Climate Age

Last month important new climate change education bills were introduced in both the U.S. House and the Senate. The legislation would establish a new climate education program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and provide $300 million in support, over several years, for grants to state education departments, local education agencies and education NGOs with certain key objectives: 

• Scientifically sound instruction on climate science and solutions to remove a sense of helplessness and encourage students to take positive actions in their personal lives and careers.
• Instruction on energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy to support rapid reduction of human impacts on the environment.
• Instruction on new technologies to ensure maximum use of innovation in finding climate solutions and developing new professions.
• Equipping the 3,500,000 students who graduate from high schools and colleges each year, with a full set of skills, and knowledge they will need to address climate change throughout their lives.

NOAA has an established history, credibility and expertise in both atmospheric and biospheric education and educational grants administration. Moreover, the agency supports excellence in the science of natural resource and atmospheric systems for oceans, weather and climate via the Ocean Service and the National Weather Service. The agency is particularly well suited to supporting instructional programs on the science of extreme weather, coastal impacts, ocean impacts and what can be done to mitigate or adapt to climate change and make communities more resilient to its long-term effects.  This education can be foundational to career and technical education in a wide range of energy, natural resource, agricultural, aquicultural, and technological fields.

Through existing educational grant programs, NOAA has already funded, dozens of innovative programs such as community resiliency education in Raleigh, NC, resilient schools education in New York City, and educating and activating youth sustainability leaders in Texas. The added funding that would come under this new legislation would help NOAA’s education office to leverage greater nationwide impact. 

The path forward for this legislation will be tough.  Even though national surveys show that climate change education has the support of 85% of parents, there are relatively small numbers of parents who vocally object to climate science and solutions being taught in our schools.  It is not unlike the way that a few dissenters can get books banned in school libraries.

The legislation, introduced by Senator Ed Markey in the Senate has 20 original co-sponsors.  An identical House version, introduced by U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell has nine original co-sponsors.  By focusing on empowering states and school districts to develop more innovative and effective climate education programs, the legislation will help to channel a larger percentage of the $735 billion that is spent annually on public K-12 education into instruction about the causes, consequences, solutions and career opportunities presented by the growing challenge of climate change.