Building Capacity for Climate Change Science and Solutions Through - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Building Capacity for Climate Change Science and Solutions Through Education

Frank Niepold NOAA Climate Program Office frank.niepold@noaa.gov

June 16th, 2015

"I believe that the community's duty to education is, therefore, its paramount moral duty. By law and punishment, by social agitation and discussion, society can regulate and form itself in a more or less haphazard and chance way. But through education society can formulate its own purposes, can organize its own means and resources, and thus shape itself with definiteness and economy in the direction in which it wishes to move."

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John Dewey My Pedagogic Creed The School Journal, Vol. LIV, No. 3 January 1897

In which direction does society wish to move?

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It All Started in 2004 with the NOAA Climate Education Fellowship Program

• The program places a highly qualified K-16 educator at

NOAA's Office of Global Programs in Silver Spring, Maryland, to work closely with scientists and program managers NOAA-wide to update materials and develop new activities focused on climate education.

• Any K-16 educator at a U.S. elementary or secondary

school or accredited institution of higher education is eligible, with the approval of her or his school or university administration. The length of assignment is one year (renewable up to three years).

• Deadline: 25 April, 2004

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In 2005, NOAA’s Charge:

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Define and Develop a Climate Literate Nation.

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What was the Status of Climate Education in 2005?

• National Science Education Standards only had 7 references

to climate, 0 for climate change and 1 for greenhouse; “Radical reactions control many processes such as the presence of ozone and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, burning and processing of fossil fuels, the formation of polymers, and explosions.” (p. 179)

• In the 1993 version of the AAAS Project 2061’s Benchmarks for

Science Literacy had 7 references to climate, 0 to climate change, and 0 references to greenhouse.

• In 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change treaty included Article 6 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) stipulates the promotion of education, training and public awareness on climate change, however federal efforts were limited.

• Less than 20% of students took a high school Earth science

course in the nation.

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Revolutionizing Earth System Science Education for the 21st Century, 2007

• Recommendation: Develop a comprehensive

set of atmosphere, weather, and climate literacy principles and concepts, similar in format to the ocean literacy principles and

• concepts. Such a synthesis will provide clarity

to states regarding the essential understandings and process of atmospheric sciences.

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Compare the rate at which CO2 is put into the atmosphere to the rate at which it is

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Are we ready to solve climate change and prepare for the impacts? How could we be, we had no preparation.

Today, global warming is the biggest story that has not fully been told.

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The Bretherton diagram was developed by a committee in 1986 chaired by James Bretherton to facilitate understanding of the Earth as a system.

I worked with NASA on the Mission to Planet Earth starting in 1995 as we went through the

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The Earth system is much more complicated than the simplified Bretherton diagram, much.

What’s the public’s level of climate literacy?

• 70% of U.S. adults think that we should teach children the

causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global

• warming. (Anthony Leiserowitz, Yale University)
• 97.4% of climate scientists who publish in peer review journals

affirm human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing mean global temperatures. (EOS)

• While knowledge levels vary, these results also indicate that

relatively few teens have an in-depth understanding of climate

• change. 54 percent of teens received a failing grade (F),

compared to 46 percent of adults. (Yale, 2011)

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In general, American teens know about the same or less than American adults about how the climate system works and the causes, consequences, and solutions of climate

• change. For example:
• 54% of teens say that global warming is happening, compared to 63%
• f adults;
• 35% of teens understand that most scientists think global warming is

happening, compared to 39% of adults;

• 75% of teens understand that coal is a fossil fuel, compared to 80% of

adults;

• 46% of teens understand that emissions from cars and trucks

substantially contribute to global warming, compared to 49% of adults;

• 62% of teens say that switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy

sources worldwide would reduce global warming a lot or some, compared to 63% of adults.

• However, American teens also recognize their limited

understanding of the issue. Fewer than 1 in 5 say they are “very well informed” about how the climate system works or the different causes, consequences, or potential solutions to global warming, and only 27 percent say they have learned “a lot” about global warming from in school. Importantly, 70 percent of teens say they would like to know more about global warming.

• Seventy-three percent of teens say they would turn to

the Internet to learn more about global warming, compared to 61 percent of adults. Teens are less likely than adults to look to television programs or books or magazines for more information about global warming.

Cutting Carbon Pollution and Preparing for the Impacts of Climate Change will be the biggest drivers for the 21st Century and beyond.

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Given that there are over 15,000 K-12 school districts in the United States and standards are different sometimes down to the school level, the work to increase the nations climate and energy literacy must work systemically and at scale.

