by Kendal Andress | 16 Feb 2023 | Educators' Catalog, Health and Wellness, Student Posts, Tatnall School, Youth Voices
Anxiety about the fate of the planet is harming the mental health of young people. Can we help them funnel their frustration into a force for change? Climate change activist holding a banner with the message, “The world is dying and so are we,” 24...
In a prime example of a student-produced piece, high school student Kendal Andress from the Tatnall School in Delaware discusses solution-focused climate action in response to rising eco-anxiety among young people. With sources ranging from UNICEF to interviews with NGO founders and local leaders, this article highlights News Decoder’s mission to amplify youth voices.
Exercise: Prepare four large pieces of butcher paper. Label the sheets: individual action, local action (city/state/province), national action, international action. Have your class read the article, then divide students into four groups. Each group will begin with one sheet and write down ways in which people can act to fight climate change at the level written on their paper. After 10-15 minutes, have students pass the paper along, so another group can add to their responses. Continue until all groups have contributed to all four sheets of paper and discussed action at all four levels. (Activity can also be done through a shared Google Slide deck).
by Richard Hubbard | 13 Feb 2023 | Climate decoders, Decoders, Economy, Educators' Catalog, Environment, Writing's on the Wall
The Great Barrier Reef isn’t just an endangered world wonder. Protecting the world’s largest coral reef system is also key to Australia’s economic growth. A diver swims past coral on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, 18 October 2016. More than 90%...
Protecting the environment isn’t just the right thing to do, it can also be the profitable thing to do. Take the Great Barrier Reef, for example, which has an estimated value of $56 billion Australian dollars. Help your students disentangle the complicated world of environmental economics with this article.
Exercise: After reading the article, have students take the WWF Carbon Footprint questionnaire at https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/. The questionnaire estimates individuals’ carbon footprint, looking at food, travel, home and consumption habits. After the questionnaire, launch a class discussion on how changes in individual habits may contribute to fighting climate change — and might even be a profitable choice.
by Betty Wong | 5 Jan 2023 | Climate decoders, Economy, Educators' Catalog, Environment, Writing's on the Wall
Turn on the tap, and the world’s most valuable commodity pours out. Maybe it’s time to invest in water — to line our pockets and protect our planet. Clean water pours from a hose. Credit: Cassio Henrique. Getty Images. This article is the seventh in a...
Water is one of the most important commodities in the world. It is also tradable as companies seek to make money by purifying and distributing it. Some organizations that are pushing for climate change action are investing in water companies to pressure private industry to be better stewards of water. These investments in water stocks are proving to be financially profitable.
Exercise: The story identifies a list of companies that provide water or water infrastructure: IDEX Corp., Xylem Inc., Danaher Corp., Ecolab, Roper Industries, Pentair Plc, Ferguson Plc and American Water Works Co. Inc. Divide students into investment teams with $1 million each to invest. Have them first brainstorm ways water and systems for providing water could be improved in their area or elsewhere. Then have them look up the website of one or more of those companies to see if they can tell what the company does to improve water supply or quality. Would their $1 million invested in that company help towards the improvements they identified as needed?
by Bernd Debusmann | 2 Jan 2023 | Decoders, Educators' Catalog, Politics, World
Where diplomacy balances demagoguery, should one nation be able to veto the votes of 192 others? Giving peace a chance might just be too much to ask. Non–Violence or The Knotted Gun by Carl Fredrik Reutersward, UN New York. Licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0 Hands up if you...
Global citizenship and cross-border collaboration has never mattered more. Among the 193 nations that make up the United Nations, the island nation of Tuvalu – less than 13,000 people – has the same vote on referendums in the General Assembly as China, which has more than 1 billion people. But China also serves on the UN Security Council and so can veto any proposal. Because of this strange inequity, the UN has been unable to stop ethnically-driven massacres, genocidal persecution of minorities and other smaller conflicts. On the other hand, it is bringing the world together on climate change.
Exercise: Turn your class into a mini United Nations. Each student will get one vote. But appoint a small number of students to also serve on the Security Council. (You might choose the tallest, biggest students to emphasize the idea of power imbalance.) Have students propose changes that should be made by the school or your class. Then have the students on the Security Council see if they are willing to endorse the idea, with any one student on it given the power to quash the proposal. Then have students discuss the pros and cons of that structure and the power of the veto.
by Marcy Burstiner | 29 Dec 2022 | Health and Wellness
Climate change anxiety is manifesting in teen mental health. They know our planet is in serious trouble. Let’s help them spot some solutions. Global warming and climate change rally (Elmar Gubisch) If you are around teenagers and you’ve got more than a...
