Introduction
"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth." Aristotle spoke very wisely of education. As teachers we have an important trust: to educate our future leaders. While we are helping our students learn we should embrace the larger and more difficult issues as a medium for teaching our students. By constantly addressing larger issues our students will hopefully feel vested in the decisions and also will be better equipped to make decisions when they are ultimately responsible for the choice.
But why global warming? While the actual consequences of global warming will be discussed later, suffice it to say they are disastrous. Unfortunately many people are not aware of the stakes. We need to empower people and help them realize that they can make a difference in the world, even on problems that are global in scale. As Margaret Mead said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." And maybe some of those people will come from our classrooms. If we want the world to be a better place, we must start with students. We are in a position to make sure that our future governance takes the environment into account when making its policies. I am not suggesting that this unit should be used at the expense of other processes and skills we are supposed to help our students learn; I am saying that global warming is a good issue to use as a medium for teaching skills that otherwise we would be teaching in other ways. It is an overarching idea that contains most of the ideas that would be taught in a science or other classes. In this way we can make sure our students are learning the things they should, empower them to realize that they can help change the world for the better, help make sure they are aware of one of the major issues concerning the world.
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