By: Giorgia F.
Photo from: Eco Schools
Unlike many other countries, the United States education system is decentralized, meaning that each of the 50 states is responsible for its own education curriculum. This decentralized nature means that climate education—whether to include it, how long to talk about it, etc—is decided by each state rather than the federal government. Because each US state is impacted quite differently by climate change; school children in California witness wildfires that children in Florida are not accustomed to, climate education can not realistically be a “one size fits all” approach. With climate change becoming an increasingly partisan issue, the political affiliations of states cannot be discounted in influencing public attitude and willingness to address climate change in the public school setting.
In order to showcase the national disparity in climate education, this article looks at the education policy of California, a democratic leaning state, as well as West Virginia, a republican leaning state. These two legislations are located in regions of the United States with wildly different economies as well as cultures, all of which factor into their decisions regarding climate education.
Photo from: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
In 2013, California adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) which the state is still using, with some modifications. These standards address human activity in conjunction with climate change in grades 6-12. As well as educating on the causes of anthropogenic climate change, the NGSS also requires a focus on possible solutions for mitigating global warming through a move to renewable energy sources (California State Board of Education).
In 2016, West Virginia adopted their own version of the Next Generation Science Standards. The NGSS vary considerably from California’s and made national headlines as their wording does not place the blame for climate change on human activity (West Virginia Education Association).
Most notable among the reasons for California and West Virginia’s very different approaches to climate education is how the consequences of climate change present themselves in residents’ day-to-day lives. While raging California wildfires are constantly in the national news headlines, quickly changing the state’s landscape and uprooting the lives of its residents, the warming climate has yet to have such devastating consequences in West Virginia. The state has seen an increase in average temperatures as well as in precipitation (Patterson). It is one thing to hear about the possibly disastrous effects climate change could have on one’s livelihood and quite another to experience those effects first hand. Direct exposure to droughts, decreased air quality, and forest fires, just to name a few, increases the sense of urgency to act on mitigating climate change’s disastrous impacts. Without these phenomenons impacting daily life, it is much easier to ignore these climate related issues, pretending they simply do not exist.
Another factor contributing to this educational disparity is the partisanship associated with climate change responses. According to a Pew Research study, 90% of Democrats said that the US government is doing too little to address this crisis compared to only 40% of Republicans (PEW). This stark contrast between democratic and republican ideology on this crisis manifests itself in California and West Virginia’s state climate education curriculum. California has a partisan voting index that leans democratic by 12 points whereas West Virginia has a 19 point republican leaning index (World Population Review). The difference in these two state’s curriculum on climate education therefore correlates with the political affiliation of each state’s government. The partisanship of this issue affects not only current climate dilemmas such as the debate over renewable energy but also the future as education on this pressing matter is a foundation for future action needed to salvage the planet.
Republican v. Democrat view on Federal Government’s environmental action (PEW)
The differing economies of California and West Virginia also factor into each state’s stance on climate education. California has the largest economy of any US state with its most lucrative industries in technology, entertainment, and agriculture (Corcoran). These three industries would certainly be impacted by a shift to renewable energy in attempts to lessen the effects of climate change but not nearly as much as this shift would impact the economy of West Virginia. This state is the country’s second largest producer of coal therefore a move away from this energy source would have severe effects on the economy. The reluctance of West Virginia’s Education department to place the blame for climate change on human activity stems from the fact that increased emphasis on climate change’s urgency would likely result in initiatives to cut back on coal, a negative in the eyes of the state legislature.
Differing perceptions of climate change as well as differing economies and political affiliations all combine to ensure that the United States education system is far from united in combating climate change. In order to equitably educate young Americans who have the potential to become the next climate leaders, there needs to be national consensus on the causes and science behind the changing climate.
Discussion Questions:
What are some actions we can take to help bridge the cultural divide in America when it comes to discussing climate change?
How do the differing economies of each state affect how state lawmakers view environmental policy like the Green New Deal?
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