If you could choose anyone in the world to be your special climate hero or role model, who would it be?

Magic Johnson said: “I believe in the power of heroes. What is a hero? There are as many different answers to that question as there are people in the world, and that’s a good thing: we need different kinds of role models for different kinds of people. I personally think a hero is a leader who has a positive impact on people. A hero is someone who acts and through those actions changes the world.” – Tell me your definition of a hero.

A group of students thought it would be great to collect portraits of climate heros from all over the world. That’s what they say: “If we show people that if those local climate heros can make the effort, then anybody can. Let them see that what they are doing is rapidly becoming the norm, not the exception. Your climate heros don’t need to be famous. We’d like to show people just like you and me – with the little difference that they care. The goal is to realize an impressive exhibition of portraits from all over the world.”

a) What are the most important things people in your country need to change in order to become climate heros?

b) Some participants of this projects don’t like the word “hero”. Which other words could we use instead?

In 1992, at the age of 12, Severn Cullis-Suzuki and her friends traveled to 1992’s Rio Earth Summit, where she gave a powerful speech that deeply affected the leaders who heard it. She became known as “The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes.” She hasn’t stopped since, starting several groups and projects and becoming a dynamic, luminous light in a new generation of eco-leaders. She says: “Each individual really does count. And the more I've thought about it, the more I've realized that each person is a role model to all the people around us. That's how cultures evolve and things become cool--the influence of a few individuals that catches on.”

What change can YOU make?

Q1. In Ghana, the Upper West and Upper East Regions border Burkina Faso which is a part of the Sahara Desert. Recent studies have shown that , the Sahara Desert which a few years ago, did not enter into Ghana has now spread into large portions of Upper West and Upper East Regions. This has led to extreme ( record) high temperatures in the dry seasons and severe rainfall and flooding in the wet season.

How is the climate change affecting water, nutrient ability and seasonal patterns in your country?Suggest some ways to prevent it.

Q2. Locally based NGO's (Non-Government Organizations)like Sono Foundation among others are now practicing more environmentally friendly ways of primary production.

What role do the natural forces play in the current global warming trend?

Q3. History has shown that climate change during the earlier part of the 20th century was gradual and quite steady. Recently, according to research, there was a speed up in climate change as the 20th century drew to an end and entered into the 21st century. Hurricane Rita,Barbara,Katrina and others as well as Tsunami,earthquake are on the increase.

What climatic changes have you experienced in your country in the later part of the 20th century to date?And how are you guys responding to these threats?

Q4. Ghana is acutely aware of the threat of climate change. In the last few decades, the temperature in Ghana has really increased and reached shows that the trend is continuing. In our school, we have developed a way to educate the public on climate change, and that way is writing articles to news papers and local magazines on climate change.

If you were asked to write articles about climate change to your local daily news paper what would you say or talk about?