Note by Go Green BK: The NY-NJ Climate Education Youth Summit has been going on this entire week. Presented by Columbia University’s Eco Ambassador Program of the Center for Sustainable Development at the Earth Institute, in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation in New York City and New Jersey Audubon, the summit was free and open to all. Each day offered inspiring speakers, fun and thought-provoking discussions and networking sessions with Go Greeners of all ages and in particular, middle school and high school students. Go Green BK is delighted to reprint daily recaps of each marvelous day. In addition, there’s still time to sign up for this afternoon’s workshops and tomorrow: register here. Check out the full agenda here.
Recording of Day 1: https://youtu.be/9yD717ApGeQ
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By Dvita Bhattacharya, Millburn Middle School, NJ and Ashna Swaroop, Millburn Middle School, NJ. Originally published in Education and Sustainability on Monday, February 8th, 2021 and updated on Wednesday, February 11th, 2021
WHY CLIMATE ACTION THROUGH EDUCATION?
Day 1 of the Climate Education Youth Summit went off with a bang! The theme for today was “Why Climate Action Through Education?”. To help answer this question, we got to hear from a group of amazing change makers and climate activists who are working to help solve the issue of climate change. Their inspiring stories and insightful messages highlighted the importance of this issue and the need for us all to do our part.
To start off the session, First Lady Tammy Murphy of New Jersey spoke about her efforts to solve climate change through education. She proposed introducing elements of climate change education into the school curriculum in 2019. After advocating for this change with the Standards Review Committee, climate change is now a part of the NJ curriculum, and will be going into effect in schools by September 2021. Mrs. Murphy’s work perfectly exemplifies the main point of today’s session: how education can help solve the climate crisis. Our world is slowly and fortunately shifting more towards clean energy(even though there’s still a long way to go). As Mrs. Murphy put it, teaching children about climate change helps prepare them to solve the great issues in our world and gives them the skills to thrive in a world that is more green. Her work proves to us all that education is one of the most important and impactful tools that we have.
Following up that speech, Professor Jeffrey Sachs joined us for a discussion panel facilitated by several young highschoolers and middle schoolers. He is a senior UN advisor, and has done amazing work to battle climate change. Professor Sachs spoke about the work that needs to be done in regards to this issue and addressed some important questions. He compared the fight against climate change to the famous “Moonshot” speech. In 1962, John F. Kennedy set a goal for the USA as a whole: landing a man on the moon. Today, our goal needs to be to decarbonize and turn to clean energy. Professor Sachs stressed that we, as a country, should aim to cut down on our fossil fuel consumption and move towards greener methods. He also answered an important question about climate change and the economy. In our efforts to reduce fossil fuel use, many jobs in that sector have already been lost. How can we balance our economy and our fight for a greener future? His answer was simple: while we may lose jobs on the way to a cleaner, healthier world, the long-term benefits of green energy far outweigh the losses. The new industries that will be sustained by this change will provide new jobs and help the economy flourish as a whole. We all stand to gain more happiness and welfare when our planet is safer and healthier. Lastly, Professor Sachs spoke about our need to grow closer and more trusting as a world. Countries need to work together to solve issues like lack of education and climate change. When we all focus on being global citizens, humanity benefits as a whole.
COMING TOGETHER FOR EDUCATION IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Next, we had another panel discussion with three inspiring people working to solve climate change. First, we heard from Professor Andre Correa d’Almeida from the School of International and Public Affairs. He spoke about his work creating the Development Practice Lab, which focuses on helping students use research to solve real problems. Professor d’Almeida teaches about sustainable development and works toward possible solutions. He emphasized the need to connect with the real world and get hand-on with reality. Like Professor Sachs, he also believed that global citizenship and international cooperation were the key to solving climate change and many other issues. Our next panelist was Priya Patel from the Environmental Commission in Millburn, NJ. She spoke about how she helped pass the No-Plastic ordinance in the town, limiting the amount of plastic stores used. She talked about how important it is to make your voice heard and just stand for your beliefs. Ms. Patel’s work is inspiring and shows how change is always possible. Lastly, we heard from Radley Faulknor from AmeriCorps VISTA, Public Works Department of Baltimore. He spoke about how redlined groups often face the worst effects of climate change, and how race factors into this issue. These groups face unsanitary living conditions because of their circumstances and homes. All three panelists showed us how faceted the issue of climate change is, and its importance in the world today.
LIFE AROUND THE WORLD!
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Don’t forget, you can still register for this afternoon’s workshops and tomorrow. All free!