Next Steps for the Youth Climate Movement

Efforts in the fight against climate change and the fight for climate justice have become bogged down. There is simply too big of a gap between our scientific knowledge of what is happening around the world and what the general public understands. As a result, the urgency to act is lost. In this course we will examine the current state of the climate and climate justice movement, with a specific focus on solutions and opportunities to engage youth. We will examine various models of change from the social, environmental, and business sectors, including theories like Seed-Scale, Positive Deviants, and Appreciative Inquiry. Students will work in small teams to explore and identify strategies for young people across divides of race, class, and ethnicity to make a difference, as well as to increase inter-generational understanding of human impacts on Earth’s climate. Through articles, case studies, and video we will explore and blend the best of several disciplines to get to ideas and solutions. Readings will include: Switch – How to Change when Change is Hard and Just and Lasting Change. This course counts as a cognate for ENVS majors with foci in the natural sciences.