Waiting On The World To Change
Why environmental education and lessons about the environment are so important.
Now we see everything that′s going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it
So we keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
John Mayer, Waiting On The World To Change
You can’t go online without all kinds of blather and hype about AI. AI images roll through your scroll, AI slop posts make you roll your eyes and ask, “where is the truth?”
What’s missing is a message about planet earth and how our rush to digitalize, go AI and turn everything in data, into money, comes at a cost, a huge environmental cost.
See the poster I put together below. But the verdict is beyond doubt - using AI for most things in education is like “using nuclear fission to fry an egg”. It’s an ugly, energy intensive pig, and not the direction anyone with concern for the environment in mind would want to travel. See this list of reference articles supporting my arguments - the data is out there, its conclusive. Don’t be fooled by the untransparent AI hype industry. If the harms were manageable, they’d sure as hell would be transparent about things and allow us to review their environmental costs.
As a public school teacher for many years, I was always proud that education and its curriculum was focused in all subjects, on environmental education. It was an important part of being a teacher, helping young people understand the need for sustainable development and engendering a care for and awareness of the fragility of planet earth.
That seems to have all gone out the window with AI. I’m really gobsmacked how little in education (and especially corporate driven-ridden English language teaching) there is a concern for the “in our faces” environmental harms of AI. Where are the statements from IATEFL, or the British Council about the huge harms of AI and technology-driven education? It seems Altman’s vision of a planet covered in data centers has won.
I feel pessimistic but I will continue to speak my own truth, as you should too. We can’t just keep waiting on the world to change.
My Lesson Library has 100s of resources focused on environmental education - take a look. Appreciate your support.
Download the free PDF infographic poster »>