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Decision Makers Ed Policy Leaders

Educators & Students

Science Attentive Public, Citizen Scientists Science Interested Publics Residual Public Public Media Public Continuum Scientists & Data Users Museums, Science Centers, After School & Community-based Programs Policy Leads

~133,000 School Buildings (94,000 public, 27,000 private, 8,000 catholic, and 4,000 charter) with 54 million students ฀ Over 1.6 million public elementary school teachers in US

Secondary Schools (Middle and High School) ~38,000 school buildings in US ฀ Over 1 million secondary public school teachers in US ฀ Over 200,000 unclassified teachers for a total of 2.9 million teachers in the US across k-12 spectrum

Scale of the Education Structure in the U.S.

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Decision Makers Ed Policy Leaders

Educators & Students

Science Attentive Public, Citizen Scientists Science Interested Publics Residual Public Public Media Public Continuum Scientists & Data Users Museums, Science Centers, After School & Community-based Programs Policy Leads

Post-Secondary Schools: ~thousands of community colleges, colleges and universities with ~20 million students

Scale of the Education Structure in the U.S.

School Campus Level: School campuses are highly distributed across the nation

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Decision Makers Ed Policy Leaders Educators & Students Science Attentive Public, Citizen Scientists Science Interested Publics Residual Public Public Media Public Continuum Scientists & Data Users

Museums, Science Centers, After School & Community-based Programs

Policy Leads

Informal and Place-based education ~20,000 (estimated) Institutions ฀ Several Professional societies represent these institutions; ASTC, NAI, AZA and others ฀ Over 600 million visitors enjoy the benefits of Federal lands, waters, and nature centers every year.

Scale of the Education Structure in the U.S.

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In 2007, this is the first paper that makes the case for climate literacy: Today’s climate literacy crisis On climate science literacy and why it matters Many audiences, many levels of engagement Explores a case study Concluding call for a climate literacy coalition

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Given the magnitude and the required speed of progress, partnerships was the only way forward.

• In 2005, federal science agencies

and science and education partners began the development of a national climate education priority.

• The key first effort was the

development of the Climate Literacy guide which began at a workshop sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

• Multiple science agencies, non-

governmental organizations, and numerous individuals also contributed through extensive review and comment periods.

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…an understanding of your influence on climate and climate’s influence on you and society. A climate literate person:

• understands the essential principles of Earth’s climate

system,

• knows how to assess scientifically credible information about

climate,

• communicates about climate and climate change in a

meaningful way, and

• is able to make informed and responsible decisions with

regard to actions that may affect climate.

Climate Science Literacy is…

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• One of the most significant advances in K–12 climate

change educational efforts is the Next-Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for teaching science in the United States (NAS et al. 2013).

• These new standards include an emphasis on

anthropogenic or “human-caused” effects in both middle and high school science standards.

• In the next four years, significant work in educator

professional development and curricular design is planned to support this critical advancement in the nation’s climate education.

• States across the nation have begun to adopt NGSS,

which will improve overall climate literacy among all Americans, and build in the next generation a firm foundation of knowledge and discourse as the nation faces decisions on how to best deal with a changing climate.

Key Highlight: Improve Science Education Standards related to Climate for K-12

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The opportunity the NRC Framework and the resulting Next Generation Science Standards (currently over 30% of the nations teachers and students) offers for climate and energy literacy is unprecedented. But…

Despite nationwide federal (NOAA, NASA, & NOAA) investments of over $120 million in climate change education that is “among the most powerful tools the nation has to bring hidden hazards to public attention, understanding and action” (NRC, 2011) we continue to face many challenges. Chief among these are the difficulties in bringing to scale effective resources and strategies that support local implementation and the need for more coherent and synergistic investments that aggregate for greater collective impact.

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Why is education among the most powerful tools the nation has to bring hidden hazards to public attention, understanding and action?

“Elimination of about 80 percent of fossil fuel emissions would essentially stop the rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” James Butler, director of NOAA’s Global Monitoring Division, said in a statement, “but concentrations of carbon dioxide would not start decreasing until even further reductions are made and then it would

• nly do so slowly.”

Decisions are made in a social context, decision makers are empowered and bound by their constituents.

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Why Learn about Climate?

