Why Every College Should Have a Climate Change Literacy Requirement for Graduation: Storied Reflections

Thanksgiving Break 2018 is here. You're a frazzled professor, student service staffer or administrator taking a breather from your typically hectic work schedule. You're perhaps looking forward to reuniting with family and friends over the holiday; a welcome respite before a flurry of end-of-term tasks wash up upon you. You exhale a sigh of relief.

Next you find yourself at a friendly get-together or family meal. There is a pause for prayer and/or reflective thanks. The turkey or other aromatic traditional foods are passed around. The wine flows. The conversation opens up. Why isn't Uncle Bruce here? How is Aunt Isabel? Is Grandfather Arvind or Grandmother Huiping going to show up? Is cousin Peter still chasing his acting dream in L.A.? And when is Shalonda getting married, anyway?

These family reunion conversations are of course fraught with danger zones; boundaries that dare not be crossed concerning certain hot-button topics like politics, religion, sexual orientation, why Jason still hasn't got a job yet or why Miriam is still childless, or what have you. That being the case, talk tactfully drifts towards work and retirement chatter, and then to the weather. Someone brings up the recent horrific fires in California. Expressions and nods of sympathy are shared. Then someone mentions hurricanes Michael and Florence that devastated the U.S. Southeast in recent months, and how they caused hardship for a friend of theirs living in North Carolina. More polite murmurs and thoughts for the survivors. In this story, Anna, a college junior and nearly the youngest person at her family meal, can't take it anymore. In a tone of voice that shocks and arrests the attention of everyone sitting, she practically screams, "WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE SO CALM WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE FIRES AND HURRICANES? CAN'T YOU SEE HOW THE WHOLE PLANET IS COMING APART? DON'T YOU CARE? AND DON'T YOU SEE HOW YOU HAVE TOTALLY SCREWED OUR GENERATION? YOU ARE LEAVING US A HUGE MESS THAT YOU HELPED CREATE! HOW CAN YOU LIVE WITH THAT?"

Anna's worries regarding climate change are not unusual. A recent Gallup Poll reiterated the findings of similar surveys in revealing how young Americans (in this case 18-34 year-olds) tend to be significantly more concerned about climate change and global warming then older generations. Indeed, in the 2018 Gallup Poll, 70% of 18-34 year-olds 'worry a great deal or fair amount' about Global Warming (a proximate cause of human-made climate change), compared to a still substantial 63% of 35-54 and 56% of 55+ year-old Americans.

After a period of awkward, emotionally-tinged discussion and an abrupt departure of several family members from the table for alleged bathroom and phone call breaks, Anna sheepishly apologizes for her outburst and an apparent sense of order returns to the table. But not for Uncle Carlos. He's an assistant director of academic advising at a state university a few hundred miles from Anna's college, and he is lost in thought. He too is quite alarmed at the seemingly endless parade of environmental disasters that have buffeted the U.S. and many other countries in recent years, but doesn't have a clue what he can personally do about it. However, by the end of dessert, he gently pulls Anna aside and thanks her for her passion and how it moved him. He also promises that when he gets back to work, he is going to figure out how to make a positive difference. He asks Anna what kind of support she wishes her college could provide her and her fellow students with regards to how to adapt to and even mitigate or prevent the adverse effects of climate change. By the time Carlos leaves his parents' home for another gathering, he is still uncertain what he can do to help. However, with more clarity than ever before, he realizes he must try to do something.

The World We Are Leaving Behind For Our Children and Grandchildren

In this not-so hypothetical scenario, Twenty year-old Anna's grim fears about her future and her planet are legitimate, according to a vast majority of our world's climate change scientists. Perhaps Earth's most authoritative climate change assessment is issued every few years by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It's most recent report was released in early October of this year and the news was more ominous than perhaps ever before. Informed by research and peer review from hundreds of climatologists from around the globe, the Panel's 91 scientists hailing from 40 different nations determined that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, the atmosphere will warm up by as much as 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above preindustrial levels by 2040, global food shortages and poverty rates will intensify, wildfires such as those occurring in California will become even more commonplace and destructive, and coral reef die-off could become permanent by the time Anna is around 40 years of age.

