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Miami Herald
22-04-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
COLUMN: Teachers, states stepping up to keep climate change education alive as federal government defunds it
This past fall, at an event in New York City's National Museum of the American Indian, a packed room of educators and federal employees applauded the release of a document titled "Climate Literacy: Essential Principles for Understanding and Addressing Climate Change." The 52-page document, released at Climate Week NYC, laid out principles for improving young people's understanding of the science, skills and aptitudes required to address this fast-moving global challenge - including "hope" and "urgency." Frank Niepold of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) told The Hechinger Report at the time that he hoped it would be widely adopted by states and even internationally. "We're not just talking to classroom teachers," he said. "This is for every kind of educator, every kind of communicator and all the decision makers." In April, the Trump administration defunded the lead federal program that put out the guide, the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Many of the other agencies that worked on it, including NOAA, have also been decimated by staffing cuts. And the guide itself has been taken down from its government URL, leaving nothing but an error message. That same week, on April 8, the Department of Commerce argued in a press release announcing further cuts that federally funded climate research has promoted "exaggerated and implausible climate threats, contributing to a phenomenon known as 'climate anxiety,' which has increased significantly among America's youth." The agency, which houses NOAA, said it would no longer fund educational initiatives for K-12 students. Related: Want to read more about how climate change is shaping education? Subscribe to our free newsletter. Youth climate anxiety is real. But it's likely not coming from knowing too much. In fact, climate anxiety coexists with widespread climate ignorance among America's students. That's according to a new national survey of teenagers released in April by EdWeek and the Aspen Institute's This Is Planet Ed (where, disclosure, I'm an adviser): Just 12 percent of teens feel they know "a lot" about the causes of climate change. Only 54 percent of teens correctly identified greenhouse gas emissions from human activity as the biggest contributor to climate change. Only 42 percent of teens recognize that there is an overwhelming scientific consensus on human-caused climate change. Meanwhile, just over half, a majority, wrongly believe that scientists are divided 50-50 on the human role in climate change. This suggests a worryingly high level of exposure to climate denial and disinformation. 51 percent wrongly thought climate change was directly damaging the ozone layer. 57 percent of teens thought recycling would have a "large impact" on climate change, making it the most popular option. (In reality, according to the organization Drawdown, recycling is in the middle of the pack as far as climate solutions go, far behind ideas like reducing food waste or increasing solar power generation). Related: Education that convinces kids the world isn't doomed As the U.S. government steps back, and American teens struggle to master the basics, other countries are forging ahead. The PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), the prestigious international "report card" program, announced last fall that it will develop a new measure of climate literacy, to be administered as part of the 2029 test. Andreas Schleicher, who oversees PISA at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, told me that the test is designed to promote students' sense of agency. He says it will be based in part on material that has long been covered in schools in countries including Japan and Canada. Meanwhile, back home in the U.S., science educators are circulating the climate literacy guide as "samizdat" - the term for self-publication of banned books in the former Soviet Union. Colorado cites the guide in updated state science standards, currently under review. And the University of Washington added a new page featuring a copy of the guide to an existing online open educational resource called STEM Teaching Tools, which gets about 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a month. Education consultant Deb Morrison, who worked on the STEM Teaching Tools resource, says they rushed to release it in time for the National Conference on Science Education in Philadelphia in March, where they held over a dozen sessions on the topic for science teachers from around the country. Related: Want teachers to teach climate change? You've got to train them " I would say that educators in every state are teaching climate," she said. "It may be framed to manage the sort of tensions that exist in different places, to be able to meet people where they're at, but they're still teaching climate in Florida, in Maine, in Mississippi, in Oregon, in Alabama." That said, Morrison said the removal of the guide from its domain, not to mention the cancellation of basic government data collection on climate, poses a challenge not just to scientific knowledge, but to equity, justice and democracy. "Now we're voting based on opinion or pseudo-expertise in different