Health and Education
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Type: Articles/Websites
Subjects: Social Studies, Earth and Space Sciences, Health
Authors: Project Drawdown
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This resource is currently being revised by Project Drawdown but you can research many of the other solutions in detail on their new Drawdown Explorer page.
- This article examines the impact of family planning and inclusive education on climate change, human population projections, and emission disparities between high-income and low/middle-income countries.
- Students will learn that inclusive education and family planning lead to slower population growth and less carbon emissions.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This article recognizes that past conversations about human population growth have been marred by racism and classism.
- This article also discusses the historical emissions of the entire African continent.
Additional Prerequisites
- It may be helpful if students have an intermediate understanding of voluntary family planning and existing gender inequality.
- Students should understand the causes and impacts of climate change.
- Some students may need the terms family planning, emissions, autonomy, and others defined before reading the article.
Differentiation
- Students can use this article for an informative essay on how gender-inclusive education leads to social, economic, and environmental benefits.
- Students can read this article at home to prepare for an in-class discussion on reproductive health in the United States and abroad.
- This article can support a unit on gender inequality throughout human history and why this inequality still exists today.
- This article pairs well with the resource titled CFR Education: Who Releases the Most Greenhouse Gasses?
This resource from Project Drawdown discusses the role of family planning and education in mitigating the climate crisis. Changes in these sectors could also help to improve health outcomes, increase gender equality, slow population growth, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, more access to family planning and education can potentially reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 70 gigatons between 2020 and 2050. This article is well-sourced and is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