Only a few weeks later after the IPCC report was released, another study produced by the Scripps Institute for Oceanography and Princeton University found that the IPCC may have already underestimated the warming of the Earth's oceans by as much as 60 percent, with the implication that Anna and her generational peers may have even less time to deal with growing climate change hazards. Although the margin of error in this particular report's estimate is substantially higher than calculated previously, it's findings yet again underscore how little time we all may have to collectively sustain global life as we know it today.

To further drive home the point, the Federal Government released its Fourth National Climate Assessment on November 23, 2018. It asserted with more confidence than ever before that the United States will face increasing economic, environmental and social costs in the decades ahead in a best case scenario, and a potentially ruinous one if carbon emissions are not rapidly first diminished and then hopefully even reversed.

Written in spare academicese, these technical reports do rather poorly at bringing the potential consequences of disruptive climate change to public attention. The renowned environmental writer Bill McKibben usually makes the case more effectively, most recently in this article in the New Yorker magazine. He draws from the latest climate science to discuss how global warming is forecast over the next few decades to render substantial portions of the earth's surface uninhabitable for lengthy stretches during the year due to intensifying heat waves, inexorable sea level rise, and extreme drought-induced food and water shortages. He also mentions how such a considerable 'shrinkage' of the planet's habitable space may spark massive migration from parched and flooded lands to safer places during even our lifetimes. This could then lead to heightened security concerns for all nations and peoples involved, as explored in this, this and this article.

Meanwhile, we haven't even gotten to the enormous impact climate change may have on our national and global economies (as succinctly discussed in Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet by Gernot Wagner and Martin Weitzman), on all other life on earth (covered here in Elizabeth Kolbert's Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History) and the spread of parasitic infectious disease, as discussed in this journal article.

Upon piecing the findings and analyses together from just this tiny sliver of the prodigious amount of climate science literature now available, a conscientious Baby Boomer or Gen X parent, guardian, teacher or mentor can more fully empathize with Anna's deep sense of anger, confusion and frustration expressed above. While it is beyond the scope of this article to discuss how and why we got to this place, the unalterable truth remains that we elders are collectively leaving to our children, grandchildren and future generations a world that may soon be increasingly unliveable due to our past and present behaviors and choices.

The good news-from a higher education perspective-is that there is still time and much we can do to ameliorate and perhaps even reverse some of the effects and consequences of our poor planetary stewardship. Indeed, many U.S. and international universities and colleges are already engaged in promising and exciting climate change initiatives. Using Carlos as our guide, let's explore some of these programs and projects next, followed by careful consideration of why and how we ought to provide sound and engaging climate change education for each and every college student in our country.

How One College Employee Begins to Engage With Climate Change

Meanwhile, the Thanksgiving Holiday is over and Carlos is back in the office on early Monday morning. Still brooding over his brief talk with his niece Anna over Thanksgiving, he both leaves a phone message and shoots an e-mail over to his good friend Stan, who happens to not only play on Carlos' intramural basketball team, but who also oversees Carlos' department as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs on campus. Carlos remembers Stan's exceptional level of personal interest in the environment and his involvement in some campus environmental programs. Who better to talk to?

They (as fictionally portrayed in the stock photo above) meet for lunch two days later, after Stan graciously and miraculously blocks out a space of time normally reserved for administrative matters. Carlos begins. "Stan, I really appreciate your taking the time. Listen, I've been thinking a lot about some friends who almost lost their homes in the California fires last month, as well as something my niece Anna said over Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, I know what you mean Carlos; I used to live in Northern California, and my sister there has been giving me the depressing reports. I mean, she and her family actually had to wear masks for a few days when they went outside because of all the smoke. She says her youngest has developed a pretty wet cough because of it. What did your niece have to say?"

