How do you explain climate change to a 5-year-old child?

“Grandpa what is climate change?” Alice, my 5-year-old granddaughter asked out of the blue as we were having our dinner, on that warm and muggy August day in Colorado, just outside of Denver.

Of course, the know-it-all grandpa would have a good answer. But I was floored. How do I explain something that we grownups take for granted but is quite foreign to a child. So, after thinking for a few minutes I replied,

“Alice, that is great question. But before I talk about climate change do you know what climate is?” I asked buying some time as she nodded her head from side to side and said,

 “Not really.”

“OK, tell me how it is outside. Hot or cold?”

“It is hot.” Alice said rolling her eyes at the silly question.

“How about in the winter when it is snowing?”

“It is cold, of course.”

“Good, now how is it in Florida when you come to visit us in Christmas?” I asked, sensing her impatience and the need to get to the point.

“It is always hot in Florida, Grandpa. Now, can you talk about climate change?”

“Yes, yes, I will. We are almost there. So, you see Colorado is always hot in summer and cold in winter, year after year. But Florida is always hot – summer and winter, again year after year. So, that is what we call climate – what we expect to happen year after year. And that is different from weather which changes every day and is not always the same. Does that make sense, Alice?” I asked not sure if I got the message across.

“I think it does and I get it.” Alice said looking at me intently and not rolling her eyes anymore.

“Good. Now let us say when you are 15 years old, it is always hot outside in Colorado – in summer and winter. Colorado then becomes more like Florida. What do you think happened to Colorado’s climate? I asked raising my eyebrows.

“It changed.” Alice replied excitedly.

“Exactly, the climate changed, and we grownups gave it a name – Climate Change. Now, I don’t think it is going to change in 10 years and it may take a lot longer, but it could if we did not do something about it.” I said.

“I get it. But what makes the climate change?” Alice was now genuinely interested in the subject and had forgotten to eat her supper.

“You know there are many things that are causing the climate to change but the biggest one is…”

“I know, greenhouse gases. Ms. Johnson talked about it.” Alice almost jumped out of her chair, cutting me off. Ms. Johnson was her homeroom teacher at school.

“Oh, good so I don’t have to tell you about greenhouse gases.” I said.

“But grandpa, I don’t really know what they are and what they do to the climate. Can you tell me?”

“So, Alice, greenhouse gases are a bunch of bad gases that gets put in the air that surrounds our planet. The really bad one is called carbon di-oxide. And these come from all sorts of places. When you breath out, you are actually producing this gas. Also, cars and buses and trucks except for the ones that are electric, make this gas. To keep our house warm in the winter and cool in the summer we run machines that put out this gas. So, you see it is made by people and all sorts of stuff we use in our homes and schools.” I said trying not to be too technical.

“I get it. But what does carbon di-oxide got to do with climate change?” Alice asked proud of herself to pronounce the high-sounding name of the bad gas.

“Good question. So, this bad gas acts like a blanket, and it covers our planet. And just like the blanket does to you when you are feeling cold, it makes our planet nice and warm. Now, you can throw off the blanket when you are feeling hot and feel better. But our planet cannot do that. It just keeps getting hotter and hotter. And guess what would happen to Colorado’s climate if we somehow don’t stop the planet from becoming hot?” I said bringing our conversation back to where we started.

“It will become like Florida, always hot” Alice exclaimed.

“Exactly, the climate of Colorado would no longer be like it is today and will change. This is what we call climate change. It happens slowly and will continue to happen if we don’t do something about it.” I said trying not to sound too pessimistic.

“That’s bad grandpa. What do you think we should do about it?” Alice asked earnestly.

“Actually, Alice it is not that bad if we all do something about it. Let me tell you a few things you and I can do. Don’t waste food, don’t waste water, tell your parents to turn down the heat in winter and A/C in summer, don’t use plastic water bottles that we throw away. You see all of these things take energy which then makes the bad carbon di-oxide gas. So, if all of us did our part, I can tell you we would beat the climate change and not have Colorado become like Florida. Do you understand that Alice?” I asked sounding optimistic and constructive to my little granddaughter.

“Yes, grandpa. I understand and I promise to do my part. I love you, grandpa.” Alce said getting back to finishing her dinner.

“I love you too, my dear.” I said with a smile, not sure how much of what I had said she would remember. But at least now when the grownups talk of climate change it would not be foreign to her and maybe just maybe she would become part of the solution rather than a problem to the existential threat to our planet.