Newsletter

Welcome to the Global STEM Festival (GSF) 2021 - ‘creating real life solutions for real life problems’!

Check out these videos showing an introduction to design thinking

that will help you bring your ideas to life by taking you through the design thinking process.

Missed a newsletter? Don’t worry, you can find all of the previous newsletters alongside the supporting videos on the resources page of the GSF website.

Parents and guardians, don’t forget to have a look at the handy guide on the resources page to help you support the participants on their STEM journey!

Climate and Energy

Economic Development

Education

Equality

Health

What is Climate and Energy?

Energy

Energy is all around us. It makes things move and grow. You are probably reading this sentence on a device that is powered by electrical energy. The food you eat provides the necessary chemical energy to keep you full of energy. You can hear music or talk to someone because of sound energy. Energy is vital in our lives, but have you ever wondered where energy comes from?

Where does energy come from?

Let’s take your smartphone or your computer or anything else that you have which runs on electricity. That electricity comes from the mains power where you plug in your device to charge it or use it. Now, where does that electricity come from? Most of the electricity that comes to your house is generated by burning coal, gas and oil. These are known as fossil fuels. Fossil fuel power plants burn coal or oil to generate heat. The heat is then used to change water into steam. The steam from the water then rotates turbines. The turbine is used to rotate a magnet. As the magnet spins, electrons are produced, and they power the electricity grid.

What’s the problem with fossil fuels? 

When these fossil fuels such as coal or oil are burnt, they produce large amounts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide gas. These gases trap the energy we get from the Sun in our atmosphere. This causes the Earth to get hotter, and this is called global warming.  

Is global warming the same as climate change?

“Global warming” refers to the long-term warming of the planet. “Climate change” encompasses global warming, but refers to the broader range of changes that are happening to our planet. These include rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers; accelerating ice melt in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic.

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Can we produce energy that does not warm the globe?

Yes! There are ways of producing energy which does not release the greenhouse gases that warm the globe. These are “green energy” sources. “Green energy” comes from nature – and it uses natural resources like sunlight, wind, and water to produce power and reduce the negative impact on our planet. 

Mawlana Hazar Imam has also spoken about the need to reduce the threats to the environment. 

"Everywhere in the world today, people are searching for ways to reduce the threat of global warming both by limiting greenhouse gas emissions and by fighting the blight of deforestation. The key to both efforts is to move away from plant and fossil fuels, and to depend instead on renewable energy sources. Hydro electric power fulfils that goal. It is ‘clean’ energy - advancing sustainable development while minimizing its environmental impact”

 foundation ceremony for the Bujagali Hydropower Project in Uganda  Highness the Aga Khan, Aiglemont, 2007

“I believe that the Islamic faith has played a particular role in the development of Islamic architectural expression. For our faith constantly reminds us to observe and be thankful for the beauty of the world and the universe around us, and our responsibility and obligation, as good stewards of God’s creation, to leave the world in a better condition than we found it.”

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), His Highness the Aga Khan, 2013

What are our goals?

There are several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to climate and energy, such as:

SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities

SDG 13: Climate Action

SDG 14: Life below water

SDG 15: life on land

As you can see, there are a lot of SDGs that relate to climate and energy! This is because climate and energy also encompasses biodiversity, air pollution and deforestation.

News Updates

Earthshot Prize

In October 2021, the first-ever Earthshot prize will be awarded with £1 million awarded to each winner. The Earthshot Prize is a prestigious global environment prize designed to incentivise change and help repair our planet over the next ten years. The Prize gives people the incentive to find innovative solutions to our planet’s growing climate crisis by fostering innovation, bringing about change, and inspiring collective action.

The Earthshot Prize is centred around five ‘Earthshots’ – simple but ambitious goals for our planet which if achieved by 2030, will improve life for us all, for generations to come. People are encouraged to think of solutions to these “Earthshots” in a similar manner to the Global STEM Festival!

The five “Earthshots” are:

• Protect and restore nature
• Clean our air
• Revive our oceans
• Build a waste-free world
• Fix our climate

For more information, please visit: https://earthshotprize.org/

Spotlight

The Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The goal of the agreement is to prevent global temperatures from rising above 2°C (but preferably not above 1.5°C) compared to pre-industrial levels by reducing greenhouse gases. It also looked at ways countries could change to deal with problems caused by climate change, and have countries promise to spend money to make sure this would happen. The agreement was signed in Paris in 2016, by 196 countries.

The agreement includes commitments from countries to reduce their carbon emissions and work together to adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Agreement provides a pathway for developed nations to assist developing nations in their climate mitigation plans.

The Paris Agreement marks the beginning of a shift towards a low-carbon world and the implementation of the Agreement is essential for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals as it provides a roadmap for climate actions that will reduce emissions and build climate resilience.

Dinner table discussions

These conversation starters will help you explore some of the issues related to economic development with your friends, family and children.  We hope that these will spark some insightful conversations and ideas

Age 5-8:

Resources to Explore:

Climate Change - Kid’s view
The meaning of Sustainability and Sustainable development 

Exploration Questions:

• Can you think of some way that you use less energy in your daily lives?
• What other impacts of climate change can you think of? (think of animals above land and underwater)

Age 9-12

Resources to Explore:

The story of Basid : A Case-Study in Tajikistan

Close to Home: A case-study of Northern Pakistan

Exploration Questions:

• Climate change has led to an increase in natural disasters across the globe such as landslides, floods and hurricanes. Can you think of some areas in the world where natural disasters have occurred?
• What are some other examples of how ocean life is threatened by human pollution? 

Age 13 -17

Resources to Explore:

Renewable energy 101

16 inventions to prevent the use of fossil fuels 

Exploration Questions:

• Can you think of any other SDGs that can have an impact on climate and energy?
• What do you think the biggest issue arising from global warming is?