"Well, we were all talking about the usual stuff, you know? Who was doing what and where, and so forth. Then the fires came up as a topic, then the recent hurricanes back East. The mood was still pretty mellow. But then, Anna got up and made this passionate speech about how we older folks were basically screwing her generation with our environmental neglect, you know? She's normally this quiet, polite, nerdy type. Really sweet. But in a second, she blows like a raging volcano! It really affected me."

"Really? Well, I actually think that's pretty cool. Young people need to care, you know? I mean, it is their future we're screwing up. Yeah, I think about that all the time. But what about you? Are you turning into an environmentalist, or something?"

"Ahh, I don't know, man. I don't want to label it. But when I think about Anna and how scared she's feeling, and about my own 13-year old son and 11-year old daughter, it makes it hard to just focus on advising students on their day-to-day academic progress, you know? I mean, what's the point of finishing school if you're just going to inherit a planet that's going to hell, you know? I had a long talk yesterday with [my wife] Jenny, and we both decided to become more committed to doing what we can. And that's why I immediately thought of contacting you Stan. I don't know anyone who's as committed to the environment as you. What can I do on both a personal and professional level? How do I get involved?"

"Hmm, I really appreciate your wanting to get involved Carlos. I guess the first thing I would say is, don't lose hope. And try your level best not to promote doom and gloom among your students, okay? Yes, the problems humanity is facing-problems of our own making at that-are as daunting as hell. And they seem to get worse all the time, when you read or watch the news or catch the latest scientific reports. But as you well know, when someone loses hope, they tend to lose the motivation to do anything constructive."

"Got it. I think that's actually been me at times lately. So, tell me about constructive."

"Well, let's see, where to start...I guess the first step would be to better educate yourself so that you're capable of educating your students and interested colleagues. First, I'll e-mail you a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that explains how close humanity is to environmental catastrophe and how we might collectively avoid that fate. It's filled with jargon, though, so I'll also send you links to my favorite books on the topic."

"Okay, like what?"

"Hmm, let's start with a book called A Global Warming Primer, one of the best ones I've seen that makes climate change and its solutions understandable. Next, there's one of my favorites-and there's no need to write these down, I'll email the list-is The Water Will Come, a non-fiction work on how rising sea levels will swamp New York City, Miami, and scores of other populated areas in very realistic detail. Another is The Archipelago of Hope, an inspirational book on how indigeneous people from around the world have so much to teach us modern folk on how to address and adapt to climate change.

Let's see ...another is the Sixth Extinction, an easy read on basically how humans are bringing about the next natural apocalypse if we don't mend our ways, you know? Another fave-and these are all recent works-is A Hole in the Wind, an awesome tale of a climate scientist who actually rode his bike 4,000 miles across the U.S. in order to find out what Americans really thought about climate change! A fun read for the most part. And also...heck there are so many great books out there I'm forgetting...a terrific one for providing information visually is...what is it...let me look on my phone...yes, the Intergovernmental Panel's book Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change. And, um...one more is a popular book titled The Wizard and the Prophet. It only tangentially deals with climate change and possible solutions, but it addresses one of the central questions of the human dilemma; should we live sustainably within our apparent means as a species, or should we invent and build our way out of supposed boundaries? It's an interesting read."

"Geez, how do you find time to read all this stuff, Stan? It's all I can do to keep up with my daily e-mails. Yeah, don't look at me that way...I'll do what I can. How about films or documentaries that my wife-who's not a reader-might want to watch with me?"

"Good question. Films? Ah, let's see...one of my favorites is Chasing Coral, an award-winning documentary on how we are killing off coral reefs worldwide. I know, I know, it sounds depressing, but it has some of the most beautiful cinematography you're ever going to see. On a bigger picture scale, try To The Ends of The Earth, a documentary on how our thirst for ever more cheap energy is impacting our planet. Let's see, that makes me think of Forget Shorter Showers, which talks about how individual virtue like using less water and energy at home isn't nearly enough to make a difference by itself; we've also got to change economic and environmental policies at the macro level. And finally, there's always Al Gore, the Right's favorite punching bag. His most recent film, An Inconvenient Sequel, is a powerful if sort of simplified update on climate change."

