Education Survey Group

We finished gathering the results from our student surveys, which were conducted on campus over the past few weeks. What I found to be most revealing was the amount of students who are under the impression that the United States signed the Kyoto Protocol. There were also a significant amount of students who failed to recognize that the majority of earth scientists agree that we are experiencing a mass extinction. I believe this is a result of misplaced faith in our political leaders. Understandably, some of the students may not have any idea about the details surrounding the Kyoto treaty, especially since our country didn't participate in its signing, but I also believe that many students are under the false impression that our government is doing everything it can to take care of the climate change issue. Another interesting detail from the survey results was the amount of students who feel that the media has exaggerated the threat climate change poses, when in reality, the media cares more about the death of celebrities than the melting polar ice caps. I think that a solution to climate change is not just educating students about the science surrounding it, but making sure that they are aware of the role their country and its leaders play in the fight against it and what effective actions they are taking. Public outrage may be the key to getting our representatives to listen, but if the masses continue to have the wool pulled over their eyes, our future will remain uncertain.
--Michael Verdi