This article explores how the international community, Wisconsin's local and state governments, and multiple businesses have tried to address climate change.
Students will learn about the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, executive orders issued by Wisconsin governor Tony Evers, the 25 x 25 pledge made by many communities in Wisconsin, and Xcel Energy's pledge to shift towards more renewable energy production.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This article could make students feel more hopeful about the planet's future.
This article is organized and filled with useful links.
Additional Prerequisites
Students need to understand carbon's role in human-induced climate change.
Students need to know the following terms: clean energy, renewable energy, sustainability, bipartisan, coalition, sequestration, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Differentiation
This article could enhance a lesson on the Wisconsin government's effectiveness at dealing with climate change.
This article could supplement a lesson on the economic incentives that are persuading some Wisconsin businesses to become more Earth-friendly.
For ELLs, it may be useful to define some words before these students dive into the reading.
After reading the article, the teacher could lead a classroom discussion on why some states are taking climate change more seriously than others.
Scientist Notes
This resource from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources focuses on solutions for climate change mitigation being implemented at the international, state, local, and business levels. The article starts with a discussion of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, signed by 189 countries, and then turns to actions by the state of Wisconsin, which has partnered with other states in the U.S. Climate Alliance. Local government plans to switch to clean, renewable energy (by 2025) are discussed, and then the article turns to business, namely how climate change puts the insurance industry at risk and how Wisconsin-based utilities and corporations are investing in clean energy. This resource features numerous links to primary sources for further reading. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.5.9-12 Evaluate citizens' and institutions' effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
Dimension 2: Economics
D2.Eco.3.9-12 Analyze the ways in which incentives influence what is produced and distributed in a market system.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