"Great, and how again do you keep all this stuff in your head, Stan? Anyhow, I really appreciate the info. Look, I know we need to wrap up soon. What's next?"

"Hmm, so many resources, so little time! Let's see, an awesome resource online is Bill McKibben and friends' website 350.org. It's got both local, national and global information and updates on climate change, as well as how to personally get involved to make a difference. Make sure to check it out. Another is a website run by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, an organization that works with stakeholders all over the planet to address climate change. Of course, our own university's environmental science department has some terrific online resources and teaching videos. Check them out too."

"Stan, I am really impressed. You're like a walking climate change encyclopedia, my friend. I can tell you're really passionate about it, and that gives me hope. Thanks a lot for sharing all this with me."

"Don't worry about it Carlos. God, it's just good to hear someone fired up like you are. That keeps me going, too. Now, I think another step would be to attend a presentation, so you can hear it live from someone other than me who really knows what they're talking about, you know? And as fate would have it, our campus Teaching and Learning Center is hosting a talk next Tuesday at noon by one of our own leading climate scientists. He'll be showing slides on his latest research in the Antarctic. I know it's short notice, but can you make that?"

"I'll see what I can do. But, hey, before we move on here, I've got to get back to the questions that are still on my mind."

"Go ahead, shoot."

"Well, you've given me a massive amount of information to get up to speed and involved. That's all well and good, from one privileged administrator to another. But what about the thousands and even millions of college students on campuses like ours who are feeling overwhelmed and powerless and scared about what's happening to our planet? Like my niece? And then there are our own children at home who depend on us. How can you and I help them? Like, you know, today and tomorrow? To put it another way, how can we help them to prepare for and successfully deal with the reality of climate change when they leave school to live their lives? We owe that to them, right? As much as a degree they've earned in some compartmentalized body of knowledge, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you're absolutely right, Carlos. Well said, my friend. Listen, you'll be relieved to know that our student environmental club on campus absolutely rocks! I've had a chance to attend some of their events, and I think their last campaign meeting attracted something like 200 students. They've done a great job of disseminating information to the dorms and other outlets on campus on how students can get more involved and informed on all kinds of environmental issues. And you really ought to attend a local Friends of the Environment meeting with me in a couple of weeks. I'll send you information. We've got dozens of members both on campus and in the community who work together on local organic gardening, trail restoration, energy conservation, political campaigning, and other projects throughout the year. Importantly, we also devote some meetings to just discussing the moral, spiritual, and ethical implications of climate change. I think you'd really find that interesting. At one of our last meetings, we invited a poet to share some of his work related to climate change. We've also invited local faith leaders to share their perspective. Great stuff."

"Stan, I think I would really like to attend your next meeting. I think my wife would really get into that, too. But you know, you didn't really answer my question. It's one thing for the environmental club students to do their awesome thing, but what about the thousands of other undergrad and grad students here who haven't gotten the memo? Especially the ones who commute and/or work 20 or more hours a week to try to just pay their tuition and survive? The students who live at home to care for loved ones, or the ones who have physical and mental health issues that make getting involved a huge challenge or the ones who are too shy and/or socially awkward to connect? How about our foreign students that struggle to fit in? Or the grad students who already have families of their own and who don't have a moment to spare outside of their school, family, and assistantship responsibilities? Or all the students who frankly don't give a crap for whatever reason but who still deserve to know something about climate change because if they don't learn it here, their only source may be Fox News? What are we doing to reach all of those students?"

"Ahh...I'm sorry, Carlos. I guess I did evade your question. Honestly, I really, really wish we and every other school in the world did work together to prepare our children to overcome the huge environmental mess we are unconscionably leaving behind for them. That being said, however, there is one thing I can think of that could at least raise the level of climate change awareness among the majority of our students, across categories. There's no guarantee it would ever happen given all the many bureaucratic and logistical hurdles it would have to surmount, and even then it would have to be very well designed..."

