View this email in your browser

This Week: Climate Education

How many people agree that climate change needs to be taught in school? How are politicians and environmental advocates influencing our knowledge on the subject? How are 300 interns helping to increase that knowledge?

image: Interns in our Campaign Video, released on Monday

The Statistics

According to a recent 2019 study, 77% of adult Americans believe that teaching students about climate change is important. The study also found that:

• Women are more likely to support teaching climate change

• People of color are more likely than white people to support teaching climate change

• Young people are more likely to support the teaching of climate change

• Urban adults are more likely than suburban or rural adults to support the teaching of climate change

• 67% of self-identified liberals believe teaching about climate change is important, quite higher than moderates at 45% and significantly higher than conservatives at 22%.

• Less-religious adults are more likely than more-religious adults to support teaching about climate change.

The Gaps

Despite the overwhelming support for teaching climate change, a recent poll by NPR/Ipsos found that over half of teachers (55%) do not teach it or even talk to their students about it. Most teachers claimed that the reason for this is because they do not believe climate change relates to the subject they teach.

By comparison, 98% of our readers (that means YOU) voted that climate change should be taught in school, yet 43% didn’t learn about it in school.

Image: @solveclimateby2030_midwest, ClimateGrades.org

Climate in the Media

Bill Gates on Climate Change

Bill Gates recently released a new book called “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions we Have and the Breakthroughs we Need.” The book centers around what Gates views as necessary to stop the climate crisis. It has been met with mixed reviews with some praising his willingness to put forward solutions to climate change while others have criticized and attempted to discredit his views on the basis of his wealth (and how he attained it), claiming he is a “super emitter” himself. Some have also questioned his credibility on speaking about these issues.

Energy Secretary Elected

• Jennifer Granholm, the former governor of Michigan, was recently confirmed by the senate to serve as energy secretary, with a 64-35 vote

• As stated by Brad Plumer of The New York Times, “Ms. Granholm will oversee an agency that plays a leading role in researching and developing new energy technologies, such as advanced wind turbines or methods to capture carbon dioxide from industrial facilities before the gas reaches the atmosphere.”

• Granholm attempted to alleviate fears that switching over to renewable energy would devastate the economy, referring to her leading of Michigan during the economic recession of 2009 and by stating that clean energy “is a sector that every single state can benefit from.”

Our Mission: Helping Teachers

What we NEED to do

To ensure that climate change is taught to students at all levels, in all fields, we need to ACT TODAY! This year, start with a SINGLE class. The 7th of April, one day, one class- HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF IMPACT! From resources to guidelines, we are giving you ALL OF IT.

What do we need from you? ONE signature. ONE day. ONE class. Let’s begin here. Sign the pledge today. Write back to us with your queries, we’re here to listen. We’re here to help. Let’s #MakeClimateAClass.

Resources on our Website

Under the resources tab of the Solve Climate by 2030 website, one can find many materials for teachers on how they can incorporate discussions about climate change into their classroom whether they be teaching math, art, chemistry, or anything in between.

Resources include: discussion templates for the 4.7 webinars, videos, slide presentations, blog posts, podcasts, and additional resources for K-12 teachers.

Dr. Eban Goodstein explains how to Make Climate A Class here. Read his blog posts on our website to learn more.