Environment Texas Blog

Global warming a very real phenomenon taking place in our world today. Reputable scientists all over the world agree; the earth’s climate is warming up due to the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide building up in the atmosphere. Yet, the State Board of Education and Representative Mavis Knight, a Democrat from Dallas, just passed a ruling requiring all textbooks used in the state of Texas to “analyze and evaluate differing views on the existence of global warming.” This means that in schools across our state, children will not be learning the cold, hard truth of what is happening to our environment and taking steps to prevent it from further harm. More than that, this prevents our children from receiving a complete science education, putting them at a disadvantage in competitive global marketplace for jobs and innovation. It also fails to teach children that actions have consequences, and their life-choices have far reaching ramifications that affect more than just themselves. All parents want their children to learn that we must all be responsible for our own actions. It’s a valuable and important lesson everyone needs to learn. By passing a measure that will cast doubt on what humanity has done to the earth we live on, this ethic is severely undermined.

Scientific facts are also put into doubt by this ruling. It is a proven fact that the average temperature has increased 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880. Although this does not seem like a significant increase, it is. The Arctic regions have more dramatic increases in temperature than the rest of the globe; Arctic ice is melting at a dramatic rate, and the populations of polar bears and penguins are unfortunately feeling the effects. Coral reefs, sensitive to changes in the environment, have suffered severe bleaching, up to 70% in some regions. Tropical storms have greatly increased in both quantity and scope, especially in North America, largely due to the increased temperature of the Atlantic waters. All this research serves as proof of the ever-worsening problem of global warming. We cannot allow our state to teach our children to ignore this phenomenon. It’s happening here and now. Ignorance is bliss, but surely that is not the way we want our children to live their lives.

The Texas Board of Education is convening again to consider amendments. Hopefully, this destructive measure will be reversed, and our children allowed to learn science and truth. Global warming is an issue that needs to be addressed now. We have to work together to consider the impact of global warming and come up with solutions to prevent the situation from worsening. Teaching our children to be blissfully ignorant of what is hurting the world they are inhabiting will not help.