Ecologue

Do you remember learning about the fundamentals of climate science before coming to OSU? Unfortunately, the answer for many will be “No.” In a survey of roughly 1,500 middle and high school science teachers, only 75% said they talked about climate change in class, and the ones who did only touched on the subject for one or two hours. Not only that, but there is significant discrepancy between how climate change is being taught in each class. So, it’s no wonder that many adults still don’t understand or believe in the basic science behind climate change, even though about 97% of scientists agree on the facts.

Fortunately, being at an environmentally-minded university such as OSU provides the perfect opportunity for one to gain the necessary knowledge about climate change. Although many classes don’t have that particular topic built into their curriculum, there are surprising connections between these classes and the various causes and effects of climate change. And, so far over a dozen OSU instructors have decided to take advantage of this by integrating climate into their class material as part of a multidisciplinary, campus-wide climate change Teach-In happening on February 20^th and 21^st. This is the first of a two-part event hosted by the Climate Neutral 2025 initiative in celebration of OSU’s 10-year anniversary of signing the American College and University Presidents Carbon Commitment.

The event, Climate Conversations, is a two-day, campus-wide climate change awareness project. Programming will consist of interactive and informational activities in the SEC Plaza throughout the day on Feb 21st, preceded by class discussions to get students thinking about the issues. Students in classes participating in the Teach-In will receive the unique opportunity to gain an understanding of the fascinating connections between climate change and their respective area of study. After that, they are encouraged to join their fellow Beavers in the SEC Plaza from 11:00am-3:00pm on Feb. 21^st for climate change conversations, games, trivia, prizes, and free fair trade coffee for people who bring a reusable mug.

It’s now more vital than ever to spread the conversation about climate change.

What will you be talking about on February 21^st?