MINNEAPOLIS— Climate scientists say this will be the hottest year on record for the second year in a row. It will also exceed the global pledge to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
A recent survey found that 74 percent of Minnesotans want schools to teach about the causes, consequences and possible solutions. Just this year, Minnesota began requiring high school students to learn about global warming.
During Megan Hall’s AP Environmental Science Course at Open World Learning in St. Paul, students get a practical look at climate change.
“So today we’re going to look at ecosystems through data analysis,” Hall told her class. “And we’re going to work on the introduction while all this stuff about climate change is still fresh in your mind.”
Students write reports after field trips to nearby Crosby Farm Regional Park and then to Gooseberry Falls State Park.
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“How many of you have noticed disturbance in one of the forests you visited,” asks Hall.
“It was quite nice to get out into nature. It was very peaceful. We just got some data from the forest and we are now using it to write these lab reports,” says Open World Learning student Gwen Stender.
“We were talking about how, due to climate change, Minnesota biomes are slowly moving north,” says Open World Learning student Charlie.
Concepts about climate change may not be new to these students, but the fact that their teachers have to teach it is a change in state science standards.
“That essentially means that in four years, all students in Minnesota, when they graduate high school, will have learned the scientific details that explain how climate change works and what its effects are,” Hall said.
There has been scientific consensus for decades that human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, cause global warming.
These changes are visible outside the classroom.
In Minnesota alone, students are grappling with recent droughts, more intense, severe weather and rapidly warming lakes.
Some teachers say they appreciate the support from lawmakers, especially if parents oppose it.
“We can now point to those standards and say this is something that all Minnesota students are going to learn,” said Chad Benesh, a chemistry and science teacher at Cook County High School. “The new standards are more than just about content. It’s about helping students behave like scientists, to do the things scientists do.”
He and other teachers say learning these things can prepare students for careers in a green economy. But they also hope it will inspire this generation to come up with solutions for our rapidly warming world.
“If we understand the science, if we use the technologies available to us, and if we have the will to do so, we can change this. We don’t have to continue on this path. We can make it better. ” Hal said.
“I don’t think it’s hopeless, I mean I definitely think there are things we can do to combat these efforts,” Stender said.
“So I mean, it’s a little scary, but it’s good to be aware of it, you know, try to help,” Acosta said. “I definitely learned that, you know, this is my home. This is where I live. I have to take care of it.”