"Stan, what are you talking about? Are you holding out on me? This sounds pretty exciting, whatever it is. Can you tell me anything?"

"Uh, yeah, but keep it under wraps for now, okay? It's just an idea for now that the Provost and I have been tossing around a bit."

"Seriously, the Provost? I didn't know Dr. Martin was interested in climate stuff. Isn't her background in Public Health?"

"Well, yeah, and isn't climate change becoming a public health issue of the highest order? I mean, c'mon, think about it. Anyhow, she actually reached out to me, and we are just beginning to talk about a...climate change literacy requirement for graduation, at least at first for undergraduates. You know, how we would possibly make it happen as an institution, what it would measure and accomplish, etc. But you've got to stay mum for now, because if certain individuals heard even the slightest rumor, you know the complaints and whining would reach the Chancellor's office by the end of the day."

"Yeah, I totally get it Stan. Mum's the word. But the idea sounds exciting...it could really make a difference, right? Anyhow, please keep me posted when you can; I really want to hear more. And I'm paying next time, huh? Anyhow, gotta run. Thanks again, and watch out at our next game. I've been working on my jump shot!"

[Laughter]. "Carlos, it was good to talk. Who knows, my next meeting with the Provost, I might have to drag you in. I think we could both really benefit from your passion. Anyhow, see you on the court, and keep up the great work you're doing over there in advising."

A College Climate Change Competency Requirement? Do We Really Need One?

To be clear, Universities and colleges are already vigorously engaging climate change across the globe. As Ellen Moyer discusses in this article, in recent years both public and private universities and colleges across the U.S. and abroad have been conducting widely attended sit-ins, conferences, webinars, and demonstrations focused on bringing about political and practical change related to climate challenges. Last year, some 180 higher education leaders signed a pledge to remain committed to the goals laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement, in defiance of President Trump's baffling decision to withdraw. Currently, that number has grown to 346 as the pledge's declaration has been additionally signed by over 3,000 organizational leaders within virtually every sector of society across the United States.

Meanwhile, hundreds of U.S.college campuses are already striving to reduce their own carbon footprints, as detailed in such reports as this and this. Scores provide innovative climate and related environmental education for postsecondary and secondary students by hosting campus seminars and conferences or participating in such programs as The Alliance for Climate Education and the University Climate Change Coalition. Many are creatively engaging students with creative, solutions-based and interdisciplinary course examples such as this, this, and this. Meanwhile, on the side for free or low cost, a motivated student can take a quality online climate change course from Coursera, edX, the The United Nations Climate Change Learning Partnership, FutureLearn, and many other sources. The sheer volume and scale of higher education climate change initiatives taking place domestically and internationally is amazing.

However, returning to Carlos' concern as to whether quality climate change education is reaching not just the 'low-hanging fruit' on campus (e.g. students who have the interest, motivation, availability and access to educational climate change experiences), but the large percentage who are harder to impact is a pressing concern. How many students are really being effectively educated? This is a challenging question to answer due to the sheer number and breadth of U.S. postsecondary institutions operating today (some 4,600 colleges and universities serving almost 20 million students). However, there are clues. This 2011 study suggests that a majority of contemporary U.S. college students do not even understand the scientific explanation of the carbon cycle-a necessary step to grasping the basic cause and effect of global warming. In 2010, Yale University conducted 2,030 in-depth interviews of adults aged 18+ across the U.S. and discovered that some 52% failed to answer basic climate science questions, a finding mirrored in this 2018 study. This nationally representative college survey from 2017 found that fully half of first-year engineering students do not even believe climate change is caused by humans. And, although the Gallup Poll climate change survey results mentioned at the beginning of this article seem to indicate that a majority of both young and older U.S. adults are concerned with climate change, a more nuanced and comprehensive 2016 Pew Research survey revealed that fully half or more of young and older Americans lack basic knowledge regarding the causes of climate change.

