The escalating human cost of a warming world

The devastation from Hurricane Helene, making climate education required, and how you can help

These days, every headline is filled with the impacts of climate disasters. In the U.S., at least half the rain from Hurricane Helene was supercharged by climate change. As the waters recede, we’re only beginning to grasp the full extent of the damage—just as Milton, another record-breaking hurricane, threatens Florida. Over the last four weeks, there have been floods all across Asia including in Thailand last week, Nepal the week before, and India, China, and Vietnam before that.

Meanwhile in Europe last month, climate change doubled the odds of the flooding driven by the heaviest rainfall ever recorded. Why? It’s simple: warmer air holds more water vapor so the warmer it gets, the greater the risk of heavy downpours and massive floods.

With disasters like these becoming more frequent, it’s more important than ever to understand why this is happening—and what we can do about it. And where better to start than in the classroom?

In Saving Us, I talk about an experiment that was run in North Carolina, one of the states hardest hit by Hurricane Helene, five years ago. Middle school students learned about climate change: but instead of tracking the kids' views, Danielle Lawson and her colleagues tracked how their parents' opinions shifted—and they did. In fact, the study found that daughters were particularly effective at changing their conservative dads’ minds.

As always, here’s the good news, the not so good news, and what you can do about it.

GOOD NEWS

A few years ago, during a talk to Canadian university presidents, I was asked, “If we could do one thing on climate, what should it be?” My answer was clear: make a climate course mandatory for every student, in every discipline. It's not enough to offer these courses in environmental or physical science programs. Climate change impacts us all, and we need everyone’s skills to address it, from art to business to health.

When one attendee asked why, my response was blunt and to the point. When societies collapse, higher education is often one of the first casualties. In a hundred years, many of the institutions represented at the event might not exist if we don't act on climate change. Climate education is self preservation!

The good news is, this idea is starting to catch on. Back in May, I talked about how, thanks to student advocacy, the University of Barcelona made a class on the physical and social effects of the climate crisis compulsory for all its 14,000 students. 

Starting this fall, all incoming first-year students at UC San Diego — no matter their major — will be required to take a climate class as well. “Whether undergraduates are majoring in STEM, the humanities, arts, social sciences or any other field, this requirement will equip them with a strong understanding of climate change and how they can contribute to meaningful solutions," Chancellor Khosla said.  

Students can choose from more than 40 courses, including "Documenting Climate Change: Past and Present," "Religion and Ecology: How Religion Matters in the Anthropocene," "Climate Change and Global Health," "Energy Economics," and "Bending the Curve: Climate Change Solutions." This last course was designed by V. "Ram" Ramanathan, one of the most senior scientists in our field of atmospheric and climate science, and I give one of the lectures!

NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS

The Yellow River in Porterdale, Georgia after Hurricane Helene flood waters. Photo by Georges_Creations on Shutterstock

Last week, Hurricane Helene cut a 500-mile long path of destruction through the southeastern United States, with 15-foot storm surges in Florida and flooding and mudslides in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Entire towns were nearly wiped off the map, key supplies for everything from microchips to solar panels disrupted, and the death toll is already well over 200. This number is likely to eventually climb well into the thousands, according to a new study this week showing that historical hurricane deaths in the U.S. have been massively under-estimated. 

The connection to climate is clear: Helene rapidly intensified over record-high water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, transforming from a mere tropical disturbance on Monday to major hurricane by Thursday.  As I noted above, a new rapid attribution study concludes that climate change increased Hurricane Helene's rainfall by more than 50 percent in some parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, and made this rainfall event up to 20 times more likely. 

So why was western North Carolina hit so hard? A preceding storm had already soaked the ground: and then up to two feet of rain (over 60 cm) fell. “That’s about a half-year’s worth of rain coming in four days,” said Doug Outlaw, a National Weather Service meteorologist in South Carolina. “It’s one of the worst weather events that’s hit this area in history.” 

Prior to Helene, Asheville, NC had been dubbed a "climate haven" due to its distance from the coast and its mild temperatures. But this disaster drives home the fact that no place is safe from the impacts of climate change. Instead of trying to escape climate change, we need to solve this problem that will impact our collective future by cutting our emissions now. As Jesse Keenan, who studies sustainable real estate, said in response to this disaster, “You can’t hide from climate change.”

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Since 2020, climate education has been mandatory in New Jersey public schools—and as this teacher explains, students really understand why it’s important! This is the type of action that needs to be contagious, but according to a survey by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), it's not happening as quickly as it should. 

While most students, parents, and teachers want climate taught in the classroom, the NAAEE survey found that many teachers don’t feel confident in their ability to do so. They often lack access to high-quality, relevant resources, and some don’t feel that they have enough backing from their administrators or the community. 

There are plenty of fantastic resources available, though. So if you’re a teacher, or a parent, or you know someone who is, ask if you can help. Check out my Global Weirding YouTube series, The Nature Conservancy’s award-winning NatureLab curriculum, BioLogos' Integrate curriculum for home-schoolers and faith-based schools, the EU’s Education for Climate community, or the comprehensive clearing houses, Subject to Climate and CLEAN climate and education resources.

Let’s make sure teachers have what they need to teach the next generation about solutions to this critical global issue!

Tues., October 15th from 7-8pm ET - New Canaan Library's Oldham Nature & Environment Lecture, in-person in New Canaan, Connecticut

Thurs., October 31st at 11am ET - Mapping the Future of Biodiversity with Esri, virtual