We’re lucky our planet earth is the right temperature for us to live on.
The warm air from the sun gets trapped by the atmosphere – that's the layer of air around
the earth.
What happens when you get into a car that has been parked in the sun? It’s a lot hotter
inside the car than outside. Your seat might feel hot. And the metal on your seatbelt
buckle might feel really hot.
Why is it so much hotter inside the car? It’s because the sunlight gets in and the hot air
gets trapped inside. It can’t get out through the glass. That’s an example of a greenhouse
effect.
Another example is a glass house, or greenhouse. That’s a glass building where some
plants grow. The sunlight gets in, but the heat gets trapped inside.
The same thing happens to the earth.
The air is made up of invisible gases called greenhouse gases.
It’s like an invisible blanket that keeps us warm.
It’s all been in balance. We’ve had the right amount of greenhouse gases to keep the
planet just the right temperature for a long time.
But that’s slowly changing…
The problem is, we’re now making too much warm air.
People have been doing things that make too many greenhouse gases – especially carbon
dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. And the heat it traps is making the earth warmer.
Slide 11 (cars and power plant)
How do we make greenhouse gases?
Big power plants burn coal and oil to make electricity.
Burning coal and oil produces greenhouse gases
When we burn fuels like coal and oil, we make greenhouse gases.
Cars that use petrol and diesel fuel make greenhouse gases too.
The rubbish we put in the bin ends up in a big garbage dump as ‘landfill’ – we call it that
because it fills up a lot of space on our land.
When the rubbish breaks down, it makes another greenhouse gas (called methane).
In the last 100 years, people have been making lots more greenhouse gases than ever
before.
That’s because the way we live has changed.
100 years ago people used horses. Now we use cars.
And in the olden days there weren’t many power stations burning coal to make
electricity.
Now we use a lot of energy like electricity.
Just like your food gives you energy and power to do things like play and do sport and
work hard at school, we use electricity for energy and power too.
We use electricity every day – more than ever before - so we are making more
greenhouse gases. And they are trapping more heat. So the earth is getting warmer.
Slide 12 (?)
What about you? Do you think you make greenhouse gases?
Yes you do. We all do.
Slide 13 (many pics)
You send greenhouse gases into the air whenever you:
 Watch TV
 Turn on a light
 Ride in a car
 Play a video game
 Use a dishwasher
 Cook in the oven or microwave
 Use a hair dryer
 Wash or dry clothes in a machine.
 Turn on the air conditioner
It’s not wrong to do those things – we just have to be smart about how we do it.
We should try and use less energy like electricity whenever we can.
Slide 14 (
We can all make smart choices to help reduce greenhouse gases and global warming.
We’ve all got the power to make a big difference by doing a few little things.
Every little bit helps.
Little things can make a big difference.
Slide 15 & 16 (many pics)
You can make a difference in lots of little ways.
At home you can…
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Turn off lights when you don’t need them – even if you’re only leaving the room
for a few minutes. We can do that at school too.
Use energy saving light bulbs – they save a lot of electricity.
Switch off TVs and computers when you’re not using them.
If you feel cold – put on a jumper instead of turning on the heater.
Let food cool down before putting it in the freezer.
Make sure the fridge and freezer doors are closed and sealed properly.
When your family uses the kettle, just boil the amount of water you need – don’t
fill it up if you are not going to use all the water you boil.
Short showers use less water and energy than a bath.
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Electricity is used to ‘clean’ our water. So fix dripping, leaky taps and turn the tap
off while you clean your teeth.
Make sure the washing machine and dishwasher is full before you do a load – and
wash your clothes in cold water.
Don’t use the clothes dryer – Help hang the washing on the clothes line instead.
Ask your parents to choose appliances that use the least electricity.
Check the ‘Star’ energy rating before you buy appliances – the more stars the
better.
You can ‘Grow Green’ – Plant and protect trees and shrubs. They take carbon
dioxide – the main greenhouse gas - from the air.
Recycle bottles, cans, paper and plastics – don’t let them end up as landfill and
greenhouse gases. Buy things that can be recycled. We can do that at school too.
Try and use both sides of a piece of paper. And recycle it when you’re finished
with it.
Slide 17 (bike, walk, Car)
You can make a difference when you’re on the move too.
The best way to cut the amount of carbon dioxide made by cars is to cut the number of
car trips we make.
Walk or ride your bike whenever you can – especially for short trips.
Use public transport – catch a train, bus or ferry.
Slide 18 (solar, wind, light globe)
What else can people do?
People are trying to find and use new sources of energy to make electricity that don’t
need coal and oil.
There’s:
 Solar power from the sun.
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Wind farms that make energy from wind.
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New cars that don’t use as much – or any - petrol.
Slide 19
We’ve all been making our planet a bit sick.
We’ve given it a temperature.
We need to help it get better.
We all have the power to save energy.
Kids can save energy too.
What are you going to do to save energy today?
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