What US Schools Don’t Teach About Climate Change

Climate change is often a controversial topic that can stir up quite the tension between groups of people. While many people vary in their views, there's not much ground for denying that the earth's temperature has increased over the last 1,000 years. Additionally, in just this last decade, we have had the hottest days that have been recorded. If climate change affects our lives and our earth, why isn't more being taught about it? There is actually not just one answer as to why more schools are not teaching climate change. Yet, it's clear that more should be taught about this topic. Here is what U.S. schools don't teach about climate change.  

Before we discuss what U.S. schools don't teach about climate change, let's consider how climate change and global warming affect our daily lives.  
 
The hotter the earth's temperature and oceans, the more frequent weather-related disasters occur.  

Additionally, climate change can affect the following: 

• Where people work: Outside workers are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.  
• Quality of life: Climate change affects everyone. However, vulnerable people groups are most affected. This includes the elderly, children, and people who lack proper resources.
• Where people live: climate change can cause droughts, rising sea levels, and flooding.  
• Water: heavier rain falls that lead to more flooding. Other places are having intense droughts.  
• Health: Heat can have deadly effects and can be harmful to those who do not have access to cooler conditions.  
• Forests are susceptible: dry weather can lead to fires and harm forest animals. 

While these are not the only areas in our lives that climate change affects, it's important to see the subtle impacts before it is too late.  

Right now, only two states mandate the teaching of global warming and climate change: Connecticut and New Jersey. Since each state determines its school curriculum requirements, many states do not even touch on global warming.  

There are several reasons why so many schools are not teaching climate change. One of the main reasons is politics. Climate change has become a very political issue. Many climate change deniers do not feel comfortable with the schools teaching their kids something they do not believe.  

For this reason, some schools want to avoid parent pushback, so they steer clear of requiring teaching on climate change. Additionally, several teachers have stated that they have not received any professional training on how to teach climate change, so they do not feel comfortable adding it to the curriculum.

Also, as it stands, many teachers report that there's just too much to teach from the state-mandated curriculum anyway. 

Lastly, many people do not understand climate change and how it affects our world and lives.  

As more people begin to realize the detrimental effects of climate change on our lives and the earth, it becomes clear that there are many facts about climate change that U.S. schools don't teach. These are important issues that everyone, even kids, should know.

Knowledge of a topic that affects our daily lives can help us feel more equipped while also making better decisions. Therefore, let's take a look at six things that U.S. schools don't teach about climate change.  

While some schools briefly discuss climate change, others don't. To truly understand its effects, students need to know what it is.  
 
In a nutshell, climate change is a broad term that describes the change of natural weather patterns over time. It examines how the earth's natural temperatures have increased over time due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. While some of this is natural, humans have sped up the process.

Another way to understand climate change is to learn about the relationship between weather, climate, and climate change. How does the rising earth's temperature affect our current weather patterns today?  
 
If it does, what relationship do heat waves, hurricanes, and storms have to the changing climate on Earth? Understanding the connection between climate change and weather can help one better grasp how detrimental climate change can be to our lives. Heat waves, hurricanes, and large storms can displace people, disrupt daily living, cause property damage, and even cause death.  
 
Additionally, intense weather changes can cause disease-carrying insects to migrate to parts of the world where they don't typically live. When this happens, they can transmit diseases like Lyme disease.

Understanding climate change starts with understanding the human connection. How did climate change and global warming even happen? Did humans play a part, and if so, how?  

• Electricity and heat from fossil fuels have played a huge role in climate change. 
• Emissions from manufacturing companies  
• Cutting down forests releases more carbon dioxide.  
• Transportation  
• Chemical fertilizers and agriculture 
• Oil and gas emissions  
• Heating and cooling of buildings  
• Lifestyle choices  

Over the last 150 years, electricity and energy in the form of oil and gas have contributed to greenhouse gas emissions. What doesn't help is how we choose to live. Transportation, heating and cooling of buildings, and deforestation all contribute to climate change.  

The more human emissions, the more greenhouse gases are emitted into our environment. These greenhouse gases trap heat and affect our earth in several ways. 

• The higher temperatures cause glaciers and ice sheets to melt.  
• The U.S. Sea Level is rising.  
• Hurricanes and storms are becoming more intense and stronger.
• Increase of heat and drought leading to severe wildfires.  
• Water supplies change and even decline in some areas of the earth.  
• Ecosystems have changed and affect plants and animals. These effects include reproduction and migration.  

The more students understand how climate change has affected us and our earth; the easier it will be to make lifestyle changes.  

The greenhouse effect is an integral part of life on Earth. It describes how the earth's atmosphere traps heat and makes it possible for life to flourish. The greenhouse effect heats the earth's temperature, making it an average of 52 degrees Fahrenheit. It is called the greenhouse effect because it works much like a greenhouse does.  
 
One of the greenhouse gases that traps heat is carbon dioxide. This natural process is very important to human life. However, climate change has impacted the greenhouse effect. Burning fossil fuels puts more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading the gases to trap more heat. The more heat in the atmosphere, the more the earth heats up.  

There is still time to make a change, though. Just as humans can have a detrimental effect on the Earth's atmosphere, they can also have a positive impact. We can lessen the impact of climate change in several ways. These include: 

• Reducing the use of heating and cooling at home.  
• Use LED light bulbs. 
• Use renewable energy sources like wind or solar.  
• Use an electric vehicle.
• Switch up modes of transportation by walking or biking.  
• Recycle, Repair, Reduce, Reuse. 
• Don't waste resources like food. 
• Keep the environment clean by picking up after yourself and keeping trash out of the water. 
• Plant native species of plants, flowers, and trees. These absorb carbon dioxide! (Remember photosynthesis?) 

Global warming and climate change affect our daily lives. Since U.S. schools are not mandated to teach what global warming is and how it affects our daily lives, many people still do not understand it.

Yet, we must begin learning why our climate is changing rapidly and what we can do about it. Knowing these facts can help us and our children make better decisions, which can, in turn, help conserve our planet and resources.