The results of a new survey backed by the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) claim that one-third of K-12 teachers in the United States are “climate deniers.”
According to Huffington Post, many science teachers devote substantial class time to the issue of climate change, but at least one in three teachers take that opportunity to discuss climate change denial. Such teachers claim that climate change is not caused by human — a statement that challenges data supported by 95 percent of climate scientists.
“Worse, half of the surveyed teachers have allowed students to discuss the supposed ‘controversy’ over climate change without guiding students to the scientifically supported conclusion,” said Josh Rosenau, NCSE programs and policy director.
More that 1,500 middle and high school teachers participated in the survey, which represents that first ever nationwide study on teachers and climate change.
The results are both good and bad. The good: three in four teachers devote at least one hour of class discussion to climate change. This means that only 3 or 4 percent of students will miss a chance to participate in the discussion, given the fact that around 97 percent of students in middle and high school are enrolled in general biology class.
Part of the report includes data indicating 30 percent of science teachers claim global warming is due to natural causes. Around 12 percent do not even tackle human causes.
Roughly 50 percent of teachers claim that pesticides, impacts of rockets and natural cycles of the ozone layer are the cause of climate change.
Though only 2 percent deny that climate change is happening all together, 15 percent of teacher say that the latest global warming is strictly driven by natural causes.
“It’s clear that the vast majority of surveyed teachers are hungry for additional professional development,” NCSE’s climate expert Dr. Minda Berbeco said.