Get ‘Em While They’re Young

by Jason Mark – May 24, 2011Follow Jason Mark on Twitter

Alliance for Climate Education Talks to Kids about Global Warming Before It’s Too Late

May 19 was a perfect spring day, less than a month before the end of the school year, and the kids in Ms. Gadwood’s earth sciences class at Alhambra High School in Martinez, CA were having a hard time focusing. All of the seniors had just left for an end-of-year trip to Disneyland, and the juniors were excited for “Junior Takeover Day.” Many of the students were under the impression that they would get out of class early. Unfortunately for them, the answer from Ms. Gadwood was an unequivocal “No.” They had a guest speaker there to talk to them, she said, and they were expected to give him their full attention.

And, to my happy surprise, that’s just what they did.

Within 30 seconds of introducing himself, the guest speaker, a whirlwind of energy named Ambessa Cantave, had the students rapt as he launched into a pair of hip-hop raps about — are you ready? — global climate change. With his arms thrown MC-wide, he rapped: “Earth’s turning red, man, it’s time to for some action/We got a world melting, a storm on one axis/Greenhouse gasses/Sun rays trappin/The rivers run dry/Losin’ habitats.”

As he finished, the class clapped with genuine enthusiasm.

Cantave is an educator-performer with the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), an Oakland-based outfit that organizes high school classroom and school assembly presentations across the United States. Since its founding just two years ago, ACE has reached nearly 700,000 students nationwide with its teen-focused curriculum. Cantave is one of the group’s all starts. He’s 34 years old, but with his Peter Pan build, baggy jeans, and blue-and-white fedora, he could pass for 10 years younger. He’s got the self-confidence that telegraphs authority and, most important given his target audience, he’s cool — a winning combination that accounts for his success in speaking to some 75,000 students over the years. That’s no small feat, especially since the subject matter is something of a downer.

“I’m not talking at you — this is a dialogue here,” Cantave said right after his short rap. “But I do have some information to share. When you get down to it, it’s all about you and me and how we’re livin’: We’re livin’ large. It takes the average teen in the US 21 football fields just to live.”

From there, Cantave launched into a 45-minute schpeel that was part history lesson, part science class, part feel good call-to-action, and part dire warning. Think Inconvenient Truth — only funny, and with a hip-hop accent. Accompanied by a Story of Stuff-like cartoon (developed, in fact, by the double geniuses at Free Range Graphics), Cantave glided through the key points of the climate dilemma. He hit on the basic science of the greenhouse effect (“like we’re runnin’ a giant experiment on ourselves”), the consequences of inaction (“a major threat to our economy”), and the potential for positive change (“we can’t wait around for action”). If his presentation had a lot of the usual gloom and doom, the cartoon graphics made it feel somehow lighter. And Cantave’s tone — conversational and down to earth — made the news sound less scary. “Seeing this stuff feels awful, right?” he said to a room of somber nods. “It is your fault? No. You’re just a teenager, driving to school, charging your cell phone, and eating hamburgers from farting cows.”

That line, right there, seemed to be the heart of the endeavor. ACE’s central goal is to reach the people who are inheriting this planet their parents busted, and to get them to take action to reverse course. In doing so, ACE avoids any of the fatuousness — “the children are our future” and all that rot — that too often infects youth-centered programs. In talking with Cantave and other ACE staffers, I didn’t hear any sentimentality about “the next generation.” The group’s focus on teenagers is all about hard-nosed political strategy. The emphasis on high schoolers is smart and it’s necessary for a simple reason: By the time Ms. Gadwood’s students get to college, many of them will have already made up their minds about global warming.

Most of us begin forming our political sympathies when we’re children. That’s just socialization 101: we pick up beliefs and attitudes from our parents, our extended family, teachers, and religious leaders. No surprise, then, that the vast majority of teenagers say they share the political views of their parents. But — and here’s the interesting thing — according to a 2005 Gallup survey a disproportionately high number of teens (compared to adults) describe themselves as politically “moderate.” They’re taking a wait-and-see approach. They are, in a sense, waiting find out who they are and what exactly they believe in. After all, that’s what adolescence is all about. For many of us, the teenage years are the crucible of our individuality. They are the pivot of personality, when we figure out how we feel about any number of things — climate change among them. And that’s where ACE comes in, trying to connect with young people right as they are deciding what they think about global warming.

“Not to sound cheesy,” Cantave said to me right before his presentation, “but you need to tap into your inner teen that’s awakening to the world’s ills, the youngster who’s trying to figure out what they want to do, and connect with that person.”

Other environmental groups should take note. All of those college-oriented speaking tours and organizer training sessions that you’re hosting? By that point you’re already speaking mostly to the choir.

I was impressed by how candid Cantave was about this strategy during his talk at Alhambra High. A student in Ms. Gadwood’s class asked how often he does college presentation, and he said, simply: “We don’t. We serve high schools.”

Then Ms. Gadwood interjected: “Because they’ve already made up their minds.”

“I’m not here to brainwash you,” Cantave told the class. “You are free to disagree. But I’ll tell you this: Who starts the world’s movements? It’s almost always young people like yourselves.”

If the ACE strategy looks sound, it’s still important to ask: Does it work?

Judging from the response of the students at Alhambra High (some of whose parents probably work at the nearby Shell or Exxon or Chevron oil refineries), the answer is yes.

“I’ve never seen our class so attentive,” Caitlin Lechuga, 18, told me. “I’ve always wanted to get involved in this stuff. He really made me want to get on it, because of all the stuff he said about the future if we don’t do anything. The things he suggested are really simple things.”

Sixteen-year-old Manny Macdonado wasn’t as effusive, but he said the presentation had influenced his thinking. “I think it’s interesting. I never would have known this. I wouldn’t say he inspired me, but he got me to change my mind.”

For her part, Ms. Gadwood was thrilled to have Cantave in her classroom, which was the third time she has invited ACE staffers to talk to her students. “The speakers are well spoken, informative, engaging, and entertaining,” she said to me. “And I know this because the students linger and talk about it. It’s priceless.”

Jason Mark, Editor, Earth Island Journal
Jason Mark is a writer-farmer with a deep background in environmental politics.  In addition to his work in the Earth Island Journal, his writings have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Nation, The Progressive, Utne Reader, Orion, Gastronomica, Grist.org, Alternet.org, E magazine, and Yes!  He is a co-author of Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots and also co-author with Kevin Danaher of Insurrection: Citizen Challenges to Corporate Power. When not writing and editing, he co-manages Alemany Farm, San Francisco’s largest food production site.

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