Earth911 is honoring the 52 years of Earth Day with 52 Actions for the Earth. Each week through Earth Day 2023, we will share an action you can take to invest in the Earth and make your own life more sustainable. Climate literacy is a prerequisite for climate action, but few of us really understand how the climate works. It’s not like they teach us this stuff in school. This week, you can take action for the Earth by visiting the video library to learn more about climate and the environment.
Action: Visit the EarthDay.org Video Library
Climate Education
In the 1990s, climate change was still called global warming and college science classes still debated whether climate change was real. So if you finished your education at the turn of the century, it’s a safe bet you’ve never been formally taught about the causes and effects of anthropogenic climate change. Unfortunately, even if you’re still in school, there’s a good chance that your education in climate science is lacking. According to a 2020 study by This is Planet Ed, only 27 of America’s 51 school systems earned a B+ or better for climate education standards.
Individual Learning
Non-formal education is not the same as learning science in the classroom. But individual advocacy and EarthDay.org’s climate literacy campaign have a long way to go to achieve universal, compulsory, assessed climate and environmental education with a strong component of civic engagement. Until that ideal is reached, many – maybe even most – of us are on our own when it comes to making sense of climate news.
Websites like Earth911 are great for learning about the environment and climate change. But sometimes it’s helpful to dig a little deeper into a subject. Attending talks by scientists and environmental professionals is a great way to get in-depth knowledge from experts. But attending in-person events can be a challenge, and not every community gets a spot on the public speaking circuit. That’s where webinars come in.
Earth Day Live
EarthDay.org’s Earth Day Live series explores Earth’s urgent environmental issues and examines a variety of environmental solutions. These hour-long seminars bring experts and professionals together for in-depth conversations about the real-world solutions that are being explored in their fields. On the International Day of Education, they examined the relationship between educational equity and climate action. At another recent seminar, a panel of professionals discussed how new textile recycling methods and innovative new textiles can make the fashion industry more sustainable.
This week, visit the Earth Day Live website and add an upcoming event to your calendar, or scroll through past events and choose one to watch. For even more options, visit the EarthDay.org YouTube channel. Playlists collect videos from specific events or on a theme, while individual videos address topics from lion populations to plogging and reports on campaigns and events around the world. This week, browse their extensive video library and learn more about an environmental topic that interests you. And if video is not your preferred way to learn, check out the Earth911 podcast for more in-depth interviews on environmental topics.
