Editor:
Re: “Indoctrinated for the New Green Age,” April 5.
Setting aside that Mr. Gleeson gives no agency to children, and that he’s irresponsibly comparing the possibility of ecological collapse with elementary teacher rants about CCR [Creedence Clearwater Revival], I’d like to draw attention to the idea that we should hide the truth from students about climate change. To what end? So after graduation they realize we’ve left no future for them? Why do you think this generation is often so angry, despairing, or apathetic?
This is an existential crisis; it will require all hands on deck. Not telling them the truth, not preparing them for a future of far less consumption and alternative ways of living, is an egregious disservice.
On April 1, a report was leaked from the federal government – Canada’s Changing Climate Report. Some of the highlights include: warming in Canada is about double the magnitude of global warming; ocean warming and ocean acidification threaten marine ecosystems; expect more extreme heat, increase in severity of heat-waves, increased drought and wildfire risks; increased risk of water supply shortages in summer. That’s just the tip of the melting iceberg.
Food scarcity and mass human migration are serious issues they will contend with in the future. All of this should be taught in school, and not just as a fatalistic scenario. Young people deserve the opportunity to have some autonomy over the fate of their generation. It is our job, as parents and educators, to prepare our children for the future, and that’s what we intend to do.
We need to work with the thinkers, creatives, problem-solvers, scientists, and inventors of this generation to create a world worth not simply surviving in, but living for.
Danika Dinsmore, Extinction Rebellion Sunshine Coast
