Visual Aids

Tape measure or yardstick

Trail cards of Florida panther, coral
reef, American alligator from the
Climate Change, Wildlife, and
Wild lands tool kit

Flash card, South Florida's
Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise, printed
out from the CD-ROM and laminated
for durability, if desired

X

Global warming wheel card supplied
with Climate Change, Wildlife, and
Wild lands tool kit

Everglades National Park: Shark Valley
tram tour or observation tower, Royal Palm
Visitor Center trails, Pa-hay-okee Overlook,
or any other site in or near Shark River
Slough or Taylor Slough.This talk can be
easily modified to be given in any coastal
area of south Florida and also can be
modified for classroom use.

Pintail duck



Trail Talk

photo by Peter LaTourette

PRO^e°

This outline offers suggestions for the elements of a talk on the potential impacts of climate
change on the Everglades and South Florida. You are encouraged to develop your own personal
talk based on the materials in the Climate Change, Wildlife, and Wildlands toolkit; this outline
is merely intended to provide ideas. You also may use the ideas in this outline to help you
weave the topic of climate change into your talks on other subjects.

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Goals

To help visitors appreciate that global
climate change is a serious issue that
may affect wildlife and the physical
environment in south Florida.

To help visitors realize that they can be
part of the solution, rather than only
part of the problem.

Objectives

Visitors will be able to explain the
potential magnitude and significance of
changes in nature.

Visitors will be able to explain why
many scientists believe that humans are
contributing to changes in climate that
may have significant and long-lasting
impacts on plants and wildlife. They will
understand that these impacts will
come on top of the many stresses
already faced by south Florida's natural
environment.

Visitors will be able to name at least
two species of wildlife and two
natural features (e.g., coral reefs and
mangrove swamps) that may be
affected by climate change.

Visitors will be able to decide whether
they believe their actions contribute to
climate change and whether they want
to help slow it.

¦ Visitors will be able to list at least two
actions people can choose to take if
they want to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.

Theme

Change is a natural feature of the
environment, but not all changes are
natural. Many scientists believe that
human actions are exacerbating changes in
climate that may have serious impacts on
ecosystems in the Everglades and South
Florida.

Introduction

(sections in bold italics a re suggested
language for talk)

Begin with an attention-grabber, such
as a personal story or an anecdote that
helps the audience relate personally to
the landscape around them. Work in
"universals"—values and concepts
everyone can relate to, such as family,
tradition, natural beauty, etc.

Hold up a yardstick or tape measure
marked at 3 inches, 10 inches, and
20 inches.

Ask the audience to imagine how the
scene around them might change if the
sea were 3, 10, or 20 inches higher.
Refer to the Everglades and South
Florida Case Study for details.

¦	Ask questions such as: What would
happen to the Everglades? What would
happen to the shoreline around Florida
Bay? How would higher sea levels
affect coastal areas when storms or
hurricanes come through?

Transition

¦	South Florida's seas are rising. Since
1846> south Florida's sea level has risen
by about 12 inches. Scientists predict
that seas will rise even faster in the
future.

Hold up the flash card showing how
south Florida would look with
predicted sea level rise.

¦	Even at today's rate of sea level rise,
south Florida's seas would be 3 inches
higher by the year2025. By 2100 it
would be 10 inches higher than today.
But scientists believe the rate of sea level
rise will increase so much that the sea

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will rise 20 inches above today's level by
2100. Anyone want to guess why?

(Correct answer: global warming.)

Body of Talk

¦	Change is natural in coastal areas.
Waves, wind, and storms alter the
coastline all the time. Even if there
weren't any global warming, the south
Florida coastline would look quite
different in 10 or 20 years just from
natural erosion.

¦	But many scientists believe that
humans may be accelerating the rate of
change by contributing to a global
warming trend. Explain what global
warming is and how it happens, how
global warming contributes to sea level
rise. (This information may be found in
the Everglades and South Florida case
study.)

