On Wednesday October 27, Professor Noam Chomsky appeared at Teachers College where he spoke about education, the climate crisis, and many other subjects. 

See the whole webinar - ‘Avoiding Climate Disaster: A Discussion with Noam Chomsky, Belinda Archibong, Jeff Schlegelmilch’.

Professor Chomsky, one of the most cited scholars in modern history and one of the most influential public intellectuals in the world, discussed supporting teachers in the climate crisis and neoliberalism’s broader impact on education. He shared other insights on climate equity and race, youth activism, the impacts of big business, the covid pandemic response, institutional preparedness, and how we can all take action against the climate crisis.

The panel also featured Dr. Belinda Archibong, the Barnard College economist focused on African development and perspectives on climate and energy policy, who spoke about the role of global governance institutions, global equity, political accountability, and the tension between race and class identities. Rounding out the panel was Jeff Schlegelmilch from the Columbia Climate School and director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, who highlighted disaster risk reduction’s cross-sectoral distribution, the need for disaster adaptation as well as mitigation, and the importance of wide collaborations.

TC students had the opportunity to join the event and asked Professor Chomsky about strategies for climate action, racial equity, the role of green investors, reclaiming tech for activism, and supporting teachers to balance the need to teach about the climate crisis whilst supporting student outcomes. 

The session was hosted by Andy Revkin - long-time climate journalist and founding director of the Initiative on Communication & Sustainability of the Columbia Climate School - and was part of the ‘Sustain What?’ series organized by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia Climate School, Teachers College’s Program in Adult Learning and Leadership, and Columbia Climate School’s Initiative on Communication and Sustainability.

See the whole webinar on Columbia Live, YouTube, Facebook, or LinkedIn.