spaces, and nobody's actually learning and using evidence." For Schleicher, too, advancing climate literacy through PISA is a key part of a broader project to promote scientific knowledge as a bedrock of international cooperation. In a world where you can find entire YouTube channels dedicated to the proposition that the earth is flat, he said, "Science actually builds consensus among people on an evidence-based objective reality." Without that, it's hard to imagine a peaceful or prosperous future for anyone. A note: This is my final climate and education column for The Hechinger Report with the support of This Is Planet Ed at the Aspen Institute. I've been contributing to this series since 2022 and have covered early education through workforce development, traditional and Indigenous knowledge, climate storytelling in children's media and more. It's been an honor and you can find my continued freelance coverage of these topics here at Hechinger, at Grist and at my weekly newsletter. You can also sign up for Hechinger's climate change and education newsletter here. Contact editor Caroline Preston at preston@ on Signal at CarolineP.83 or 212-870-8965. This story about climate anxiety was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter. The post COLUMN: Teachers, states stepping up to keep climate change education alive as federal government defunds it appeared first on The Hechinger Report.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fired hurricane hunter says Americans could see ‘more damage and more loss of life' with NOAA layoffs
Dr. Andrew Hazelton is one of the nation's Hurricane Hunters. He was part of the crews that would fly deep into powerful hurricanes as they churned in the ocean, all to collect data to help forecasters improve predictions on the storm's power and direction. But, he was among the first rounds of layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. He said his job loss - and the thousands that have followed - are making Americans less safe. 'Because you could see the forecast improvements that we've come to count on or rely on could be reversed,' he told The Independent. 'And, that would lead to more damage, potentially, and more loss of life. And, that's not what we want to see.' President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, though his Department of Government Efficiency, have sought to trim the federal budget. They are looking at shrinking the workforce and have pushed for cuts across the federal government, including NOAA. About 800 agency workers were laid off in February with another 1,000 let go last week. Advocates have blasted the cuts at NOAA. They have pointed to how little the agency costs each taxpayer per day, when compared to the return. They note how the agency provides much of the data that weather forecasting is based on. They say losing people hurts their work, which could make people less safe when severe weather is on the horizon. "So it is, like, cutting off your nose to spite your face. Which seems a bit counterintuitive if your goal is really to serve the American people,' a former agency official previously told The Independent. Still, it hasn't slowed DOGE's efforts to shrink the NOAA workforce, including Hazelton. Hazelton grew up in central Florida and has been into the weather since he was a kid. Three hurricanes went through his county in 2004. They cemented his interest in the field. He went to Florida State and got a bachelor's degree in meteorology before working his way to a doctorate. After completing his Ph.D., Hazelton started working at NOAA - where he served for eight years. He later took on a federal position working for the Environment Modeling Center. 'I always knew I wanted to come back and work for NOAA and sort of be involved in all this. So, it definitely was kind of a dream and it's obviously sort of disappointing what's happening now,' he explained. Hazelton and the Hurricane Hunters flew into hurricanes to collect critical data that gives scientists a three-dimensional picture inside the storm. It's data that cannot be collected from satellites and is used by the National Hurricane Center to diagnose what the storm is doing and gets fed into computer models to help make forecasting more accurate. It's no easy feat and the ride can be 'pretty bumpy,' he noted. There were some 'nasty parts' of Hurricane Helene's eyewall, for example. 'It's exciting, but can also it be a little unnerving sometimes, too,' he said. Over the years, hurricane forecasting has improved, shrinking the cones that contain the probable path of the storm's center. Last year, the National Hurricane Center's forecast track performance was 'its best in history' for the Atlantic hurricane season. 'Now, the five-day forecast error [margin] is about like what the one or two-day error was 30 years ago, which is pretty remarkable,' said Hazelton. The forecast track error is the distance between the forecast location and the actual location of the center of the storm. Like many, Hazelton is waiting to see what comes from federal rulings that could perhaps temporarily reinstate fired probationary workers. Until then, NOAA is feeling the weight of these losses. 'There are a lot of forecast offices and places that are understaffed. So, it's just going to be a lot of strain across the enterprise,' he said. '...You hope that it doesn't lead to any big forecast issues, but you never know.'
