
Climate Ambassador Training Modules
Below you will find links to information about climate science, how to effectively communicate with others about climate change, and resources that can deepen your knowledge about actions contained in the Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.
Each week of the training, you will be asked to review the "Required" material for the assigned learning module. This will include short articles to read, videos to watch, recordings to listen to, and/or interactive quizzes and web features. It is designed to be informative but also, hopefully, fun too. You may cover this material at your own pace, reviewing one or two items a day or going through them all at once. It is an important part of your training. This material gives us all a shared base of information to use as a starting point for our weekly conversations.
Each module also contains a list of "Supplemental" material. Although none of this material is required, it is provided so that you can explore the topics that interest you more deeply. Use the supplemental material to personalize your training experience. The links and resources were carefully chosen for being thought-provoking as well as useful, and reflect current conversations happening in the Climate Action community. We are always refining these lists. If you come across material that you think should be included, please feel free to share it with your Climate Ambassador trainer.
Items in bold in both the Required and Supplemental materials were produced locally and focus on Iowa City specifically, so they are a great way to learn more about local actions related to these topics.
Welcome to the Climate Action conversation!

Use these links to jump to any module:
- Module 1: Climate change impacts and equity
- Module 2: Building the climate conversation
- Module 3: Rethinking waste and promoting better use of resources
- Module 4: Plugging in to buildings and energy
- Module 5: Advancing cleaner and healthier forms of transportation
- Module 6: Promoting a sustainable lifestyle for every resident
- Module 7: Building a more resilient community
- Bonus: A little relief when you need it

Module 1: Climate change impacts and equity
Required material
- Read Climate Change Impacts Clearer in Iowa... (web article)
- Watch Patricia Espinosa on Cities and Climate Leadership (15 minutes)
- Take Climate Health Quiz (10 questions)
- Interact NOAA Climate Summary for Iowa (interactive website showing local climate data)
- Read Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (pages 6-20)
Supplemental material
- Read A Hotter, drier future could change how we eat... (web article)
- Read Climate Change is Harming Health and Action on Climate Change is the Solution (2 pages)
- Watch Slaying the Zombies of Climate Science (18 minutes)
- Listen to Presenting: Drilled (37 minutes)
- Interact Climate Explorer Tool (interactive website showing local climate data)
- Watch Midwest Climate Summit (3 videos on different topics, 1 hour each)
- Read Iowa Climate Statement 2020: Will COVID-19 Lessons Help Us Survive Climate Change? (1 page)
- Interact Climate Change Health Impacts Quiz (10 Questions)
- Read Climate in the Heartland Report, Iowa City Section (pages 7-11)
- Read Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing (1 page)
- Read Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), Midwest Impacts (webpage, 69 pages)
- Read Health Impacts of Climate Change (56 pages, mostly images and bullet points)
- Read COVID, Climate, and Health Connections (web article)
- Read NCA4, Climate Change and Human Health (webpage, 33 page PDF)
- Read Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Reports (webpage)

Module 2: Building the climate conversation
Required
- Read Communicating on Climate: 13 Steps and Guidelines (8 pages)
- Interact Climate Opinion Map (information on national, state, and county levels)
- Watch Susan Pacheco's Heal the Planet (3 minutes)
- Read The cash incentives in the climate bill are only good if people actually use them (web article)
Supplemental
- Watch Speaking of... GHG inventories (48 minutes)
- Watch The Biggest Lie About Climate Change (9 minutes)
- Interact Global Warming’s Six Americas (webpage)
- Listen or Read Our Future Is Still in Our Hands (50 minutes, or read transcript on same page)
- Read Connections Between Energy Use and Systemic Racism (web article/infographics)
- Read Climate Change Science Comeback Strategies (web article)
- Listen Humanity’s Temporal Range (23 minutes)
- Listen Two Heartbeats a Minute (1 hour, 8 minutes)
- Listen or Read How to Talk to Kids about Climate Change (23 minutes, or read transcript)
- Interact EPA Carbon Footprint Calculator (webpage)

