Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/882783
improvem ent, say research ers from Pennsylvania State University, Wright S t a t e Un i v e r s i t y i n O h i o , a n d t h e National Center for Science Education in California. eir 2016 nationwide survey of 1,500 science teachers finds most students spend only an hour or two per year learning about climate change in middle and high school — and much of what they are taught is confusing or wrong. For example, only 38 percent of schoolchildren are taught that climate change is linked to fossil fuels. Seven percent of teachers surveyed attribute recent warming to natural causes. Another 22 percent say there is "significant disagreement" among scientists about the cause of global warming, when in fact 97 percent of climate scientists agree that it is caused by human activity. Many teachers surveyed say they lack training to teach about climate change, and the information is changing so rapidly, it is difficult to keep up. e study, published in the journal Science, concludes that giving short shrift to the subject — and sending mixed messages about climate change in the media — leaves students more susceptible to disinformation spread by political or corporate interests once they enter adulthood. e study also notes that the energy industry spends millions on climate denial research and supporting candidates who deny global warming. E N V I R O N M E N T A S A T E A C H I N G T O O L Science lab teacher Laurie Scheibner, Tahoe Truckee Education Association, recalls that California experienced a multiyear drought that was devastating for families in the area, many of whom depend on the skiing industry for their livelihood. "But we shouldn't get excited, just because we had normal snow last year," she says. "We had a lot of rain-on-snow events, which caused immediate runoff, and then because of a winter with lots of snow, we also had big spring runoff. Students noticed how different this is in their short lifetimes. e runoff impacted everyone along the Truckee River and caused some flooding issues downstream." A study of the snowpack found last winter's snow to be wetter (containing more water) than usual, which caused flooding and avalanches. In February, an avalanche buried the crest of the main mountain highway between Reno and Lake Tahoe beneath about 20 feet of snow. Climate change is also heating up the lake, causing algae to bloom and reducing clarity. Kelsi Himmel (bottom left, with her students) says, "There is much to be hopeful about with alternative energy sources and green tech." Laurie Scheibner often asks students how people can adapt to climate change and how engineering might help. 28 cta.org Feature C L I M A T E C H A N G E