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Relevance

“From a pedagogical perspective, engineering has potential to be inclusive of students who have traditionally been marginalized in the science classroom and do not see science as being relevant to their lives or future. By solving problems through engineering in local contexts (e.g., gardening, improving air quality, cleaning water pollution in the community), students gain knowledge of science content, view science as relevant to their lives and future, and engage in science in socially relevant and transformative ways (Rodriguez & Berryman, 2002).” Appendix D - "All Standards, All Students”, NGSS

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Carbon dioxide has risen by ~40% since the human industrial revolution

Mauna Loa Observatory on Hawai’i 318 ppm (1958) 399 ppm (3-2014) 401 ppm (3-2015)

Today’s carbon dioxide trend is unusual compared to the last ~800,000 years on Earth

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http://www.whitehouse.gov/climate-change

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College of the Atlantic students studying renewable energy on Samso Island, Denmark, examine one of its wind turbines.Credit Jay Friedlander/ College of the Atlantic

I am really looking forward to the day when we have tackled the challenge of making energy

Nick Urban, from the class of 2015

We need to empower and prepare the next generation to lead a low-carbon and resilient economy?

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Humanity needs to eliminate of about 80 percent of fossil fuel emissions by 2030 to essentially stop the rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

Key Question from the youngest generation: Is it too late?

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Green growth opportunities

Green growth opportunities

Green growth opportunities

We at Climate.gov worked with the community to solve part of the resources issue in Teaching Climate.

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NOAA is Partnering with the CLEAN Project on the Climate Portal Education section

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Description of the resource Notes from the CLEAN Review team Topics and Grade Level for the resource with links to other related resources in the collection Standards alignment for the resource with links to

• ther related resources in

the collection Link to the resource

Teaching Climate with the National Climate Assessment

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Key Message for the Midwest Region

"Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also exacerbate a range of risks to the Great Lakes.” National Climate Assessment, 2014

How teachers can dig deeper into the entire NCA report? How the National Climate Assessment relates to Education?

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General Resources for Each Region Each Regional page has supporting sections for each NCA Key Message NCA Resources for each Region with a Spanish translation of the highlights report

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• Guiding Questions

What could we do to reduce our emissions?

• Key figures from the National

Climate Assessment with links to the supporting data, citations and high resolution files

• Other Resources that support this

regions National Climate Assessment chapter

• Lesson Plans from the CLEAN

Collection

Each Regional page has supporting sections for each NCA Key Message

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The Site

HTTP://NCA2014.GLOBALCHANGE.GOV/

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Discussion

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White House Champions of Change for Climate Education and Literacy Roundtable on Supporting and Preparing Educators

Big ideas emerging from the discussion included:

The importance of integrating climate and climate change across the entire curriculum, not just in STEM classes. The need to leverage opportunities offered through Common Core and the Next Generation Science Standards. The importance of promoting a variety of partnerships, including those between scientists and educators, between public and private stakeholders, and between educators and decision makers. The importance of finding mechanisms to help educators use the educational process to unleash the energy and enthusiasm of their students, who will have the biggest impact now and on future generations.

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Signs of Climate Solution Momentum

• 1. California Breaks New Ground on Renewables
• 2. Record-Breaking Coal Retirements
• 3. Red States Among Wind and Solar Leaders
• 4. Seismic Shift in Global Business Community
• 5. Tea Party Loyalists are Revolting to Back Solar

Solutions

• 6. Regional Emissions Reduction Plans are Exceeding

Expectations

• 7. The Pope is Getting Involved
• 8. China is Beating its Own Ambitious Pledge
• 9. Other Nations are Making Notable Strides

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Huffington Post, Got Science? Nine Surprising Signs Momentum Is Building for Climate Action, May 7th, 2015

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http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/

Key Findings

Renewable electricity generation from technologies that are commercially available today, in combination with a

more flexible electric system,

is more than adequate to supply 80% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2050 while meeting electricity

demand on an hourly basis in every region of the country.

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New Resource: Indicators related to climate change—which may be physical, ecological, or societal

Climate beliefs – Yale Climate Opinion Map

• Minneapolis MN, Hennepin County
• Minneapolis Population 782,754
• Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Population 2,550,200
• Global warming is happening 69%
• Global warming is caused mostly by human activities 59%
• Most scientists think global warming is happening 51%
• Worried about global warming 61%
• Global warming is already harming people in the U.S. 46%
• Global warming will harm me personally 38%
• Global warming will harm people in the U.S. 57%
• Global warming will harm future generations 73%

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Public opinion estimates are produced using a statistical model based on national survey data gathered between 2008 and 2014 by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication.

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Public opinion estimates are produced using a statistical model based on national survey data gathered between 2008 and 2014 by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication.

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Public opinion estimates are produced using a statistical model based on national survey data gathered between 2008 and 2014 by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication.