Educators in Maine will have a new online resource this school year to help them teach what they say is one of the most challenging subjects: climate change. The Maine Climate Hub offers free, scientist-and teacher-vetted lessons for students Pre-K through twelve, which teachers can integrate into standard courses such as math, social studies, and even art.

Olivia Griset, Maine Environmental Education Association Executive Director, said the lessons are Maine-centric and will help those students already witnessing changes to their environment.

"I think when youth feel that they can do something and have efficacy around a really intimidating problem, it can bring a lot of hope," Griset said.

Griset added lessons for younger students might be play-based while older students in Maine can begin working on climate solutions.

Maine's Department of Education calls for every Maine child to have access to high-quality, locally-relevant and age-appropriate climate education as part of it's Environmental Literacy Plan. The Maine Climate Hub aims to do just that, Griset said.

"For those goals to actually come into reality all of the people who are growing up in Maine now need to learn about these concepts so that we can become informed decision-makers as you grow up," she continued.

Griset said previous teacher surveys revealed they were lacking in climate change-related resources for the classroom. The Maine Climate Hub is optional for teachers and mirrors the first state-specific climate hub launched in New Jersey last year.


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School districts and county governments across Texas are being encouraged to consider building decarbonization to combat climate change.

The process reduces or eliminates carbon emissions in buildings by making energy efficiency improvements. According to a report by the Texas Climate Jobs Project, existing structures are a large contributor to carbon emissions, adding as much as 40% to the total worldwide.

Sandra Bustillos, the organization's carbon-free and healthy-buildings coordinator, said the report focuses on three main areas of improvement.

"There's the utility savings aspect of it," she said. "The next one is job creation, so we really abdicate for the creation of high-quality, family sustaining jobs. And then lastly, we also discuss health benefits."

She said Americans spend 90% of their time inside buildings that have carbon emissions that could impact their heart and lungs. They found that retrofitting all the public schools in Texas could boost the economy by creating up to 84,000 jobs.

The report shows that making small changes like installing solar panels, upgrading windows and doors and enhancing insulation can improve building efficiency and reduce emissions. Bustillos says the impact of climate change has been evident in recent weather events across the state.

"Hurricane Beryl this past year or four years ago Winter Storm Uri. It had really deep impacts on our communities - whether that be environmentally, socially or financially. So, I think it's urgent to be thinking about the effects of climate change and it's also urgent to be thinking about how we can create resilient buildings. "

The report found that rising heat also threatens the local economy and natural resources. Experts warn that a changing climate is likely to reduce water availability in the state, which will impact farmers' ability to grow crops.


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For generations, small family farms have worked to feed Mississippi communities but small-scale operations, particularly those run by Black farmers, face growing challenges in a landscape increasingly dominated by large agribusinesses.

The struggles are not new. Systemic barriers to getting loans and resources continue to disadvantage Black farmers.

Henry Bell, co-owner of Old Country Farm in Jefferson County, said his father started farming in the 1930s. Now working alongside his daughter, they focus on sustainable livestock farming and seasonal crops, like berries and sweet potatoes. Bell pointed out challenges like delays in loan disbursements have directly affected their planting schedules.

"You know, you have growing season and all that. You miss that growing season then you've got to wait to start the next year, and of course that put us back behind the white farmers," Bell explained. "The white farmers, they always got their money on time and most times, they got more money than they need."

Bell worries corporate farms "get the best of everything," compared to smaller operations. Last year, the Biden administration provided more than $2 billion in direct payments to Black and minority farmers who faced discrimination from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Climate change adds new threats. The Bells remember the devastating 2001 freeze, which wiped out their livestock and severely affected the farm.

Brittany Bell Surratt, co-owner of Old Country Farm, said extreme weather, from intense heat to sudden freezes, continues to disrupt their operations.

"The South shouldn't get that cold. But at the same time, we are also seeing these extreme heat temperatures, to the traditional climate change point, in which you have long periods of droughts," Surratt observed. "So, there's not rain that's coming, to be able to have the grass and to fertilize."

Many small Mississippi farms also struggle with the digital divide. Surratt noted her father remains largely disconnected from modern technology, operating mostly off the grid.

"They don't have Wi-Fi at his house," Surratt added. "There's a technology divide that is shutting out rural and older farmers where they are not being able to get the information that's needed when these types of climate disaster do happen and there may be sometime of relief."

Despite the challenges, the Bells said they are dedicated to sustainable farming and advocating for policies to support small farms, including race-based programs to address historical discrimination.

They also want to inspire younger generations to take pride in farming. In 2018, Bell's granddaughter made history as the first African American girl in the area to win the "Dairy Goat Queen" title at the local fair.


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Energy costs in Maryland are higher than the national average and one proposal to address the issue is facing backlash from environmentalists.

Top Democratic leaders in the Maryland General Assembly said building more dispatchable power plants would help solve this issue but environmentalists are not convinced. Dispatchable power plants are facilities which can be turned on and off to produce power to match the required demand. Sometimes, it refers to natural gas plants.

Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, pointed out Maryland has a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2045. A natural gas plant, he said, would only push Maryland farther from its goal.

"We've steadily been moving in the right direction with wind power, with solar, with energy efficiency," Tidwell outlined. "Building new gas plants in the 2020s, with sea level rise affecting downtown Annapolis, is just tragically bad public policy."

A recent study from Google found new gas power plants were the least economically efficient way to meet the energy needs of Maryland. Dispatchable power plants can include zero-emission sources, like nuclear power plants.

Instead, virtual power plants were the most cost and environmentally efficient way to meet the demands of the Bay state. Virtual power plants involve a network of small-scale energy resources like solar panels, batteries and smart appliances connected as a single unit.

Tidwell noted his organization has not seen data to support the economic or environmental arguments for a new natural gas power plant. The opposite goes for renewables, he pointed out.

"There is a lot of real-world data showing and other data showing that you can build batteries, you can improve efficiency and you can build solar power much faster at a cheaper cost," Tidwell emphasized.

The smaller sources of energy from virtual power plants can have their energy outputs adjusted to meet demands.