From Chalkboards to Climate Change: A Teacher’s Journey Through Global Warming Since the 1970s

Hello again, friends—Jeanne Rosenbohm here. 

Over the years, I’ve watched many things change—fashion trends, music styles, teaching methods—but one change that really concerns me is the warming of our planet. I remember standing in front of my first class in 1970, not fully understanding the slow but dangerous transformation our Earth was undergoing. Back then, we talked about pollution, yes—but the term “global warming” was just beginning to creep into scientific circles. 

1970s: The Warning Bells Begin to Ring 

I vividly recall those early discussions—concerns about acid rain, smog hanging over our cities like a brown quilt, and the shocking discovery that the ozone layer was thinning. I was really shocked when I visited California and saw the thick brown layer of smog under a layer of yellow sky while I was sunbathing on the beach. Scientists began warning us that the Earth’s atmosphere was changing. Carbon dioxide levels were climbing, and though the data was sparse, the trends were there if we dared to look closely. 

The seeds of climate awareness were being planted, along with community awareness of what needed to be done.   

1980s–1990s: The Evidence Grows 

 Reports linked rising temperatures to human activity—especially the burning of fossil fuels. I remember being troubled by all the cars on the highways. It was during this time that I began to connect the dots: this wasn’t just about pollution anymore. This was about a warming planet. I was no longer teaching science, but I was still very much interested in the problems I was seeing.  

NASA satellites began capturing images of shrinking polar ice, and we saw the first footage of polar bears stranded on tiny ice floes. It broke my heart.  It was no longer a faraway problem. It was real. It was now. 

2000s–Present: The Time for Action 

Fast forward to today. I’m a grandmother now. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that this Earth is aching. Wildfires rage more intensely, hurricanes grow more violent, and sea levels creep higher every year. We’ve already surpassed 1.2 degrees Celsius of warming, and the effects are no longer subtle—they are shaping the very fabric of life on Earth. 

And yet, I see hope. I see it in the eyes of young people marching with handmade signs demanding climate justice. I see it in the solar panels on rooftops such as mine, in community gardens blooming in urban neighborhoods, and in my own grandson who participates in beach cleanups with his Cub Scout troop.  

Looking Back, Looking Forward 

Looking back on the last 50+ years, I can’t help but feel both sorrow and pride. Sorrow that we didn’t act sooner. Pride that we’re finally listening, learning, and—most importantly—teaching. 

Because as I said before, children must be taught to care. They’re the guardians of tomorrow. We are merely borrowing this Earth from them. 

So let’s teach them how we got here: 

That it took decades of carbon emissions, deforestation, and overconsumption to tip the balance. 

That the warming didn’t happen overnight—but it is accelerating. 

That while the past is behind us, the future is still unwritten. 

And let’s empower them to write it boldly. 

Small Hands, Big Change 

When I taught my first Earth Day lesson, I didn’t imagine that I’d still be advocating for this planet five decades later. But here I am—and I won’t stop. Not when the stakes are this high. 

If every child today picks up the mantle, if every parent, teacher, and neighbor chooses sustainability over convenience, compassion over apathy—then maybe, just maybe, our grandchildren will inherit a world that’s healing, not hurting. It Endogenous people teach the importance of caring for the Seventh Generation. It is time we listened.  

Let’s not wait another fifty years to act. The time is now. 

 
For the planet. For the children. For us all.