Recently, five high school students talked with folks gathered at Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew in Greenfield. Each person eloquently shared their story of when they became aware of climate change, their fear and anxiety about it, and how they have found some peace of mind through becoming activists, and speaking out about their anxiety and the need for change.
I was impressed with their ability to tell the truth — something that I was unable to do as an elementary student in New York City during the Cold War. I was sure I would die before I reached high school due to an atom bomb. It took me over 40 years before I shared that fear with anyone.
While I never became an anti-nuke or peace activist, I have become a climate and biodiversity crises activist because of my anxiety about the health of our planet and its ability to support us. Our predicament has been caused, in part, by our government’s fear of speaking the truth about climate change, and making it difficult for scientists to tell the truth about what they knew about our climate.
Because of my childhood experience with fear and no way to talk about it, I have talked with school administrators and teachers about the idea of teaching about the climate, especially solutions, so that young people have an opportunity to understand it, and talk about it, and make informed decisions. Most were not open to the idea because they were fearful of frightening their students.
Not teaching about the climate, however, does not shield them from the truth. A Franklin Regional Council of Governments’ survey of area high school students found that of the students who experienced depression, 71% reported that climate change was a key cause. Last year I found an organization called Climate Mental Health Network that recently published a paper that found that climate change and youth mental health are inextricably linked. I was not surprised.
So, how do we get this topic addressed in our schools?
Last summer, I read with excitement that Maine was addressing this issue through their legislature. This led me to discover that New Jersey and Connecticut had also passed K-12 climate education legislation three years ago and are now integrating it into their educational standards, and similar bills are pending in Massachusetts.
The young people who spoke at St. James and Andrew are also excited about using our Legislature to bring K-12 climate education into our schools. They asked us to join them in supporting two bills: S260, which calls for interdisciplinary climate justice, and H470, which calls for climate science education. You can support their efforts by writing your representatives as well as the Joint Committee on Education.
While the climate and biodiversity crises often feels hopeless, I dream of the day that countries decide to shift their focus from war to supporting life on earth. We can speak up for this dream, and we can personally “do our bit.”
Fortunately, Massachusetts has made a commitment to tackle climate change. Mass Save, which is run by our utility companies, is now offering amazing deals to help homeowners, renters and landlords get our homes off of oil, propane and natural gas and switch to electric heat pumps that offer air conditioning as well as heating. People that heat with oil and propane will also save money on their utility bills.
On March 30, Greening Greenfield has invited Peter Wingate, director of energy services with Community Action Pioneer Valley, and his staff, to talk about the free heat pumps and weatherization services available to income-eligible homeowners, renters and landlords that have income-eligible tenants.
On April 3, Greening Greenfield has invited two people who are not income-eligible, and are concerned about the health of our planet as well as their own health, to talk about their recent experience of working with Mass Save. In both cases, they took advantage of Mass Save’s offer of a $10,000 rebate and an interest-free loan so they could afford to switch to fossil-fuel-free heating and AC for their homes.
The students’ talk last week coincided with the latest United Nations IPPC report. It rang the alarm louder than ever before and spoke the frightening truth that our planet is heading toward a place that will not be hospitable to humans. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called us to action when he said “Our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once.”
Let’s do what we can, support young people, and ease our anxiety, if we can. Go to GreeningGreenfieldMA.org and click on “events” for details about the workshops.
Nancy Hazard is a member of Greening Greenfield, a former builder, a retired director of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, and sits on the city’s Sustainable Greenfield Implementation Committee. She can be reached at NancyHazard30@gmail.com.