5 Reasons Why Teachers are Not Teaching Kids about Climate Change

More than half of American teachers are not talking about climate change in their classrooms and of those that do almost a third incorrectly tell their students that climate change is a natural phenomenon.

According to a recent poll climate change is a very low priority for teachers in the U.S. Almost two thirds of educators who are not teaching it say they see global warming as outside of their subject area. However, science-based training is only part of the problem, parental attitudes are also a concern. Almost a third of educators are worried that parents may complain if they teach their kids about climate change.

GMO's Top Green School Stories of 2014

This year represents the fifth annual installment of the Green Market Oracle's (GMO) annual sustainable school series.

Each year GMO puts together a summary of some of the latest information and resources on environmentally oriented academics and activities as well as green infrastructure in pedagogical settings.

Here are the Green Market Oracle's top posts in green education, activities and infrastructure for 2014:

The Green Market Oracle's Third Annual School Sustainability Series for 2012

Each year The Green Market puts together a summary of the latest information and resources on sustainability in education. This series reflects the importance of the green schools movement to contribute to the growth of the global economy and the health of the planet.

Last year over 70 posts came together to create the Green Schools Series 2011. In 2010 there were more than 60 posts that comprised the series for that year.

This year there are a total of more than 65 posts for the third annual installment of the series. In addition to posts on programs and campuses, there are two new sections on "Teacher Resources" and "Business Schools."

The New Era of Green Schools

In February 2012 at the Green Schools National Conference in Denver, Colo., U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan expressed the view that green schools are no longer part of a fringe movement. EE is, in fact, necessary to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.

Duncan, whose administration launched the Green Ribbon Schools Program, called for inclusion of EE in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The U.S. Senate voted in favor of the change in 2011, thus marking the first time EE has been formally included in federal K-12 education policy. The Campaign for Environmental Literacy lists approximately one dozen states with requirements for EE in their K-12 curriculums. And, according to the North American Association for Environmental Education, some 47 states and the District of Columbia are in the process of developing new or revised Environmental Literacy Plans.

The Need for Global Environmental Education

In a paper prepared for the 2012 Rio +20 Earth Summit, leading scientists issued a warning that humans are facing “an unprecedented [planetary] emergency” driven by overpopulation, over-consumption and use of environmentally damaging technologies. Climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, environmental degradation, economic instability and a host of environmentally related illnesses will threaten civilization’s very survival if people do not act. Unfortunately, say the authors, “humanity’s behavior remains utterly inappropriate” for dealing with the problems people face, and their continued “failure to act will impoverish current and future generations.”

The School of Earth and Environment (SEE)

The UK's School of Earth and Environment (SEE) was ranked second nationally in terms of research power in earth and environmental sciences in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. The school is at the forefront of tackling global issues such as climate change, energy, water and sustainable development. Its research is organized across four institutes and two national research centers.

The School of Earth and Environment is one of the largest and most vibrant Schools in the UK. Experts within the School study the Earth from its core to the atmosphere, with expertise ranging from geophysics and surface processes to atmospheric science, climate change and environmental sustainability. Leeds is in fact, one of just a few universities that has brought the complete range of disciplines from geology and geophysics, environmental science, meteorology and climate science, to environmental social science together under one banner.