Climate Change Impacts and Costs to Illinois Communities
Articles/Websites
Grades6, 7, 8Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Prairie Research Institute
What it is
- This article from the Illinois State Climatologist highlights the significant changes in weather patterns that Illinois has experienced over the past 120 years.
- The consequences of the changes in weather patterns on public health are discussed in detail.
- Costs associated with climate change in Illinois are explored.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This article does a wonderful job of explaining specific examples of how climate change affects public health in Illinois.
- The reader will learn about the potential costs of climate change.
Prerequisites
- Background knowledge on the historically rising temperatures and rainfall patterns in Illinois should be understood.
- Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and other tick-borne illnesses should be discussed to make the correlation to the data displayed in this article with climate change.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Although this is a 6-8 grade resource, it can be utilized with high school as well.
- This article can be used to explore how climate change negatively impacts human health.
- This lesson on tick-borne illnesses and climate change can be used alongside this resource.
- In geography classes, students can compare Illinois data for weather-related disasters and the occurrence of tick-borne illnesses to data from other locations.
From the scientist review
This resource details the impacts of climate change on water resources and public health in Illinois. Numerous peer-reviewed sources are cited, and all figures list primary sources. The text is clear, with important points in bold, and a focus is placed on disproportionate climate change impacts to historically marginalized communities. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Ready to use it?
Hosted on stateclimatologist.web.illinois.edu
Want this to fit your class?
Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.