These researches are of course incomplete, but collectively it can be reasonably inferred that roughly half of both U.S. college students and U.S. adults-an aggregate of millions of Americans-lack basic knowledge of climate change science. One implication of this general finding is that about half of our nation's adults (at least) lack the basic understanding to have an intelligent conversation regarding why and how we should address the grave threats posed by climate change.

Another troubling finding from the Yale University and Pew Research studies above, as well as from an in-depth national Gallup Poll survey, is that education seems to influence views on climate change less than one's political affiliation, and where in the U.S. they live. Indeed, the Gallup research discovered that, generally speaking, Republicans tend to be more skeptical the more educated they are, whereas among Democrats this relationship is reversed (interestingly, this international study found that self-identified conservatives in other nations besides the U.S. were less likely to reject climate science than American conservatives, who typically vote Republican). However, more promisingly, related research also suggests that Republicans as a whole tend to support initiatives that constructively address climate change such as regulating pollutants and supporting renewable energy programs when use of politically-charged language like 'climate change' and 'global warming' are avoided. Meanwhile, articles such as this and this suggest that college Republicans do not monolithically follow their party elders on environmental matters, and that substantial numbers are motivated to practically address the causes of climate change.

This all being said, let us return once more to Carlos' essential question: Why aren't we effectively educating not just some of our postsecondary students on the causes, impacts, and possible solutions of climate change, but all of them? Is it not important to do so when climate change realistically poses an existential threat to all of humanity and most of the living things on Earth in the coming years and decades?

Surprisingly, it is difficult to find a comprehensive answer to Carlos' question both online and in the scientific literature. Many 'arguments' for climate change education tend to assume that the rationale is basically self-evident while quickly moving on to aspects of the problem accompanied by possible solutions and motivational appeals to get engaged. Some educators and advocates appeal to base emotions in making their case. Some researchers and writers argue for climate change education from a narrow cost-benefit economic perspective, often with respect to the promotion of renewable energy sources. This mainly instrumental, technocratic treatment of climate change makes sense when reading p. 23 of the survey results from a comprehensive study conducted by Yale and George Mason University, as to how Americans tend to frame climate change as an issue: A majority tend to think of it as an environmental or scientific problem (78%/71%) as opposed to a moral, social justice, or religious issue (41%/26%/9%).

It must also be noted here that a simple retort to Carlos' question is that many Americans haven't wanted climate change education for themselves or their college students over the last several years, either because they don't believe that human-induced climate change/global warming is a reality, or they otherwise resist dealing with it for controversial reasons related to political, religious, and/or cultural affiliation (for ways to respectfully talk to a climate change denier even over Thanksgiving Dinner, there are many excellent resources including this, this, and this). However, these reasons are even less credible in the wake of the accelerating succession of spectacular, catastrophic climate-related events that have wrought considerable economic damage and loss of home and life in the U.S. in just the last two years: Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence and Michael; the record-setting fires in California, Oregon and Washington state and major conflagrations in Montana, Idaho and Utah; record-setting high temperatures in Arizona, South Carolina and many other parts of the U.S.; and, record-setting flooding in Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas and other places unrelated to hurricane activity. Going back a few years, you have Katrina, Sandy, record-setting drought in the midwest, south, and most parts of the West, and much more. Aforementioned surveys now reveal that most Americans have been adversely impacted by climate change, and even the most recalcitrant attitudes are changing on the topic. It's nigh time to address the problem by including everyone in the solutions.