Module 3: Rethinking waste and promoting better use of resources
Required
- Listen Recycling! Is it BS? (48 minutes)
- Watch The Extraordinary Life and Times of a Strawberry (2 minutes)
- Interact Save the Food (webpage with links)
- Read Curbside Recycling At-Home Sort Guide (2 page infographic)
- Read Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, “Taking Action: Waste” (pages 43-48)
Supplemental
- Watch Plastic Wars (53 minutes, especially last 15 minutes)
- Watch Speaking of... Greenwashing (1 hour)
- Read When Does Recycling Your Plastic Make Sense (web article)
- Read Half of All Plastics Were Made in the Last 13 Years (web article)
- Read War on Plastic is Distracting from More Urgent Threats (web article)
- Interact Iowa City Reduction and Reuse Page (webpage)
- Interact Iowa City Recycling Page (webpage)
- Watch Waste Characterization Study (6 minutes)
- Listen Iowa City Matters podcast, “Trash Talk” (38 minutes)
- Read No One Wants Your Used Clothes Anymore (web article)
- Listen National Sword (47 minutes)
- Watch Iowa City How to Use Curbside Collection (3 minutes)
- Watch Iowa City Glass Recycling (2 minutes)
- Read EPA Compost Factsheet (1 page)
- Watch At-Home Composting Video from Earth Day (4 minutes)
- Read Backyard Composting Guide (2 page flier)
- Listen Nothing Wasted (multiple podcast episodes to choose from)

Module 4: Plugging into buildings & energy
Required
- Listen City of the Future: Affordable Electrification (first 15 minutes/24 minutes, or read transcript on the same page)
- Watch Energy Efficiency: Our Best Source of Clean Energy (2 minutes)
- Watch LEED Platinum Home in Iowa City (6 minutes)
- Read/Watch DIY Home Weatherization Tip Sheet (Sheet with links to videos)
- Read Checklist: How to take advantage of brand-new clean energy tax credits (web article)
- Read Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, “Taking Action: Buildings,” pages 28-34
Supplemental
- Read Iowa City Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2 PDFs, 37 pages and 39 pages)
- Watch Speaking of... Summer Energy Use (30 minutes)
- Read About the Home Energy Score (webpage with links)
- Listen How We Got our Grid and How We Get a Better One (37 minutes)
- Read Go electric! Rewiring America's Guide to the Inflation Reduction Act (PDF, 34 pages)
- Read Indoor Air Quality and Electrification (web article)
- Read New Research Points to Urban Indoor Methane Leaks (web article)
- Read How the Fossil Fuel Industry Convinced Americans to Love Gas Stoves (web article)
- Read U.S. DOE Energy-Efficient Home Design (webpage)
- Interact What makes a LEED home so green? (5 questions)
- Read Is Renewable Gas a Serious Alternative to Electrify Everything? (web article)
- Listen Iowa City Matters podcast, “Housing Rehabilitation”
- Watch Zero Carbon Home: Four Cost Effective Interventions (1 hour, 12 minutes)

Module 5: Advancing cleaner and healthier forms of transportation
Required
- Interact Alternative Fuels Data Center Vehicle Cost Calculator (webpage)
- Watch How Clean Are Electric Cars? (2 minutes)
- Listen Missing the Bus (40 minutes, or read transcript on same page)
- Read Why Celebrate the Bike? (webpage)
- Watch What Makes Walkable Cities? (3 minutes)
- Watch Let Someone Else Drive (commercial, 2 minutes)
- Read Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, “Taking Action: Transportation,” pages 36-48
Supplemental
- Watch Speaking of... Electric Vehicles (1 hour)
- Read Iowa City's New Electric Buses Quietly Creating a Paradigm Shift in Transit (article)
- Watch Rolling Out Transit Changes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
- Read Complete Streets Fundamentals (website with links)
- Read Complete Streets Mean Equitable Streets (4 pages)
- Watch Great Biking Makes Great Cities (3 minutes)
- Listen Iowa City Matters Cycling in Iowa City (37 minutes)
- Watch Living with an EV (5 minutes)
- Read Electric Vehicles Save Consumers Money (fact sheet)
- Watch EV Rider in Eastern Iowa/EV 101 (multiple videos, 3 minutes each)
- Read Used Growing EV Adoption: The Solution Already on the Road (web article)
- Listen Are Electric Cars Really Better for the Planet? (1 hour 12 minutes, or read transcript)
- Interact Why Go Plug In? (webpage with links)
- Interact EPA Green Vehicle Guide (webpage with links)
- Read A Low Cost Way to Improve Transit: Add Joy (web article)
- Watch Walking and Walkability in the Age of COVID (1 hour 12 minutes)
- Read Physical Activity Can Be Helpful in the Coronavirus Pandemic (webpage)
- Watch What if Everything Ran on Gas? (commercial, 1 minute)
- Watch Active Transportation Alliance Pop-Up Demonstration Projects (webpage with video links)