¦	Here on the coast, rising sea levels can
have major impacts. Describe how sea
level rise would affect the Everglades,
the Keys, Florida Bay, and mangrove
swamps. (This information may be
found in the Everglades and South
Florida case study.)

For a visual demonstration, show the
audience how the impact on the
Everglades depends on the outcome of a

race between the rising sea and the
natural dike of mangrove wetlands that
stand between the Everglades and
Florida Bay. Use a volunteer from the
audience to represent the rising sea. The
volunteer should put his or her hands
together palms-down at belt height, and
slowly raise them to shoulder height. At
the same time, standing next to the
volunteer, you should put your hands
palm-down at belt height and place your
right hand on top of the left. Keep your
right hand where it is and put your left
hand on the right. Keep the left hand
where it is and put your right hand on
top of it. Your hands should now be
slightly higher than they were before.
Keep "building layers of peat" by placing
one hand on the other and trying to
keep pace with the volunteer's slowly
rising hands.

¦ Rising seas arent the only way global
warming could affect natural areas in
south Florida. Describe the impacts of
warmer water temperatures on coral
reefs. (This information may be found in
the Everglades and South Florida case
study.) Use trail cards of coral reef,
alligator, and Florida panther from the
toolkit to show images of affected
species and explain briefly how global
warming could affect each of them.

¦	Do you want to see south Florida
change in these ways? Is there
anything we can do about it?

Discuss how everyone contributes to
global warming and everyone can be
part of the solution. Explain that
people's choices now can have an effect
on the atmosphere and climate for
decades into the future.

¦	Ask the audience to suggest ways to
reduce their own emissions. Be
prepared with your own suggestions in
case people have trouble coming up
with ideas. Suggestions might include
using energy more efficiently at home
(e.g., buying energy-efficient
Energy Star® appliances, replacing
incandescent light bulbs with compact
fluorescents wherever practical), taking
public transportation or walking when
possible, buying products
manufactured from recycled
materials—such as recycled paper or
fleece clothing made from recycled
plastic bottles.

Bring out the global warming wheel
card and choose a volunteer to answer
questions about his/her household's
home energy use, transportation
habits, and waste practices to come up
with a rough estimate of the
household's greenhouse gas emissions.
Then flip over the card to show how

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the household could reduce emissions
by taking the actions shown on the
wheel card.

Conclusion

¦	Change is part of life, and some climate
change is natural. But it appears that
by burning fossil fuels, we humans are
contributing to rapid changes that may
take place faster—and perhaps on a
greater scale—than the natural
changes we would expect to experience
in this region during the next several
hundred years.

¦	We have to decide whether these
human-induced changes are
acceptable, and how much change we
are willing to tolerate before we act.

¦	We can't look Into a crystal ball and
know for sure what the future will
bring. But the majority of scientists
today believe that human-Induced
global warming is for real and that
many of the impacts we've discussed
today will be caused by our actions, our
choices.

¦	Climate change is a problem that can be
alleviated by Individual actions. Every
one of us contributes to global
warming, and every one of us can make
a difference. This isn't just an issue for
big companies and electric utilities and
governments. If we all act to reduce our
emissions, we can help reduce the
impacts of climate change on wildlife
and beautiful places like this.

¦	Hold up yardstick again. How high will
the sea rise during the next 100 years?
The answer may depend partly on us. Is
It important to you to know that the

Everglades will still be here In 100
years? Is it important enough to
warrant changes in your lifestyle in
order to avoid environmental changes
In the future? The responsibilities of
stewardship are becoming more
complicated than they used to be. At
one time, simply conserving land and
water may have been enough. But now
we need to start thinking about the
atmosphere as well. Maybe our actions,
and those of our neighbors,
communities, and nation, can help slow
the changes to the Everglades and
South Florida.

¦ Do we want to experiment with our
atmosphere and our planet to find out
If our actions Indeed have a long-
lasting impact on the environment?

Resources

¦	Climate Change, Wildlife, and Wildlands toolkit

¦	EPA's global warming site: www.epa.gov/globalwarming

¦	EPA state fact sheets: www.epa.gov/globalwarming/impacts/stateimp/

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