Amid overwhelming criticism that Scholastic Inc. was lying to students about the benefits of coal use, the education publisher cut ties with the coal industry.
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As politicians head for the nearest sound-bite they fail to help people think about the roots of problems or the profound changes needed to address them, like climate change and immigration.
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The climate crisis is not in some distant future. It is being felt around the world with heatwaves, floods, and most dramatically with the wildfires in Los Angeles. Our hearts go out to the residents, who face the tragic loss of lives, homes, schools, and entire communities.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Dana Frank. 2025. 336 pages.
Four stories of resilience, mutual aid, and radical rebellion that transforms how we understand the Great Depression.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. Rethinking Schools.
Who — or what — is to blame for the terrible effects of the climate crisis? This trial role play helps students understand the complicated factors involved.
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Film. Directed by Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood. 2010. 81 minutes.
This film takes viewers on a gripping emotional journey into a community surrounded by a looming toxic threat.
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Films. Directed by Jan Haaken and Samantha Praus. 58 minutes & 57 minutes.
Oil, Water, and Climate Resistance explores the work of attorneys, valve turners, and other water protectors in Minnesota. Climate Justice and the Thin Green Line examines climate resistance in the Pacific Northwest.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Elizabeth Rusch. 2023. 400 pages.
Based on the landmark court case Juliana v. United States, the book reads like a courtroom thriller and is a must-read for young people who want to act against climate change.
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Teaching Activity. By Suzanna Kassouf, Matt Reed, Tim Swinehart, Ursula Wolfe-Rocca, and Bill Bigelow.
The stories of twenty people whose lives were touched by the New Deal of the 1930s come to life in this classroom activity, intended to open students' minds to the possibilities of a Green New Deal.
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Teaching Activity. By Brady Bennon. Rethinking Schools. 7 pages.
A high school humanities teacher introduces students to the human cost of climate change, building empathy for climate change refugees like those in the island nation of Kiribati.
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Earth First! activist Judi Bari’s car was blown up by a bomb in Oakland, California.
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Film. Narrated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and illustrated by Molly Crabapple. The Intercept. 2019. 7 minutes.
The film flips the script on our future by illustrating one where we survive climate change and thrive because we took action today.
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Teaching Activity.
This people’s tribunal begins with the premise that a heinous crime is being committed as tens of millions of people’s lives are in danger due to COVID-19. But who was responsible for this crime? Students weigh the evidence.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow, Chris Buehler, Julie Treick O'Neill, and Tim Swinehart. Rethinking Schools.
This role play invites students to take on identities of La Vía Campesina activists around the world, to compare/contrast circumstances in order to discover the common goal of “food sovereignty.”
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Teaching Guide. Edited by Bill Bigelow and Tim Swinehart. Rethinking Schools. 2014. 400 pages.
Articles, student readings, and teaching activities to understand environmental problems and imagine solutions.
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NASA scientist James Hansen testified to Congress stating the greenhouse effect had been detected.
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Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
A lesson about multiple cohorts of climate activists: Indigenous leaders in the Climate Justice Movement, valve turners using civil disobedience to stop the flow of oil, and the legal team that uses the “necessity defense” in the courts.
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Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Sarah Mirk. 2020. 208 pages.
A graphic novel anthology of illustrated narratives about the prison and the lives it changed forever.
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Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow, Adam Sanchez, and Tim Swinehart.
A role-play activity engages students in building solidarity among different groups and organizations fighting fossil fuels and searching for alternatives.
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In the lead-up to an international conference on climate change in Copenhagen, climate activists organized a “day of action,” where millions of people gathered at thousands of events all over the world, demanding that governments and corporations work to slash CO2 emissions and enforce environmental protections.
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An Indigenous-led rally at the site of the United Nations Climate Change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, drew more than 100,000 protesters to demand reparations for Indigenous communities and the Global South, investments in renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, and worker-led transitions to systems that would reduce poverty and injustice.
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A delegation representing Native nations marched upon the Vatican and were successful in convincing the Vatican to revoke the Doctrine of Discovery.
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Sixteen youth activists win a climate lawsuit against the state of Montana for fossil fuel policies that violate their constitutional right to “a clean and healthful environment.”
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The constitutional climate case Juliana v. United States was filed by 21 youth against the U.S. government. The defendants said that the government's policies are causing catastrophic climate change and constitute a violation of their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property.
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