Module 6: Promoting a sustainable lifestyle that works for every resident
Required
- Listen Is Your Carbon Footprint BS? (45 minutes)
- Interact CoolClimate Calculator (15 minutes)
- Read Climate Change Action Requires Change In How We Live (web article)
- Watch I'm Just One Person, What Can I Do? (7 minutes)
- Read Fix to Food Climate Problem Doesn't Require Veganism (web article)
- Read Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, “Taking Action: Sustainable Lifestyle,” pages 56-60, and “Call to Action,” pages 62-63
Supplemental
- Interact Iowa City and Climate (Quiz created by a Climate Ambassador! 10 Questions)
- Watch Speaking of... Local Foods (1 hour)
- Read/Interact How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint (webpage with links)
- Interact Climate Change Solutions Quiz (8 questions)
- Interact Climate Choices Mini-Quiz (4 questions)
- Interact Climate Change Champion Quiz (15 questions)
- Read How You Can Stop Global Warming (webpage with links)
- Read Can YOU Really Impact Climate Change? (webpage)
- Read What Can I Realistically Do About Climate Change (webpage with links)
- Read The Lazy Person's Guide to Saving the World (webpage)
- Interact Environmental Education Resources (webpage)
- Read How to Stop Freaking Out and Tackle Climate Change (web article)
- Read Iowa City Climate Action Toolkit (22 pages)
- Read UI Leaders Reflect on 2020 Goals (web article)

Module 7: Building a more resilient community able to adapt to climate stresses
Required
- Listen Unnatural Disasters (42 minutes)
- Read Build A Kit (web article)
- Watch Designing Buildings and Communities for Iowa’s Future Climate (6 minutes)
- Watch The Iowa Watershed Approach: A Vision for a More Resilient Landscape (1 minute)
- Interact Sycamore Greenspace Trail (story map)
- Read Iowa City Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, “Taking Action: Adaptation,” pages 50-54
Supplemental
- Listen We Broke the Planet. Now What? (52 minutes)
- Listen How to Save a Planet: Black Lives Matter and the Climate (47 minutes)
- Read Climate Change Increases Renters' Risks (web article)
- Read Climate Disruption is Now Locked In, the Next Moves Will Be Crucial (web article)
- Watch What is Environmental Justice? (3 minutes)
- Read Climate Change and Health Equity (6 pages)
- Read How To Feed Your Family in a Power Outage (web article)
- Read How to Pack an Emergency Essentials Kit (web article)
- Read Climate Change and Inequality Led to This City’s Demise. What Can We Learn Looking Back? (Blog entry)
- Read Climate Change Adaptation and the National Parks (web article)
- Watch Prairie Establishments at Iowa City Parks Offer Many Benefits (12 minutes)
- Read Flood Factor Environmental Changes (webpage)
- Listen 20 Million Trees (38 minutes, particularly final 5 minutes)
- Read Five Ways to Future Proof a Building (web article)
- Interact Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (webpage with links)
- Explore Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (webpage with links)
- Read Mitigation and Adaptation (webpage)
- Read Strategies for Climate Change Adaptation (webpage with links)
- Watch Toxic Neighbors: Taking Action to Solve the Climate Crisis (8 minutes)
- Read What if We Stopped Pretending? (web article)
- Watch Turning Soil into Sponges (3 minutes)
- Watch Dr. Robert Bullard, Environmental Justice (18 minutes)
- Listen Nature, Joy, and Human Becoming (51 minutes)
- Read Ecosystem Services (webpage)
- Watch The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative (58 minutes)

Bonus: A Little Relief When You Need It
- Interact 51 Reasons to Stay Engaged (webpage with links)
- Read Tips for Trying Times: 45 Thoughts That Can Help
- Read Where to Find Upbeat News About Climate Change
- Read Nine Reasons to Have Climate Hope in 2020
- Read Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance from the American Psychological Association (pages 39-54)