I attended COP21 in December of 2015. This was a monumental time in the history of our planet, where 195 nations drafted an agreement to reduce carbon emissions and to keep global warming below 2 degrees. At first, I was shocked to see how far behind the rest of the world the U.S. was in […]
Upon arriving back at MSP airport, we learned that the Paris climate agreement was passed. Our group was so happy, some were moved to tears. Finally, a starting point for climate action. We wondered why the others on the plane were not cheering. One woman said she represented the small island nations and she did […]
“This experience has been the best professional development I have ever been involved in.” – Lauren Leith, Dec. 11, 2015
With the theme of the day being that we need to keep the momentum going, I decided to find out how to do that. So, today I interviewed people with the question, “What 2-3 actions are you going to take after COP21?” I had to start with myself so that I knew what to work on […]
Today began with our much-anticipated meeting with John Holdren, President Obama’s Science Advisor, at the U.S. Embassy. I let him know that my students are worried about climate change, and that they are doing what they can to reduce their carbon footprint – biking, taking the metro, and growing gardens – but as long as […]
Global climate change affects the economy, the environment and the human rights of the world’s population. To achieve climate justice, we need to understand the impact of climate change across the globe. After listening to women’s groups, island groups and undeveloped countries at COP21 these past few days, it has become clear to me that […]
Today was our first day at the actual COP21 meetings. The day started off with a picture taken with the President of Mozambique. I then went to the green zone and was immersed in information. I focused my day on energy. To start off with, I went to listen to four U.S. states discus key […]
Let me tell you about another Education Ambassador. His name is Roy Lander. He is a 5th grade life science teacher in Atlanta, GA at a progressive private school, The Galloway School. He is focusing his teaching on “Human Impact on the Environment.” He is teaching his students that often there are multiple causes to […]
We have a lot of work to do! I made it to Paris, via an 8 hour flight. I had lots of time to read, so I read an article from the New York Times that outlined past UN climate meetings and the mistakes that were made. It stressed the importance and urgency of this […]
As our COP21 Window Into Paris program approaches, we will be featuring an educator in our delegation each week to share their thoughts on the program and how they plan to incorporate their experience at the UN climate change negotiations into their classrooms. This week’s featured educator is Lauren Leith, a Physics, Chemistry and Earth […]