Adults easily could dismiss as naïve the calls by Vigo County elementary, middle and high school students for better climate change policies and education in the community.
But the young people’s pleas are not naïve. Their urgings are relevant and necessary. And, leaders in all sectors of Terre Haute and Vigo County should take seriously the message of stronger awareness of climate change and resist viewing the realities through a political lens.
The students formed their organization six months ago and gave it a catchy name, EARTHlings. Its core stands for Environmental Activists for a Resilient Terre Haute. They have congregated every Friday since January outside the Vigo County Courthouse as part of the #FridaysforFuture effort, launched in 2018 by teen Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg.
The kids tote signs with slogans such as “Honk For Climate Action Now” and “Kids Want Climate Action.”
Their mission is more than general statements, though. They are asking for concrete steps in bolstering the curriculum in Vigo County schools regarding the impact of the climate change on the community, state, nation and world. The EARTHlings also are proposing updates on climate issues to become part of the morning announcements at the county’s K-through-12 schools, more signs and visual reminders about climate change, videos in classes, information on the Vigo County School Corp. website and lessons on recycling.
Demonstrations at the courthouse and declarations are only part of their strategy. On Jan. 8, five student members of EARTHlings addressed the Vigo County School Board during its work session. They called on the board to pass a resolution acknowledging that climate change is crisis requiring urgent action, and to resolve to include climate change education in the VCSC schools.
The students added a generational perspective for the board to consider.
“As young people, we will have to live through the ever-worsening consequences of our parents’ and grandparents’ refusal to treat the climate emergency like an emergency,” said Honey Creek Middle School sixth-grader Ayush Bhattacharyya.
Admirably, School Board President Jackie Lower took the students’ calls for action not as an affront, but with appreciation for their enthusiasm. “This is the beginning of a conversation,” Lower said. She also recommended the EARTHlings talk with their local state legislators.
There are tangible opportunities for the school and state leaders to act.
State school standards allow climate change lessons in science and social studies courses. Hoosier education policy makers can do better. The National Center for Science Education rates states’ climate change education standards and gave Indiana a “D.” Last month, the Indiana Department of Education announced a new climate change framework through a partnership with Purdue University. The framework offers resources for educators to incorporate climate change in their classes. The Purdue resources and framework are optional for Indiana schools, but Vigo County and other Wabash Valley districts should strongly consider adopting the instruction.
Communites along the Wabash River will increasingly feel the impact of the changing climate. Purdue researchers, the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment team, forecasts that by 2050 injuries and deaths from extreme high temperatures will double, the state’s allergy season will grow by one month, ground-level ozone production will increase and worsen air quality, and mosquito- and tick-borne diseases will intensify.
Like schools, communities can respond. Earlier this month, Evansville announced its plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 and to become a zero-waste community through 58 tactics, ranging from expanded recycling to promoting rooftop solar panels for homes and businesses. Evansville borrowed ideas from South Bend and Indianapolis. Terre Haute could do the same. (See Evansville’s plan online at climateevansville.com.)
Ideally, the young EARTHlings have indeed started a community-wide conversation, as the School Board president said. It also is time for older generations to listen and help them make changes for the better.
Send comments to [email protected].
