Teaching Climate Change To The Children Of The Deniers

You know the news: the US will withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Despite the anouncement being received with alarm elsewhere in the world, it was hardly a surprise for most. President Trump promised it during his campaign, and he had been signalling it for a few weeks already. Plus, he just doesn't think the proven facts about climate change are real.

That's not true for a huge majority of people. Even among Trump's voters, there is a high percentage of people who understand that climate change is real, and that human activity is the main driver behind it. It's not a majority, as Al Gore said, but still quite remarkable: 47% wanted to remain in Paris.

It's different in Kootenai County, Idaho, where more than half of adults believe that humans are not behind global warming. That's the place where Sarah Kaplan has found this jewel of a story, starring high school teacher, Jamie Esler.

Esler works in Coeur D'Arlene, a city of 49,000. He works outside the classroom, in the nearby forests, where he leads a group of 76 students into finding answers themselves, something more often said than done. Esler, however, seems to be doing a good job. And while some of his pupils have had "arguments" with their parents or friends on the subject, they appear to be learning how to find the facts, and, from them, draw their own conclusions.

The only thing missing to make this an all-round story would be a reference to at least a case where Esler has failed. How did they deal with parents who have confronted the school or the teacher? Did any kid decide to leave the class? I feel that knowing their shortcomings makes initiatives such as this more convincing. Apart from that, it's a delightful story. It's good to find sources of hope in these times!

I'd also like to highlight Kaplan's writing style. She has taken her time to meet the characters of this story, and the result is a vivid community, where people seem people ... That's how good features are made.

Plus, I'm a sucker for good openings.