"Why Is It So Hard to Teach Climate Change?"

Earth magazine coverNCSE's deputy director Glenn Branch contributed "Why Is It So Hard to Teach Climate Change?" to the October 2018 issue of Earth magazine, published by the American Geosciences Institute. The commentary began: 

Climate change was in the national spotlight this past summer when The New York Times Magazine devoted its entire Aug. 5, 2018, issue — except for the beloved puzzle section — to Nathaniel Rich's article "Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change." As it happens, "Losing Earth" added a puzzle of its own. Late in his 30,000-word article, Rich wrote that he looked forward to the day when "the young will amass enough power to act" on climate change. But he neglected to ask whether they will have the knowledge to do so, in light of what is and isn't being taught about the topic now.

After reviewing the obstacles, Branch concluded with a note of hope: "Perhaps most encouraging of all is the fact that just as there is a scientific consensus on climate change, there is a public consensus on the importance of teaching about it."