It cannot be denied that we are in a difficult period of time in the US and globally. How do we talk to children about what is going on without scaring the living daylights out of them? How do we talk to them about the state of our nation and about climate change? We need to start listening to them in order to understand their feelings, so that we can better connect with them on topics that might be difficult to explain. With respect to the environment, a good starting point can be to find ways to relate climate change to their daily lives and explore the basic facts together. Try to expose your child to nature as much as possible, and nurture their enjoyment while being outside. Focus on positive action, exploring solutions as a family and pointing out the ways people and communities are working to make a difference. We have to empower children by showing them how they can contribute, emphasizing that it’s not their fault, and fostering a connection to nature and their community. We need to focus on actions and solutions and site examples of people who are working on ways to address climate change. For every problem you discuss, try to show a solution. Discuss positive and inspiring stories you see on the news or in your own community.
Climate education is key and (CRETF work) New York State, outlines the elements that educators believe are required for a successful statewide climate education program. It is based on research and analysis of best practices in other states, as well as the expertise from members, many of whom are educators, scholars, policymakers, and students. It lays out a shared vision which is aligned to ensuring the successful realization of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) New York State’s climate law, which is one of the most ambitious in the country.
It is my honor to have Harriet Shugarman join us on the Season 14 opening episode of TMSOG. Harriet is involved with the Climate & Resilience Education Task Force (CRETF) and is one of the leading voices in the global parent climate movement. She is the founder of and Executive Director of ClimateMama, and the award-winning author of “How to Talk to Your Kids About Climate, Turning Angst into Action.” She is the chair of the Advisory Council for Our Kids Climate, an anchor organization connecting national and grassroots groups from more than 50 countries working on intergenerational organizing and engagement strategies. Harriet is a core team member with Climate Junction/The Ecopsychepedia Project, as well as a Leadership Council member with Dear Tomorrow and a professor of World Sustainability and Climate Change Policy and Society. She is an economist and policy analyst and worked for 13 years with the International Monetary Fund including 10 as an IMF representative at the United Nations. Harriet is a mentor and leader with the Climate Reality Project and the recipient of the prestigious Climate Reality Alfredo Sirkis Memorial Green Ring. So it is important to teach our children well, and Harriet is leading the way in educating children and adults about the need to protect Mother Earth.
New York Climate Week 2025 runs from September 21st to September 28th. For more info on Climate Week NYC go to: https://www.climateweeknyc.org/ Event Calendar from The Climate Group
Additional links of interest are below:
NEST Climate Campus at the Javits Center
Dear Tomorrow Pop Up at The Creative Climate Forum, Pier 57 on 9/25 (no ticket needed to drop in)
https://www.wecaninternational.org/climate-week
WECAN EVENT UN Church Center 9/24
Climate Education In Action 9/26 SunDay 9/21 with GreenFaith and other organizations. Check out EcoPsychepedia via Climate Junction
CRETF Climate Education in NYC
To help defend democracy please donate if you can to help lawyers defend our constitution by going to https://www.aclu.org/ https://www.brennancenter.org/ and https://civ.works/ If you want to help protect the environment please donate to https://earthjustice.org
To listen to past TMSOG shows go to: https://hudsonriverradio.com/ and https://malcolmpresents.com Follow The Many Shades of Green on FB, Threads and Instagram @tmshadesofgreen and on Blue Sky @tmshadesofgreen.bsky.social. Listen to TMSOG podcasts on all major podcast apps.#RaiseYourEco&SocialConsciousness
A Special shout out to Neil Richter for all of his help and engineering wizardry in getting TMSOG up and running each week.
Commodities inherently demand we get along on a global scale. We can’t drink, eat, and wear things when we have no idea where they came from. We can’t ignore the people planting and picking the crop. A simple map quickly shows who wants the coffee and who grows it.
My guest this week is Peter Seidel and we discuss his new book, There is Still Time: To Look at the Big Picture and Act. The book delves into how our modern habits, which are intertwined with evolutionary psychology, are causing a disconnect with nature. What is causing this dilemma, and how can we become more emotionally connected to create a more sustainable planet? Tune in to find out why we need to take action to bring forth positive solutions to environmental problems. There Is Still Time is available on amazon.com and 
It is no secret that mainstream media coverage of environmental issues is slow-moving, and many stories go un-reported in the press. Climate change deniers spout their ideology with reckless abandon. Enter my guest this week, Andrew Nikiforuk, an award winning environmental writer based in Calgary, Canada, who has written a new book about the hydraulic fracturing industry entitled Slick Water: Fracking and One Insider’s Stand Against the World’s Most Powerful Industry. The book traces the saga of Jessica Ernst, and the path she takes to hold Encana Oil and Canada’s environmental government agencies, responsible for secretly fracking hundreds of gas wells around her home, in a rural area northeast of Calgary. A cover-up ensues, which leads Ms. Ernst to take legal action against the various parties for their role in contaminating land, water and air in her community. For more information 
Our guest this week is Dr. Paul Ehrlich, Professor of Population Studies at Stanford University, whose famous book, The Population Bomb, remains controversial to this day. His current work is titled ANNIHILATION OF NATURE: Human Extinction of Birds and Mammals, which discusses the loss of species due to human activity, and the importance of biodiversity and empathy in helping solve problems of habitat loss, and the effects of climate change as it relates to all Earthlings. We are in the Sixth Extinction, and it is time for humans to use their emotional cues to protect Mother Earth. For more information go to ccb.stanford.edu (Center for Conservation Biology) and his book is available via amazon.com. You can send him a tweet @PaulREhrlich
Can we feed the world without wrecking it? Are we farming ourselves out of food? My guest, Joel K. Bourne Jr. and I delve into those questions on this week’s show. Joel’s new book, THE END OF PLENTY: The Race to Feed a Crowded World, discusses the world food crisis, as it relates to population increase and environmental concerns. Farm land is becoming decimated, as water shortages are spreading globally, thus reducing growth of crops needed to feed the populace. Political unrest and revolutions have occurred in various hot spots around the world, as wheat crops have failed, which has lead to tightening grain supplies. Lives are lost as fights break out over bread. Will 3D printing of food save us? Probably not, but there is hope, as farmers are using innovations in food irrigation, as well as conservation methods to solve some of the problems. A new land ethic must be put into place to feed the world. For more information go to joelkbournejr.com and amazon.com for his book, THE END OF PLENTY.