Beginning this school year, New Jersey public school students will be the first in the country to be required to learn about climate change in the classroom.
“Climate change is becoming a real reality,” said Tammy Murphy, the first lady of New Jersey who spearheaded the initiative, on Thursday.
The state board of education adopted the new standards in 2020, but due to the pandemic, the rollout was halted, giving educators and districts more time to prepare lesson plans for all students in grades K-12.
The program will also introduce students to careers in climate change
“The districts themselves are able to design whatever it is that the way they want to implement and interpret this new education standard,” said Murphy.
Lessons will cover how climate change has accelerated in recent decades, how it has affected public health, and human society, and how it has contributed to natural disasters.
“You can look around the world, whether it’s Pakistan that has a third of the country under water right now, or wildfires raging across the United States, and droughts in Asia,” said Murphy. “Here in our own backyard in New Jersey, we have our own challenges. Whether it’s sea level rise or microburst or algae blooms.”
The program will also introduce students to careers in climate change as federal and local officials work to combat natural disasters and create a greener economy by adding new jobs and increasing funding.
We are “already living in a climate crisis”
“I want to make sure that the next generation of students and those who come after having the skill set necessary to be able to win and succeed at the incredible jobs that are going to be available as we all shift towards a greener economy,” said Murphy.
Last month, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to combat climate change and is expected to create 1.5 to 9 million new jobs in construction, manufacturing, and service over the next ten years.
In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, the president stated that we are “already living in a climate crisis.”