For Carlos' sake, I hereby submit a list of interrelated reasons for why every student should receive engaging and personally relevant information on climate change and its potential solutions before departing from college. To be sure, this is not an exhaustive list, and they could surely be presented in more eloquent and persuasive ways, but here goes:

1. Given that some of the student learning goals found most often in U.S. college and university mission statements include social responsibility, engaged and responsible citizenship in a democratic society and international and global understanding, it is frankly incomprehensible why college leaders nationwide would not strive to prepare all of their students to productively engage with perhaps the most sweeping existential challenge humanity has ever faced in terms of both scope and time-scale.
2. Given the plain fact that Americans elected a President who is both scientifically illiterate, and who willfully has supported the reversal of policies and alliances designed to address climate change while also hand-picking departmental leaders who largely support his destructive tendencies, it is clear that widespread climate change education is needed to help prevent this kind of electoral outcome from re-occurring. The more students we effectively educate and engage nationwide, the better our chances at promoting helpful climate change policy and governance at every level of government.
3. Students need to become universally climate change competent in order to better contribute to climate change mitigation from a personal best practices perspective. Educating millions more Americans on how to live more sustainably may not address climate change as effectively as, say, having just 70 of the world's leading carbon polluting companies change their way of business, but it can still make a substantial difference, given that the American people collectively still generate more greenhouse gases than any nation in the world but China. And of course, every college student potentially becomes a multiplying influence upon leaving school; they become parents, work colleagues and/or at least community members with the ability to influence many others by example and instruction over a lifetime.
4. Students deserve to become competent in understanding and engaging with climate change from arguably a moral perspective. As thoughtfully discussed in this article, and as articulated by the Pope himself, we-the parents, teachers, mentors of our students elders-have materially contributed by varying degrees to the grave challenges they and their progeny must face. Therefore, it is morally responsible for us to provide them with the information and skills needed to more effectively live in the world we are leaving to them. Every world religion has teachings stressing care for the planet that makes our lives possible. There are also many philosophical arguments for addressing climate change, such as this.
5. We and our students also each arguably have a moral duty to reduce (and reverse if at all possible) the devastation we have wrought upon non-human life on Earth. According to this scientific report sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, humans have caused population sizes of all wildlife on Earth to decrease by 60% in just the last 50 years, with much of that reduction directly or indirectly attributed to climate change. From many religious, spiritual and philosophical perspectives, it is simply wrong for each and every one of us to contribute to the elimination of the fellow life forms we share our world with; the great majority of which have existed on this planet for far longer than humans. Every student ought to be made aware of the implications of their individual choices related to climate change from this values-based point of view.
6. Related to # 5, we humans owe our very lives to the existence of an untold number of said creatures and plant life from an ecological perspective. To sustain our species, we must also sustain a minimal level of healthy biodiversity. Where that 'minimal level' is unknown at present, but the more students who acquire such a systems-based understanding of life on Earth, arguably the better odds our species will have to survive.
7. From an economic perspective, the better we educate all of our students about climate change and other related environmental topics, the better we may continue to both inspire and guide them into climate change careers. This report estimates that around 1 million climate change-related jobs could be created within the U.S., China and the E.U. alone by 2030. And these jobs that directly deal with solving the environmental challenges posed by climate change represent only the tip of the proverbial iceberg; millions more could be created or enhanced in the years to come with climate change education in such fields as public health, teaching (unfortunately, at present even the majority of U.S. science teachers are woefully unprepared to teach climate science), engineering, law, social work, journalism (climate change is consistently underreported by our media given the enormity of its impact upon our society) and many other fields of work. U.S. higher education can substantively help meet this demand by educating and preparing as many of its students as necessary, especially as many fields are hemmoraging employment due to globalization, automation, and other complex factors.

Having made a list of arguments supporting universal postsecondary climate change education (such an argument could equally be made regarding both elementary and secondary education, but that is an important discussion for another day), they in turn beg the question regarding how this quite ambitious goal could be realistically accomplished.

It seems to me that the simplest solution would be to start at the institutional level and implement a campus-wide graduation requirement (at both the undergraduate and graduate levels), so as to ensure every enrolled student is reached. It should be designed and approved with substantive input from all stakeholders in a cost-effective way that minimizes disruption to all campus operations and activities. In light of inevitable student attrition, the requirement would ideally be arranged for fulfillment during the first year or two of attendance. Each institution could design such learning activities in their own unique manner, incorporating content and insights especially pertinent to their geographic region and surrounding communities.

