Climate change is a ever-critical global issue that is becoming more serious. Every day, we see more indications that the world is reaching a breaking point, from species extinction and changes in weather pattern to rising sea levels, to name only a few. Yet, a recent Pew study shows that Americans are the least likely to identify climate change as an important global issue compared to other countries.
The world needs to collaborate to address the issue and the United States must be an active participant. One of the best ways to engage our population in climate change is through education. Specifically, universities (including DU) need to begin incorporating climate change education into their core curriculums.
Climate change is not going away on its own. The 2013 Trade and Environment Review from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that the world has followed the worst case scenario as outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
This means that the world may be facing serious catastrophe in the near future, especially in the agriculture sector, which is the primary driver and victim of climate change. Current agricultural practices, land changes and transportation not only remove carbon sinks, but also emit pollutants and remove biodiversity. Additionally, agriculture is easily harmed by shifts in temperature and weather, which we’ve begun to see already.
The rate of climate change denial, which hovers around 50 percent in the United States (one of the highest in the world), suggests that there is not nearly enough information and education about our current situation. While changes in media may affect Americans, education will likely be the largest source of climate change legitimacy for our country. As a result, universities like DU must ensure that students receive climate change education, which is best established through a core curriculum.
Additionally, our attempts thus far to mitigate climate change have not only failed to better the situation, but also have actually continued to make our situation worse. The status quo cannot continue. The only way we can even begin to address this issue is through a radical paradigm shift, as the UNCTAD review suggests, and this is not likely to occur through government or media initiatives.
DU already ensures that sustainability plays an ever-present role in students’ lives through a variety of programs and services aimed at educating students about sustainability and reducing the university’s climate change impact. For example, the waste system, especially events like the Zero Waste Hockey program, ensures that students are aware of where their waste goes. The bike system at DU also encourages low-emission transportation. Additionally, DU offers a variety of classes and degree programs emphasizing the importance of the environment, including majors in environmental chemistry and environmental science, as well as a minor in sustainability.
Already, DU has taken strides past other universities in ensuring that students receive climate change education. However, more steps need to be taken at DU and every other college in the nation.
One potential step forward in an educational-driven paradigm shift could be a required climate element in the core curriculum. There could be several options to fulfill the requirement, based on already-existing environmental programs at DU. They could also overlap existing core curriculum requirements.
For example, an environmental chemistry class could meet both the Scientific Inquiry: Natural requirement and the environmental requirement. Some of the courses could also incorporate an element of service learning to create another educational high-impact practice in the core curriculum, while applying climate change education to the community.
Climate change is an issue that will challenge the world in many ways in the near future. To address this problem, colleges need to instigate community growth through education. It is an opportunity that higher education would be foolish to ignore.
