June 23, 1988: James Hansen Testified to Senate About Climate Change
NASA scientist James Hansen testified to Congress stating the greenhouse effect had been detected.
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Theme: Environment
Environment
June 11, 2002: African American Residents in Louisiana Win Their Fight Against Shell Oil
African Ameican residents of Diamond, Louisiana won their relocation fight with Shell Oil.
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Sept. 15, 2013: Lummi Nation Began Kwel hoy’ Totem Pole Journey
The Lummi Nation begin the Kwel hoy’ Totem Pole journey.
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July 10, 1985: Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior was bombed by two French agents and Dutch photographer Fernando Pereira was killed.
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Warning from My Future Self
Book — Fiction. By Jean Tepperman. Illustrated by Alfred Twu. 2017. 34 pages.
A dystopian call-to-action story about the threat of climate change and the need for young people to act now.
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A dystopian call-to-action story about the threat of climate change and the need for young people to act now.
Sept. 20, 2017: Hurricane Maria Strikes Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico as a major Category 4 storm.
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Nov. 12, 1981: Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and the Orme Dam Victory
The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation of Arizona stopped construction of the Orme Dam after ten years of organizing and protesting.
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Dec. 14, 1985: Wilma Mankiller Becomes Chief of Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Wilma Mankiller took office as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
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Dec. 15, 1992: “Civil War” in El Salvador Ended
The “civil war” in El Salvador officially ended, but other struggles followed, including to protect the land and water from gold mining.
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Dec. 19, 2008: Tim DeChristopher Protests Bureau of Land Management
Tim DeChristopher of Peaceful Uprising protested a Bureau of Land Management auction of public land in Utah’s redrock country.
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The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists
Book — Non-fiction. By Naomi Klein. 2018. 91 pages.
Post-Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans are engaged in a pitched struggle with "disaster capitalists" over how to remake the island.
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Post-Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans are engaged in a pitched struggle with "disaster capitalists" over how to remake the island.
Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter
Poetry. By Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner. 2017. 90 pages.
Poetry reveals the traumas of colonialism, racism, forced migration, the legacy of American nuclear testing, and the impending threats of climate change.
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Poetry reveals the traumas of colonialism, racism, forced migration, the legacy of American nuclear testing, and the impending threats of climate change.
Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore
Book — Non-fiction. By Elizabeth Rush. 2019. 328 pages.
A book about the impact of climate change on U.S. communities and societies that privileges the voices of those too often kept at the margins.
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A book about the impact of climate change on U.S. communities and societies that privileges the voices of those too often kept at the margins.
Climate Change, Gender, and Nuclear Bombs
Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Spring 2018.
Gender is one of the crucial variables determining how the climate crisis affects us.
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Gender is one of the crucial variables determining how the climate crisis affects us.
Teaching the Truth About Climate Change Is Up to Us, Because Textbooks Lie
Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Spring 2018.
Every single one of the texts adopted in Portland, known for being green and liberal, misleads young people about the climate crisis.
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Every single one of the texts adopted in Portland, known for being green and liberal, misleads young people about the climate crisis.
Students “Warrior Up” for Climate Justice
Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Fall 2018.
Teaching hope instead of despair, teachers invite students to research “climate warriors,” those who “know the truth” and yet are not defeated by it.
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Teaching hope instead of despair, teachers invite students to research “climate warriors,” those who “know the truth” and yet are not defeated by it.
Tax the Rich, Fight Climate Change
Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Winter 2018.
The “just transition” away from fossil fuels can also be a move toward a society that is cleaner, more equal, and more democratic.
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The “just transition” away from fossil fuels can also be a move toward a society that is cleaner, more equal, and more democratic.
Our House Is on Fire — Time to Teach Climate Justice
Article. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools, Spring 2019.
For too long, the fossil fuel industry has tried to buy teachers’ and students’ silence. But teaching climate justice has never been more urgent.
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For too long, the fossil fuel industry has tried to buy teachers’ and students’ silence. But teaching climate justice has never been more urgent.
The Young People’s Climate Conference: Teaching Global Warming to 3rd Graders
Teaching Activity. By Rowan Shafer. Rethinking Schools.
A teacher adapts the “Climate Change Mixer” designed for older students as a springboard for a unit on global warming and climate justice. She asks, "How could I bring up an issue so big and abstract, so gloom and doom, with 3rd graders? How could I not?"
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A teacher adapts the “Climate Change Mixer” designed for older students as a springboard for a unit on global warming and climate justice. She asks, "How could I bring up an issue so big and abstract, so gloom and doom, with 3rd graders? How could I not?"
Where Are the Climate Change Superheroes? Systems Thinking and Climate Activism in the Children’s Eternal Rainforest
Teaching Activity. By Eric Fishman. Rethinking Schools.
An elementary school teacher developed the engaging Quetzal Conundrum game to help students understand the impact of climate change in Costa Rica.
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An elementary school teacher developed the engaging Quetzal Conundrum game to help students understand the impact of climate change in Costa Rica.
Teaching About Climate Change
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 2009. Rethinking Schools.
The environmental crisis requires a profound social and curricular rethinking.
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The environmental crisis requires a profound social and curricular rethinking.
You Got to Move: Stories of Change in the South
Film. Directed by Lucy Massie Phenix and Veronica Selver. 1985. 86 minutes.
Documentary about people who learned to organize, and received peer support, at the Highlander Center.
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Documentary about people who learned to organize, and received peer support, at the Highlander Center.
An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas
Book — Non-fiction. By Diane Wilson. 2006. 392 pages.
Shrimp-boat captain Diane Wilson takes on corporate greed and political corruption in a true story about environmental activism on the Texas Gulf Coast.
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Shrimp-boat captain Diane Wilson takes on corporate greed and political corruption in a true story about environmental activism on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World
Book — Non-fiction. By Jeff Goodell. 2018. 352 pages.
Early 21st century societies scramble to fight rising seas and science journalist Jeff Goodell predicts what will happen if (and when) we fail.
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Early 21st century societies scramble to fight rising seas and science journalist Jeff Goodell predicts what will happen if (and when) we fail.