Below is the starting outline of the main points we seek to cover for the Education/Curriculum section.  This outline is based on the work of contributor Mark Stewart, who wrote a well-thought out article on how to educate kids in preparation to fight, and to adapt to/survive, climate change, called A Greenish Curriculum: Desperate Need vs a Stacked Deck.  His main points, including a few new ones, are below. We’ll flesh these out as we can with our researchers to provide more details, but already, these give thoughts to consider and actions to take:

1. We must prepare our children
   1. Children need to know
      1. What climate change is
      2. What causes climate change
      3. What changes to expect
      4. How to adapt
   2. Children can be powerful agents for change
      1. CO2 reduction
      2. Change parents’ minds
      3. Ripple effect with friends, and more
      4. A 25% tipping point is needed to create change
      5. Instruction is needed, though, first.
   3. We will focus on U.S. education
      1. The U.S. causes the most climate harm over time
         1. We have passed previous worst industrial offender U.K.
         2. China catching up, U.S. still worst
         3. U.S. owes the world educated citizens
      2. U.S. has huge effect on global policy
         1. Still has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol
         2. Oil and gas subsidies
         3. Has power to create change
         4. If change is created in the U.S., can save the world
   4. K-12 Instruction needed in the following topics
      1. Climate science
      2. Research skills
      3. Philosophical adjustment/Re-emphasis on different topics
         1. Economic expansion not always good
         2. Humans are part of nature
         3. Individualism vs. common goals
      4. Changes caused by or possible as a result of climate change
         1. Climate refugees
         2. Natural disasters
            1. Droughts
            2. Floods
            3. Wet-bulb temperatures and heat
         3. Lower agricultural productivity & famine
         4. Violent reactions
         5. Strained resources
            1. Water
            2. Food
         6. War
      5. Doughnut Economics
         1. Outside – physical global conditions
         2. Inside – human needs
         3. Differences: haves vs. have nots
            1. Access to medicine
            2. Access to safe living conditions
            3. Exposure to unhealthy environments
         4. What is “enough” for…?
            1. Food
            2. Water
            3. Shelter
            4. Energy
         5. Rationing?
      6. Other species
         1. Our dependency
            1. Flora
            2. Fauna
         2. Protecting other species
      7. How to increase the likelihood of better outcomes
         1. Stop burning fossil fuels
         2. Personal consumption
      8. Urgency
         1. Changes to emissions take a long time to change climate
         2. Need 50% cut by 2030
         3. Presently no green curriculum
         4. Short time to use new knowledge to create necessary change
      9. What is climate denialism?
         1. Climate change not real, not caused by burning fossil fuels, and ot serious
         2. Denialists, won’t stop obfuscating the truth for profit.
      10. How to fight it?
          1. Current national government power
          2. Citizens can mobilize change in government policy
          3. Effectiveness of various approaches
          4. Realize shortcomings of representational government
          5. Logic
             1. Systems ecology
             2. Planning & prioritizing
             3. Critical thinking
             4. Recognize fallacies
          6. Psychology of labor organizing
             1. Agitate
             2. Educate
             3. Organize
      11. Hope in face of frightening predictions
          1. Facts, anxiety, and depression
          2. Change is possible
          3. Balance between seriousness and hope
   5. Getting curricula into schools
      1. University teacher training
         1. Post-secondary
         2. Graduate
      2. Introducing new curricula and materials to schools
      3. Barriers to getting curricula into schools
         1. Standards developed, not adopted
         2. School board denialists block reform
         3. Poor textbook coverage
            1. Not serious
            2. Mixed messages
               1. Is climate change real?
               2. What’s causing it?
               3. How to respond?
         4. University climate courses not required to graduate
         5. New curricula undermined
            1. Individual faculty denialists
            2. Individual school level
               1. Administrators conflicted
               2. May create need to change school district policy
               3. Negative effect on assessment
      4. Results of new curricula limited
         1. Regional school district level
            1. Scale too small
            2. Impact too small
         2. Nationwide curricula to other large institutions
            1. Watered down
            2. Unrealistic
      5. How to proceed
         1. Challenges
            1. Universities must prepare teachers
            2. States must change education standards
            3. Local administrators and teachers must be involved
         2. Actions
            1. Research local universities
               1. Offering appropriate green curricula training?
                  1. Yes? Good, check it off
                  2. No?
                     1. Write letters/emails requesting reform
                        1. State reps
                        2. Local papers
                     2. Communicate with education deans
                     3. Organize protests
            2. Write to state representatives about state education standards
            3. Write referendums, get them on ballots
            4. Research local school districts
               1. Offering appropriate green curricula training?
                  1. Yes? Good, check it off
                  2. No?
                     1. Write letters/emails requesting reform
                        1. County and municipal reps
                        2. Local papers
                     2. Protest at board meetings
            5. Attempt to reform U.S. policy directly
               1. Communicate with representatives
               2. Vote for representatives who support green curricula
               3. Protest

Contributor: Mark Stewart