What started out as a class project could change lives. A teenager in Illinois, Iris Shadis-Greengas, drafted a game-changing climate change bill for a senior capstone project.
Advocating for mandatory climate education in Illinois public schools, the bill was championed by State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, amended, and passed in August. It will go into effect in 2026.
The bill's title stated that "the environmental and ecological impacts of climate change on individuals and communities and evaluating solutions for addressing and mitigating the impact of climate change" should be included in the curriculum.
The legislation puts an emphasis on the scientific, social, and political aspects of educating people about the effects of the changing global climate patterns. It included aspects of a similar effort by former high school graduate Grace Brady, per the Central Times.
From an uptick in devastating forest fires to droughts affecting crops and overall food supplies, the negative effects of our warming planet are far-reaching. As Shadis-Greengas noted to the Central Times, her school newspaper, it's important to get people to understand how all of this affects them so they'll care enough to make changes and advocate for better policies.
This new law makes Illinois one of five states to adopt education into their curriculums that address our overheating planet, according to a press release issued by the Illinois Environmental Council. The Prairie State follows the footsteps of California, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York.
Shadis-Greengas wants to up those numbers.
"If I can bring attention to [the issue] for other states and get [a similar bill] passed in other states, that would be good, especially considering Illinois [has] set a precedent," she told the Times. "I definitely plan to continue activism wherever I end up living. I think that every state should have this law."
Even if only five states have education laws focused on the changing climate, they're definitely not the only states passing legislation that aims to slow the overheating of the planet.
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In September, the governor of Delaware signed a package of game-changing energy bills promoting electric vehicles and wind energy, among other things. On the federal level, the U.S. is still offering tax breaks to those who adopt solar panels, electric vehicles, and other clean energy tools as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
"There is more work to do," Helen von den Steinen and Maria Cabiya, co-founders of Climate Education for Illinois, said in the IEC's press release, "but this is a great first step."
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