Hardly a day goes by without Le Monde, the New York Times or some other leading newspaper publishing at least one article on the subject of climate change, whether it be about what is causing this phenomenon, how it is impacting the world, or what consequences it will have if nothing is done to check the pace of global warming in the future. The same can be said of other media, from the radio to the television to the internet, which means that our students are growing up with a sense that a massive environmental transformation is taking place around them, unlike anything their parents, grandparents or great grandparents ever experienced. And having had many a conversation with them about what is happening, I can attest that they are often deeply moved and sometimes deeply troubled not only by reports that sea ice is disappearing and sea levels are rising, among other harrowing realities, but also by an impression that older generations are not always doing what they could and should do to address the issues at hand.
“Difficult choices facing humanity”
That impression is dispelled by introducing our students to those who are trying to understand and tackle the environmental challenges of our times, as happened last Saturday when some 15 of our middle and high schoolers took the time to attend a special event entitled “Beyond the Lab: Dynamic Careers in Science and Sustainability,” organized by the Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Institute, one the most renowned research observatories of planet earth, “from its deepest interior to the outer reaches of its atmosphere, on every continent and in every ocean, providing a rational basis for the difficult choices facing humanity.”
Held at the Explorer’s Club, an extraordinary organization founded in 1904 whose members “have been responsible for an illustrious series of famous firsts: first to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, first to the surface of the moon,” this conference provided our students with an opportunity to meet several exceptional scientists who are devoting their lives to studying the natural world, as well as putting their brilliance in the service of a sustainable future. As one eighth grade participant answered when I asked her about what she had taken away from the experience: mankind isn’t doomed; great scientists are also great citizens; I feel inspired to know that they really want us younger generations to join them in their work.
COP 21
That adults do care about the sustainability of our place on earth is made especially tangible when they empower youth to express their own ideas about climate change and how best to manage it, which is what will be occurring on Saturday, November 7, in the distinguished rooms of the French Cultural Services on Fifth Avenue, as part of the second annual Festival Albertine. Partnering with the French Cultural Services and the Green Schools Alliance, some 40 LFNY students, along with representatives from several other New York City independent and public schools, will be coming together to discuss the tough environmental challenges facing the world, just a few weeks before the opening in Paris of the vitally important 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP 21.
Moderated by acclaimed Time journalist and author Jeffrey Kluger, three remarkable Columbia professors will again be lending their expertise and experience to an outstanding symposium, which you will be able to follow through live-streaming, beginning at 3 PM: earth scientist Peter DeMenocal, environmental engineer Pierre Gentine, and economist Patrick Bolton. Most precious will be the impassioned, inquisitive, inventive optimism of the youngest citizens in the room. For them, the headlines about last week’s Hurricane Patricia being the strongest on record are clearly a call to action.
*A famous quotation from the late New York Yankees baseball player and oft-cited wit, Yogi Berra.
About the Author :
Sean Lynch was Head of School at the Lycée Français de New York from 2011 to 2018, after having spent 15 years at another French bilingual school outside of Paris: the Lycée International de St. Germain-en-Laye. Holding both French and American nationalities, educated in France (Sciences Po Paris) and the United States (Yale), and as the proud husband of a French-American spouse and father of two French-American daughters, Sean Lynch has spent his entire professional and personal life at the junction between the languages, cultures and educational systems of France and the United States. In addition to being passionate about education, he loves everything related to the mountains, particularly the Parc National du Mercantour.