If such a concept seems too onerous to achieve, bear in mind that some institutions are already moving forward. Since 1993, the University of Georgia has mandated an environmental literacy graduation requirement (here is an assessment of the program, accessible through a pay wall), which is met by taking and passing certain approved courses across the curriculum. Although dated, this paper by Deborah Rowe shares several stories of private and public colleges and universities across the U.S. that require at least some degree of environmental literacy as a condition for graduation. At the K-12 level, the state of Maryland in 2011 became the first state to include an environmental literacy requirement for all public school students. Meanwhile, California released a blueprint in 2015 to provide environmental education at every elementary and secondary grade level. There are also many resources for aspiring educators to access in developing an environmental/climate change literacy requirement, including this in-depth book.

From individual institutions of higher education, mandatory climate change graduation requirements may face a good deal of opposition before expanding to the system or state level. To gain traction, it will help a great deal if accumulating studies can demonstrate the efficacy of climate change education initiatives with respect to both increasing student understanding as well as measurable levels of environmental engagement. As David Legates argues here, it is critical that you ground students participating in climate literacy programs in the actual science of climate change, and not merely just its advocacy. Otherwise, you may end up encouraging well-meaning but alarmist zealotry that merely promotes fear and misunderstanding, instead of rational understanding and evidence-based solutions. In addition, David Ropeik points out here that any effectively designed climate change course, module, seminar or what have you will also have to take into account student cultural or individual differences and biases to ensure some degree of success; it isn't enough to simply present the information and activities in a one-size-fits-all manner. In terms of effectively communicating what is being accomplished in such courses to the greater campus community and the public at large, this article suggests from international perspectives the need to ensure that a given campuses' science education and science communication departments work closely together to develop a coherent and cohesive message.

The evening after meeting with Stan, Carlos spent some extra time reflecting in his office after finishing up a report and meeting with his advising team. Sipping on a cup of coffee, he sat back in his chair and marveled at how informed and involved his friend was in environmental education and activism. He thought about how he had to look up that organization that Stan was involved in; it sounded like they had some really interesting seminars and activities; things Jenny might like to come to.

Then he thought about Anna and how he wanted to call her soon to share what he had learned from Stan, especially how he and the Provost were planning a campus-wide climate change literacy requirement. That would give her some hope, he thought. A small bit of evidence that the adults who ran universities like mine wanted to do more about addressing mounting climate change issues than just making pious-sounding speeches in front of the camera and large well-paying audiences. And then there was the fact that Stan, Carlos pondered, with all his brilliant and voluminous insight, so often studied and explicated climate change and our natural world and students from 30,000 feet. And in complex terms that an average, stressed-out and over-worked student might fail to fully appreciate. I guess that's why he's in upper administration and I'm not, realized Carlos.

Both perspectives-the macro and the micro-were necessary to effect change. And where I belong, Carlos affirmed to himself, is on the ground, working with students one-on-one. And in thinking about his students, Carlos suddenly felt a need to leave the office and get home as quickly as possible to Jenny, Alicia and Nicholas.

On the drive home, Carlos' mind drifted back into the past. A memory resurfaced. In explaining his job to his grandfather a few years ago before he passed, Carlos struggled to bridge the generational and cultural gap. Grandfather was a first-generation immigrant who toiled the rich fields of the Salinas Valley of Grapes of Wrath fame as a boy. He grew up and lived intimately with the earth all of his life, and could not understand how decades later his grandson could spend his adult life trying to 'baby-sit college students' for a living, as he put it. However, after several futile attempts, I made a memorable breakthrough in communication with abuelito; I explained that my student customers were like stalks of corn that needed to be nourished not only with the soil of academic knowledge, but also fertilizer that departments like mine provided; guidance and encouragement that would help them to eventually become providers of sustenance to their future families and communities. I also explained that-like him in his own fields back in the day-we too endeavored tirelessly to ensure we never wasted the gift of a single human stalk, as every one was considered both a secular and spiritual blessing. I think grandfather liked this explanation very much. I know I still do. Every single student, every single life matters, if any of them do.