The Independent
16-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Fired hurricane hunter says Americans could see ‘more damage and more loss of life' with NOAA layoffs
Dr. Andrew Hazelton is one of the nation's Hurricane Hunters. He was part of the crews that would fly deep into powerful hurricanes as they churned in the ocean, all to collect data to help forecasters improve predictions on the storm's power and direction. But, he was among the first rounds of layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. He said his job loss - and the thousands that have followed - are making Americans less safe. 'Because you could see the forecast improvements that we've come to count on or rely on could be reversed,' he told The Independent. 'And, that would lead to more damage, potentially, and more loss of life. And, that's not what we want to see.' President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, though his Department of Government Efficiency, have sought to trim the federal budget. They are looking at shrinking the workforce and have pushed for cuts across the federal government, including NOAA. About 800 agency workers were laid off in February with another 1,000 let go last week. Advocates have blasted the cuts at NOAA. They have pointed to how little the agency costs each taxpayer per day, when compared to the return. They note how the agency provides much of the data that weather forecasting is based on. They say losing people hurts their work, which could make people less safe when severe weather is on the horizon. "So it is, like, cutting off your nose to spite your face. Which seems a bit counterintuitive if your goal is really to serve the American people,' a former agency official previously told The Independent. Still, it hasn't slowed DOGE's efforts to shrink the NOAA workforce, including Hazelton. Hazelton grew up in central Florida and has been into the weather since he was a kid. Three hurricanes went through his county in 2004. They cemented his interest in the field. He went to Florida State and got a bachelor's degree in meteorology before working his way to a doctorate. After completing his Ph.D., Hazelton started working at NOAA - where he served for eight years. He later took on a federal position working for the Environment Modeling Center. 'I always knew I wanted to come back and work for NOAA and sort of be involved in all this. So, it definitely was kind of a dream and it's obviously sort of disappointing what's happening now,' he explained. Hazelton and the Hurricane Hunters flew into hurricanes to collect critical data that gives scientists a three-dimensional picture inside the storm. It's data that cannot be collected from satellites and is used by the National Hurricane Center to diagnose what the storm is doing and gets fed into computer models to help make forecasting more accurate. It's no easy feat and the ride can be 'pretty bumpy,' he noted. There were some 'nasty parts' of Hurricane Helene's eyewall, for example. 'It's exciting, but can also it be a little unnerving sometimes, too,' he said. Over the years, hurricane forecasting has improved, shrinking the cones that contain the probable path of the storm's center. Last year, the National Hurricane Center's forecast track performance was 'its best in history' for the Atlantic hurricane season. 'Now, the five-day forecast error [margin] is about like what the one or two-day error was 30 years ago, which is pretty remarkable,' said Hazelton. The forecast track error is the distance between the forecast location and the actual location of the center of the storm. Like many, Hazelton is waiting to see what comes from federal rulings that could perhaps temporarily reinstate fired probationary workers. Until then, NOAA is feeling the weight of these losses. 'There are a lot of forecast offices and places that are understaffed. So, it's just going to be a lot of strain across the enterprise,' he said. '...You hope that it doesn't lead to any big forecast issues, but you never know.'
The Independent
12-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
These four elections are about to test Trump's impact on climate
If the fact that we've just experienced the hottest January in history wasn't terrifying enough, Donald Trump and his minions in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have spent the past two weeks (and then some) wreaking havoc on climate policy. As well as vowing to 'drill, baby, drill' and tap into America's 'liquid gold' oil reserves, the president pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement and has signed various executive orders that will effectively undo the progress that has been made in the past four years under Joe Biden. Just last week, reports also said that Elon Musk visited the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) offices in Washington DC, sparking fears that the Trump administration will be making severe cuts to the country's foremost weather authority – in terms of both staffing and funding. But the critical question now is: how far will the shockwaves created by Trump and his team be felt? This year, there are four key elections taking place in Germany, Canada, Australia and Chile – the outcomes of which could either create a much-needed buffer against the rising right-wing tide and anti-climate science sentiment or may amplify the damage that Trump's as-yet unmitigated chaos presents. The first, and perhaps most critical, will be Germany's election next week. Under Angela Merkel's leadership, the country cemented itself as a global leader in the renewable energy transition and a key diplomatic force of the European Green New Deal and Paris Agreement. Its greenhouse gas emissions have decreased 48 per cent since 1990 and Germany's existing leadership was still aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. It has also been one of the largest donors to international climate finance, and is trying even now to pick up the slack after US funding cuts. That said, the Conservatives have regularly criticised the sitting government's energy policies, and Friedrich Merz, the man tipped to be Germany's next leader, has vowed to put the economy ahead of climate considerations. Combined with the potential threat of a coalition led by the Musk-backed, ultra-right wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party – which refuses to believe the climate crisis and wants to withdraw from the Paris Accord, like