Letters to the Editor: Talking to kids about climate change isn’t indoctrination. It’s empowerment

To the editor: In Tony Barboza’s opinion piece about discussing global warming with his children, he says these talks can feel like indoctrination. I want to assure him they are not.

It shouldn’t be considered indoctrination if you are describing known facts and a growing body of evidence. The scientific consensus of the facts is impressive.

Like many environmental problems, climate change is the result of decisions made by individuals as well as policy at the national and international levels. Actions by many of us could add up to enough to address the scale and scope of what we face.

We are the ones who can pressure our various legislators to make the changes needed. After all, such environmental problems arise through neglect by people and governments. All have responsibility and a part to play in mitigation.

Margaret Hamilton, Portland, Ore.

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To the editor: Children can deal with learning about climate change if they also learn about ways to mitigate it.

For two years after I retired from teaching, I worked with a group called PowerSave Schools. It was a partnership between the Alliance to Save Energy, local utilities and several school districts, including Los Angeles Unified.

We talked about climate change, and though we chose our words carefully, we didn’t sugar coat it. We taught students to measure the lighting in their classrooms and, if over-lit (like most classrooms are), to turn off some of the lights and practice “last out, lights out.”

As Barboza writes, kids can deal with the scary facts of climate change if they see that adults are seriously working to solve the problem. That is why it is extremely distressing to see Republican leaders try to block green investing in subservience to the petroleum industry.

In California, the oil industry is trying to qualify a ballot initiative that would block the enforcement of a law requiring new oil and gas drilling to be at least 3,200 feet from schools, homes and other sensitive places.

Climate change deniers who work to block efforts to slow global warming need to be held accountable.

Joe McLaughlin, Los Angeles

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To the editor: How do you talk to your kids about the climate crisis? Barboza is on the right path by keeping explanations simple, listening to his children’s questions and setting an example for them by adopting lifestyle changes.

There’s more to do. Kids should see their parents write letters, participate in climate activist groups, carry signs in marches, speak up at local government meetings and talk with other adults about this existential crisis.

Then, when these children grow up, they will know their parents did all they could, whatever the outcome.

Margaret Baker Davis, La Verne