The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Dear Diary. Today’s main subject should not be controversial at all. All science should be taught in the classroom, particularly science that affects students as they go through their lives. Young people and their parents are clamoring for more good information on climate change, yet like the science of evolution, it will be tough to add to the curriculum in many red states across the United States.
In many areas in the United States the tentacles of religion are intertwined with secular education such that prejudiced local authorities get to impose their will on what can be taught in the classroom. Tragically, bad science can be a result. Over the years I’ve noticed that creation and intelligent design passages have been added to biology books, for example. I’m sure that fossil fuel interests are actively trying to muddy any climate science taught in schools with disinformation. Where bad science is taught there will be a tendency to exclude any studies involving the climate crisis. This is terrible because we must prepare kids for what lies ahead during the 21st century so they can become good leaders and planners to confront dangers to the very existence of the civilization they will inherit.
This issue hits close to my heart because since 2013 I’ve been writing and designing World of Thermo educational kids’ climate books for elementary and middle school children to learn from. Each chapter contains one specific point that teachers can use as a study guide. I combine a Harry Potterish like story and characters with the subject of the climate crisis in an entertaining manner to peak kids’ interest. Here are some details:
World of Thermo……About the Book – Guy On Climate
Educational news is not all bad as of 2022. Last week in a blue liberal state (surprise surprise) we learned that climate change lessons will become mandatory for grades 5-12. Here are more details from wionews.com:
Connecticut becomes second US state to make climate change studies must for grades 5 to 12
Edited By: Mukul Sharma Updated: Dec 18, 2022
Photograph: (Reuters)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Connecticut joins New Jersey to mandate climate change studies from grades 5 to 12. As part of the new state law, climate change studies will effectively become protected from budget cuts.
Climate Change studies will be mandatory in the US state of Connecticut from grades 5 to 12. The development, hailed as ‘landmark’ by climate change activists, comes after a new law passed earlier this year addressed the short duration and in some cases, complete absence of the climate change studies in classrooms.
Previously in 2020, New Jersey had become the first state to mandate K-12 climate change education across its school districts.
Reports say that nearly 90 per cent of public schools across Connecticut include climate change studies in their curriculums.
However, after being mandated as part of state law, climate change education will effectively become protected from budget cuts.
“The conservative turn in our country often starts at a very hyper-local level of local town boards of education. There is this push towards anti-intellectualism, anti-science, anti-reason, and I didn’t want local boards of education to have the power to overturn the curriculum and say, ‘climate change is too political,’” Connecticut state representative Christine Palm was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
ALSO READ – How the world’s loneliest tree is aiding scientists in their work on climate change
In the United States, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is the agency that sets up science standards that lay out the charter for science studies in all the states.
WATCH – Impact of climate change on human health worsening with time
According to the NGSS website, school students who demonstrate understanding of the human impact on the environment can “apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment”, among other abilities.
Few countries with legislative mandate for climate change studies
A study from a British university reveals that more than half of young people experience climate anxiety on a daily basis. But only a handful of countries currently mandate climate change studies in their education systems, despite many being signatories to this objective in the Paris Agreement, a WEF report suggests. They include Cambodia, United Kingdom and Argentina.
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Related:
Here are some “ET’s” recorded from around the planet the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as some extreme precipitation reports:
Here is more climate and weather news from Monday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)
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Guy Walton… “The Climate Guy”