Johnson: Why hiding climate data threatens our youth and dem...

At the founding of our nation, public education was established with a singular, radical purpose: To cultivate an educated citizenry capable of active participation in our democracy. Today, we are breaking that fundamental promise. As a climate educator featured in the documentary 'Thirsting for a Future,' I see that when we give students knowledge, we give them power. Yet right now, a quiet, coordinated campaign is underway to erase, cancel and hide critical scientific data, making it virtually impossible for curious young people to find the truth about the world they are inheriting. Consider what a 16-year-old student faces today when searching for primary federal climate updates. They will discover that NOAA has canceled the foundational Arctic Report Card. The Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) is missing from government domains, rescued only on climate.us. Meanwhile, EPA website references to the human causes of climate change were scrubbed in December 2025. How can we expect a quality science education when the most trusted scientific benchmarks are being systematically erased? Denying students access to empirical reality is a form of structural disenfranchisement that blocks their capacity to think critically, propose solutions and advocate for their own communities. In Colorado, our youth see the shifting climate firsthand through historically low rivers, wildfire smoke and routine evacuation notices. The crisis is on our front porch. Yet, because climate science isn't a mandatory part of public education, students are routinely denied a comprehensive curriculum. Teachers report feeling 'hamstrung' by school boards that treat climate science as a partisan 'hot-button' issue, fearing accusations of indoctrination simply for presenting facts. The film 'Thirsting for a Future' shows that while the classroom is a political battlefield, our students are not waiting for permission to care. Across Colorado, they are getting their hands dirty and feet wet — literally. They are conducting groundbreaking local research, investigating phytoremediation and microremediation to clean up historic mine drainage and advocating for cleaner air in school drop-off lanes. But passion alone is not enough; to navigate this messy, mapless landscape, they need a robust, year-round human infrastructure that stands by them.