ABSTRACT
Climate change is already under way and will only get much worse if students do not succeed in the first phase of the transition, the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Growing food depends directly on the climate; droughts or floods in a few major agricultural regions will necessarily decrease the food supply drastically. Contrary to what was generally believed – and what may be claimed by the oil and gas industry – natural gas is not a climate-friendly bridge fuel. However high the financial, social, and climate cost of fracking are, the public is expected to accept it on the grounds that it will supply cheaper energy and make the United States “energy-independent.” The first major consequence of failure to begin the transition to ecological living will almost certainly is major climate disruptions. As climates become more extreme and unstable, the first global-scale effects will probably be food and water shortages and famines.
