Photo by Practical Cures on Flickr. CC By 2.0.
NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch was quoted in a Bloomberg News column (April 25, 2025; subscription required; republished in the Las Vegas Sun, April 30, 2025) on the invocation of climate anxiety as a pretext for shortchanging climate change education.
Acknowledging that climate anxiety is a real phenomenon, the column argued that the remedy is to ensure that climate science is "taught in classrooms by trained professionals." In that vein, Branch commented, "Science teachers have long recognized that, in order to teach effectively, you have to pay attention to students' emotions," adding, "That doesn't mean mechanically avoiding anything that will trigger them. It means adopting strategies to avoid problems." Among such strategies: holding climate classes outside, emphasizing climate solutions, and getting students personally involved in climate action.
Science teachers need to be prepared not only on climate science but also about teaching it effectively, the column observed. "Any government truly worried about climate anxiety would prioritize that over trying to censor these subjects."
