Read our article in the Journal of Sustainability Education!

The urgency of addressing climate change continues to increase, with less than a decade left to meet the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to cut greenhouse emissions to half of pre-1990’s levels. Yet global fossil fuel emissions continue to rise. 

97% of scientists agree global warming is caused by human activity, but according to the Yale Climate Opinion studies, West Virginians’ hold a misconception that the scientific agreement is much lower. As of 2021, only 57% of West Virginians believe that global warming is happening, compared to the national average of 72%. While 66% of West Virginians agree that schools should teach about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global warming, only 28% report discussing global warming at least occasionally, even though, as climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe says, “the most important thing you can do to fight climate change is to talk about it.” The WVCCPD team is aware of the distrust many residents of our state have of climate science, yet we have worked with over 70 science and social studies teachers in WV since 2019, and have seen first-hand the desire of these educators to talk about climate change through educational activities with their students, and the positive feelings of hope and enjoyment they gain from engaging their students. For a problem as big as climate change, scientific knowledge alone is not enough. In order to inspire, engage, and educate people, we must use a multi-pronged approach to pair science literacy with social action. 

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Feedback from WVVCPD Teachers

• “I was not really sure of the response from the students when I told them that we would be conducting…the climate change project. But the very first day when I started it…every student loved it. And to my surprise the whole week was successful.” 

• “Students really do want their voices heard [in reference to PSAs]. They want their thoughts out there and they do have a lot of thoughts when it comes to climate change… I was surprised [that] the class clown, usually goofing off, actually had quite good thoughts and ideas he wanted to put out there. The class sleeper, the one who’s always sleeping and rarely participates in anything, was actually up and joined things during this class. It was exciting to see that.” 

• “The students were extremely engaged the whole time, they asked me a lot of questions, I heard them talking amongst themselves saying they were interested in this topic. They had a really good time creating their PSAs and playing them for the class… I think that the overall takeaway is that I gave them some awareness that they now know there is evidence for climate change.”

• “We calculated carbon footprints for students and their families and looked at WV flood maps so students could see flooding risks for where we live and where we go to school and where our community is... At the end of the lesson I had the students take another informal poll so that we could see if their opinions had changed. Most students were at the ‘yes’ end of the scale as to whether or not climate change was affecting West Virginia.”  

• “Students…were really intrigued about how much trees are important to us and how we were able to show how the different levels of carbon affects things. Now every time they hear of somebody wanting to cut a tree down they get very upset.”

• “[After the course], I feel completely ready and willing to teach and do lessons about climate change. The tough part is getting the students themselves to be engaged and interested. I however believe that this course helps better prepare teachers to do so.” 

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