Talking to kids about climate change
Oliver Kilgore, who runs a landscaping business, uses environmentally friendly electric lawn equipment. (Photo courtesy of Pam Kilgore)
Veronica Coptis, director for Center for Coalfield Justice, was accompanied by her daughter Rory, at a rally in Detroit, Mich., in 2019. (Photo courtesy of Veronica Coptis)
Courtesy of WashPa Outdoors
Courtesy of WashPa Outdoors
Courtesy of WashPa Outdoors
Courtesy of WashPa Outdoors
A parent helps a preschooler plant a native dogwood in Washington Park. (Photo courtesy of WashPa Outdoors)
Two Nature Day campers sift through a pond sample looking for macroinvertebrates, indicators of water quality, at a recent camp. (Photo courtesy of WashPa Outdoors)
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As a science teacher, Dave Wray understands the climate crisis.
But when he thinks about the impact of climate change, Wray thinks about his 7- and 4-year-old sons.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 greatly concerned about the world they will inherit,无毛视频� said Wray a fourth-grade science teacher at Washington Park Elementary School. 无毛视频淥n a scale of 1 to 10, (my level of concern) is probably at 7 right now.无毛视频�
In February, the United Nations无毛视频� Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its detailed report on how human activity has caused climate change, and issued a warning that countries aren无毛视频檛 doing enough to avoid 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. The IPCC cautioned that extreme weather, which is already happening, will have more devastating impacts in the years ahead.
Wray said climate news can feel overwhelming.
But Wray combines his perspective as an educator and a parent to inspire children to make a positive difference however they can.
无毛视频淚 try to focus on what I can do, and what they can do,无毛视频� said Wray. 无毛视频淚 try to always look at the positive possibilities, instead of the negative ones that will keep me up at night.无毛视频�
In the classroom, for example, Wray started a 无毛视频渂ring your own straw to school club,无毛视频� where students brought in reusable straws. He carries reusable bags and discusses with students how they won无毛视频檛 end up in landfills, like plastic bags do.
Wray said leading by example is important. At their Scenery Hill home, Wray and his family are converting to solar energy for electricity.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e talked with my 7-year-old and said, 无毛视频榊eah, we无毛视频檙e gonna go ahead bite the bullet and install solar panels,'无毛视频� and he said, 无毛视频業t无毛视频檚 going to be good for the planet, let无毛视频檚 do it,'无毛视频� said Wray.
Wray tries to make taking care of the planet fun. For example, instead of throwing away crayons, his family recycles them by melting them down and pouring them into molds.
无毛视频淭here are so many opportunities to talk about taking care of the planet, to talk about how we shouldn无毛视频檛 be wasteful, and how we don无毛视频檛 want plastic to end up in the landfill,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 want to make the culture of our family one where caring about the environment is always in our heads.无毛视频�
Pam Kilgore of Washington, mother of two teenagers and a naturalist at WashPa Outdoors, offers a variety of environmental workshops and classes for children.
She is alarmed that the number and severity of natural disasters in the U.S. and worldwide 无毛视频� floods, droughts, wildfires, heat waves, tornadoes, hurricanes 无毛视频� is increasing.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 so easy to become overwhelmed and feel helpless, but that无毛视频檚 not going to do anything to solve the problem,无毛视频� she said.
Instead, she encourages her own children 无毛视频� Oliver, 19, and Maya, 15 无毛视频� and children who attend her programs to focus on things they can control.
There are individual actions everyone can take, she said.
无毛视频淵ou control how many times you drive your car each week versus how many times you ride your bike or walk. Empowering kids to have that kind of autonomy is going to give them more of a sense of hope and control,无毛视频� said Kilgore.
Kilgore无毛视频檚 son, Oliver, has a lawn cutting business and is converting to electric mowers and equipment.
Her daughter rides her bike to pet-sitting jobs and other odd jobs.
无毛视频淲e made a decision to live in town so we can walk to destinations. We无毛视频檝e always focused on living local, buying local, composting, whatever we can do to reduce our footprint,无毛视频� said Kilgore.
Kids are smart and perceptive, and they know something无毛视频檚 happening to the planet, Kilgore said.
It无毛视频檚 important to reassure children and educate them about what无毛视频檚 happening.
无毛视频淚 think being honest and letting your kids drive the conversation is important. Don无毛视频檛 overshare doom and gloom facts. Give them a sense there are things they and their family can do to address those issues at home; when they无毛视频檙e ready to deal with it on a larger scale, look into resources for larger changes,无毛视频� said Kilgore,
She noted there are opportunities for older children to get involved in advocacy, through groups such as Fridays for Future, a youth-led and organized movement started by Greta Thunberg.
Kilgore has scheduled Land Art Generator Initiative to talk with campers at WashPA Outdoors无毛视频� Nature Day Camp in Washington Park about renewable sources. LAGI is an international effort by two Pittsburgh residents to crowdsource creative solutions and designs to address climate change with renewable energy solutions.
无毛视频淧eople are doing things to address climate change in their communities, and it helps me to feel a little more optimistic,无毛视频� said Kilgore. 无毛视频淏ut, the clock is running, and we have to start adapting and making more conscious choices with how we buy things, how we consume things.无毛视频�
Veronica Coptis, director of Center For Coalfield Justice, is the mother of two girls, Rory, 5, and Regan, 2.
Coptis grew up near the Bailey Mine Complex in Greene County, and earned a biology degree at West Virginia University.
Rory attended her first environmental rally with her mother when she was 6 months old.
Coptis notes the worsening climate crisis is being driven by planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. But instead of winding down fossil fuel production to help limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as required by the 2015 Paris Agreement, governments continue to produce coal, oil, and gas greatly in excess of the levels called for in the Paris Agreement无毛视频檚 temperature limits.
Additionally, the Supreme Court recently limited the Environmental Protection Agency无毛视频檚 ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, making it much tougher to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade and to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement for a livable planet.
无毛视频淥ur government is protecting the profits of fossil fuel companies over the safety of people,无毛视频� said Coptis. 无毛视频淚 am deeply concerned about what type of livable climate we无毛视频檒l be leaving my kids and their kids,无毛视频� said Coptis. 无毛视频淏ut I know I无毛视频檓 going to fight like hell to make it as livable as possible.无毛视频�
Despite the enormous consequences the world faces due to climate change 无毛视频� among them, water shortages and food insecurity, reduced air quality, species extinction 无毛视频� Wray remains hopeful.
无毛视频淚 think that, in the end, science will save the day,无毛视频� said Wray. 无毛视频淚n my heart, I believe that.无毛视频