SALT LAKE CITY — Climate change was restored to the Utah's supplemental state standards for science and engineering education by one vote late Thursday night.
Board member Brent Strate, who introduced the motion to accept the supplemental standards as written, said the board had approved science standards in 2019 that included climate change as part of environmental science instruction. The board briefly considered postponing final consideration of the standards to a special meeting or resuming debate the following day, but neither proposal had traction with the board.On Thursday morning, several community members urged the elected board to restore climate change language to the supplemental standards. At least 100 others sent board members emails expressing their concerns.
Dr. Robert Cheatham, a pediatric intensive care physician, said he had never before addressed an elected body but he came to the board meeting "to express my extreme dismay at this new standard that's going to replace the word climate change with cataclysmic events indicating that it's more of a natural phenomenon that's occurring."
Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion, D-Cottonwood Heights, said she was particularly concerned about students being able to analyze and interpret data that can help them learn about the interactions between society and the climate. Some changes purged mentions of climate change from the document while others sought to include alternative theories about how rocks formed, such as the impact of the Great Flood described in the Book of Genesis. The latter did not receive committee approval.
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