The zoo’s strategy instead, especially with the younger kids, is to first teach them to care about animals/environment/ecology by showing them the wonderfulness of it all (and I don’t mean that sarcastically). Because if kids–and I’m sure this is more profound for some temperaments than others–instead have the heavy weight of doom, impending pain and nonrefundable losses thrust on them, they cannot start to chip away at the immense problems by rationalizing small steps the way an adult *might* be able to (ie, pushing the iceberg). It is just too big, too complex, and too unfair seeming. Especially for kids for whom a science project is itself too big to tackle fully independently…well, these kids who both feel in a big way and see the big picture have a very hard time, and they have to shut out the entire issue because it’s just too overwhelmingly sad and daunting.

[Anyone still doubt the important of teaching teachers to recognize and develop work-arounds for asynchronous development?]

Someone in Denmark has summarized the inherent mistakes typical of Bjorn’s Baloney -

http://www.lomborg-errors.dk/

A good book for her to read for is “The Skeptical Environmentalist” by Bjorn Lomberg. He’s got a new book out specifically about global warming, but I haven’t read it yet.

Something else you might be able to do – and in terms of value, for the task at hand, this would be priceless – is to take a step back and do some introspection.

What would motivate someone like you to get involved, to join us in pushing on the iceberg?

Because if you can figure that out, and share it, you won’t just be adding one pair of arms to the effort – more like hundreds or thousands.

I’m trying to think, given – and respecting – that, what she could do – since we all need to work at “pushing on the iceberg” to change its course. For her sake, but also for her daughter’s sake.

One possibility might be to do what John Doerr’s daughter did – contact someone of the previous generation who’s in a position to make a difference, and say, “Hey! you broke it, it’s your responsibility to fix it – don’t pawn the problem off on me.”

Her words made a difference. Yours can too.

Plus it’s good for you as well – turn the depression into anger, into action.
Maybe do it as a video and put it up on YouTube?

C., as someone from the next generation, your words on this carry a lot of moral weight. Far more so than your mom’s or mine. You want to see adults cringe, this is how you can do it…
:-}

and if you run into any global-warming-denying ostriches, you can send them to skepticalscience.com.

now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go push on that iceberg.