On Saturday, as our Education Ambassadors and staff were flying back to the U.S., 196 countries finalized and signed the Paris Agreement – the first global climate accord that commits all signatories to climate action. As news of the agreement spread, first to the halls of the Blue Zone – where negotiators and observers clapped […]
Attending COP21 in Paris as an Education Ambassador was quite the opportunity to participate in a historic world event that will continue to be talked about for years to come. As with any big event, participants often return home full of energy and ready to ramp up their individual commitments to the cause. In this […]
There are moments you remember from your school years. Moments when your teacher brought some topic or issue to life so well, that it still sticks with you today. It is my hope that this past week will be one of those moments for many of the students we connected with through our Window into […]
In the final days of the COP21 climate negotiations, a High Ambition Coalition emerged. The European Union joined with 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific to push for an “ambitious, durable and legally binding” deal with a strong review every five years. They were joined by the next day by the United […]
So, here I am, back in my cozy house in the Adirondack mountains. I look out my window and see bare slopes, devoid of snow, and listen to my kids complain about that fact. I wonder if i am experiencing a taste of the future; of what will come to be normal if we don’t […]
Greetings. I write from the Green Zone of COP21 on the last day of the negotiations, and I am feeling deeply inspired about what I have seen and experienced over the last week. Serving as an Education Ambassador with Climate Generation during the UNFCCC COP21 negotiations is one of the greatest honors that I have […]
It was hard to transition back to being a middle school teacher after having a week with my mind focused on the global-scale problem of climate change. Back in my classroom this week, my students were receptive to the summary I provided of the deal that was struck at COP21. I told them that it […]
Upon arriving back at MSP airport, we learned that the Paris climate agreement was passed. Our group was so happy, some were moved to tears. Finally, a starting point for climate action. We wondered why the others on the plane were not cheering. One woman said she represented the small island nations and she did […]
The momentum doesn’t stop at COP21. Two days back in Minnesota and my mind is still swirling with the ideas and experiences from COP21. There was so much energy and focus on climate change for that week that I still have not processed its full impact – on the world, and on me personally. Before […]
“Knowledge empowers people with our most powerful tool: the ability to think and decide. There is no power for change greater than a child discovering what he or she cares about.” ― Seymour Simon in a speech about global warming read on the National Mall for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, 2010 There is […]