Trump – it could spell disaster. In Australia, where I am based, Trump's reach is unmistakable. As well as lauding the 'outstanding leader' in the New York Times ahead of his inauguration, Gina Reinhart – Australia's biggest mining billionaire – and wealthy businessman Anthony Pratt have been celebrating Trump's leadership and calling for a similar approach here. The leader of the opposition, Peter Dutton, has also been lapping it up – last week describing Trump as a 'big thinker' in reference to his barbaric 'Middle Eastern riviera' proposal. Of course, seeing as Reinhart is also the biggest donor to right-wing think tanks and regularly lends her private jet to her 'dear friend' Dutton, it should come as no surprise. What is striking, however, is the effect it's having on the electorate. Currently, the polls are neck-and-neck for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Dutton, and with the May election fast approaching, there is little time to waste. If Dutton is successful, Australia could well return to the 'lost decade' of climate denialism and undo all the changes the Labor government has enacted since 2022, as his party has vowed to scrap all the 2030 targets that were made, and to be the 'best friend that the mining and resources sector will ever have.' Then will come Canada in October. Following Justin Trudeau's recent resignation, many have written off the Liberal Party – but candidates Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney may just have a shot later in the year, which is positive news for climate policy, as both have proposed a reform of the existing carbon tax, a fee levied on polluters for greenhouse gas emissions. They will, however, be up against an unapologetically populist campaign to 'axe the tax' from Poilievre. Although the date of the Chile election has yet to be announced, the incumbent president, 39-year-old Gabriel Boric, will not be able to run again and his left-wing coalition is struggling to maintain support, if the polls are anything to go by. This opens things up for a right-wing challenger – though a clear frontrunner there is not. It could come in the form of either the far-right Johannes Kaiser or conservative Evelyn Matthei – both of which pose a varying threat to the country's Net Zero commitments. Still, both candidates will look to focus on extractivist growth and undermine the country's nationalised lithium mining industry. It's also worth noting that a win for either candidate would push Chile far closer to Argentina's far-right leader Javier Milei, who is one of Trump's most loyal international allies, and has already received praise from both Matthei and Kaiser. Together, these four countries have played a critical role in shaping the international climate consensus over the last four years, and are crucial to ensuring ongoing global progress. However, they all now stand on the precipice of a pivotal shift towards the right – that could undermine not only renewable transitions, but amplify Trump's anti-climate agenda around the world.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Seasonal outlook for when spring begins in Ohio, and a look at the rest of winter
Ohioans may be catching early cases of spring fever. Unfortunately, the winter season isn't even halfway over. There's a little under two months to go until the official end of the winter season and the onset of spring, promising warmer days, and for some, a brighter mood. Stark County's winter has already packed a punch, as the Akron-Canton area has recorded more than 25 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. This is more than was recorded in the entirety of last season. The first day of spring will be Thursday, March 20. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, Ohio has a chance to see unusually warm conditions from February through April. Its seasonal outlook casts a majority of the state within a 33% to 40% chance to observe above average temperatures during that time frame. If you're itching for a look into the next few weeks of winter, you may not have to wait long. Punxsutawney Phil will make his annual prediction this Sunday, Feb. 2. If the groundhog does not see his shadow, an early spring may be on the way. If he does, you may want to bundle up for six more weeks of winter. Buckeye Chuck, the weather predicting groundhog from Ohio, is scheduled to make his prediction on Sunday, as well. The tradition comes from WMRN-AM, a radio station in Marion. He's been making the annual predictions since the 1970s. Last season, the groundhog predicted an early spring. Supporters claim Buckeye Chuck has an accuracy rate of more than 75%, much higher than Punxsutawney Phil's reported rate of around 40%, according to the Marion Star. The groundhog will make his prediction at the Marion County Fairgrounds Colosseum from 7 to 8 a.m., according to the station. The event will also be streamed on 1490-AM WMRN. 'Chuck has been studying weather patterns, jet stream anomalies, computer models, and napping in order to procure Ohio's most accurate springtime forecast,' Chris Kelly, the vice president of programming for iHeartMedia Marion, said in a prepared statement. Buckeye Chuck, whose real name is Murray, will travel two hours from his home at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to Marion. Murray serves as an animal ambassador at the museum when he's not participating in Groundhog Day. When it comes time see his shadow, Jim Nemet, director of wildlife at the museum, said it's all up to Murray whether or not he participates. The tradition (and later holiday) began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, according to the National Weather Service. The tradition of relying on hibernating animals for weather advice has its origins in ancient European weather lore, where a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog. It also has its origins in Candlemas, an ancient Christian holiday where a clear sky was meant to indicate an early spring. In the 1880s, a newspaper editor in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, used his platform to promote Punxsutawney Phil "to be the one and only official weather forecasting groundhog," a title now contested by Buckeye Chuck, who became the state's official weather-predicting groundhog in 1975. The Columbus Dispatch contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on The Repository: When does spring start? Here's the seasonal outlook for Ohio
