When I first signed up for Mr. Siperstein’s English 104 class, I went in on the first day thinking it would be like any other class I’ve taken here at the UO. Much to my surprise however, I was soon proven wrong when I discovered that we would be focusing on the issue of climate change. My first thoughts? “I’m screwed. I know absolutely nothing about climate change.”

As I look back now at my panicking self, I realize that many other students probably had reactions similar to mine. That’s when it hit me. The problem is exactly that! You see, it isn’t that people don’t care about climate change, but rather they just haven’t been properly informed about the issue. I recently came across a study done by Yale on Climate Change Communication, and discovered that only 1 in 10 Americans say they are “very well informed” about the issue of climate change. Kind of a crazy thought, right? How are we supposed to help the future of our environment and make a positive change if roughly only 10 percent of Americans even know what’s actually going on? Exactly, we can’t. The good news is, there’s something we can do about it. The Yale study also reported that 75 percent of Americans said that they would like to know more about the issue, which means that people are interested in learning more. So, where can we begin? While the task of informing an entire nation about the issue of climate change can seem quite daunting, I think that creating more classes like the one Mr. Siperstein is teaching would be the perfect place to start.

Contrary to what one might assume, Mr. Siperstein doesn’t just sit there and feed us information regarding the various causes and effects of climate change. That wouldn’t be too exciting. Instead, he assigns a number of short readings that all tackle the issue in their own unique way. For example in “The Siphoners” by David Mitchell and “The Weatherman” by Holly Howitt, both authors get their point across by demonstrating what the world could be like if these environmental changes continue to occur without action. Not only do stories such as these get students thinking, but they also inform them about the issue in a way that is both enjoyable and entertaining. If more classes like this one were to be implemented in high schools and colleges across the nation, students would gradually become more and more informed about the issue of climate change and therefore be able to take action. I can guarantee that there are many other students out there just like me, all of whom could truly benefit from a class like this. If I hadn’t enrolled in this course, I too would still be completely uninformed about climate change in general. Now though, I am motivated to make a change and to do my part in helping the environment. That is why I think we need to start by focusing on what we can do to help educate people because like I said before, it’s not that they don’t care, but that they’re just simply unaware.

Link to The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication: http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/Americans-knowledge-of-climate-change