by Aubrey Dangelo

Widener University Political Science Major

This year, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (D), announced plans to incorporate the Next Generation Science Standards into school curriculums. The goal of NGSS is to align the scientific standards for all Kentucky schools, and eventually the entire country, as well as to incorporate lessons about climate change into their curriculums. On Wednesday, though, the state’s Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee rejected the plan in a 5-1 vote. The governor intends to continue with his agenda though. Not surprisingly, he is being criticized by conservative groups throughout the country. Some groups are the claiming that the NGSS policy does not reflect the will of the people of Kentucky, but the Governor is assuring the public that he will not submit to the right on this issue. On Wednesday, he stated that if the Kentucky legislature votes to reject the plan, he will veto their decision.

I think that this is a step in the right direction for not only the state of Kentucky, but also for the United States as a whole. Climate change is accelerating faster than in ever has in history, and this is no time to be denying the facts. How can we, as a country, take definitive action to reverse the affects of global warming when schools aren’t equipping students with the knowledge they will need to confront these issues? When 97% of scientists agree that global warming is happening and that human activity is its primary cause, we cannot go on acting like climate change is nothing more than a hypothesis. I sincerely hope that other governors will follow in Steve Beshear’s footsteps.