Climate Age

It is always tough to envision our children one day running the world. But it is less difficult to wrap one’s head around wanting them to have the skills they will need for an uncertain future. Climate change will bring on major uncertainty and we need to help our kids to be prepared.

Throughout history, each generation has strived to leave the next generation in a better position than before. This has been a goal in the United States since our founding.  But climate change challenges the very foundation of this idea by altering so many aspects of future living. These threats include exceedingly hot weather, flooding and deluges, more intense wildfires, air pollution, hurricanes and tornados, possible crop failures, new diseases, economic turmoil and more. Some policy makers would like to say there is no problem with warming, but our young people are not buying it. The record heat of the Summer of 2023 is just one of a series of occurrences that makes it nearly impossible to look away from the problem.

Ten years ago, climate change was less of a concern for young people, but today, two out of three rank it as a top priority for action. They are concerned that they will be left with a terrible burden due to a failure by the older generation to get a solid handle on the issue. Let’s also consider another core American value. This is to adequately prepare the next generation for what is to come. This does not mean indoctrinating them. It means giving them the knowledge and skills they will need for an uncertain future. These tools include basic understanding, future skills, resiliency and a sense of hope. These are the tools of self-reliance, and our schools are one of the best places to provide them.

What are these self-reliance skills?

The first is a simple grounding in climate science. Research shows that students and educators are often missing a basic understanding of the processes of climate and the forces that would cause it to change over time.

The second includes an improved understanding of the consequences of climate change. How will a rise in temperatures affect the natural world, the built environment, power and transportation, human health and the economy?

Third, young people will need personal self-reliance skills.  This may involve learning how to prepare their homes and families for storms, heatwaves or droughts. And, on a consumer level, it will mean how to choose products and services that are less impactful on the climate.

Fourth, in their careers, young people will be entering into a physical world where adaptation to the impacts of climate change will lead to new career paths in climate resiliency such as natural resource management, agriculture and forestry, landscaping, water-management, flood management, health care, first responder training and more.

Finally, young people will need to put all these skills together to find opportunities for solutions to climate change that will also be good-paying jobs, amazing new careers paths, and entrepreneurship. These will be in a range of economic sectors including energy, transportation, agriculture, technology, housing, merchandising and much more.

American schools and educators are well-positioned to help students develop climate-based self-reliance skills.  The kids can decide how they want to use them as adults.  That is the whole point of being self-reliant.  By preparing our young people for the uncertainty of climate change, they will have a stronger sense of hope for their own future.