Today’s students will have to live with the impacts of global warming. So in Portland Oregon, public school students learn about the causes, consequences, and possible solutions.

Last spring, the Portland Public School Board unanimously voted to develop a climate education strategy. The plan is to teach students the information they need and provide tools to help them take action as the climate changes.

School board member Mike Rosen says the resolution means the district is now training teachers in climate science. The board has directed the schools to develop a curriculum that covers the severity of the problem, solutions, and job opportunities in emerging industries, such as solar and wind.

Rosen: “The strategy is about integrating this knowledge into the curriculum as soon as possible.”

The district is also phasing out older textbooks and replacing them with those that reflect the scientific consensus on climate change.

Rosen: “Since the prevailing science is that climate change is caused by human activity they wanted those textbooks updated.”

With these changes, Portland public schools aim to teach their kids about the problem of climate change and the solutions.

Reporting credit: Rosie Simon/ChavoBart Digital Media.
Image graphic: Created by David McCarthy.