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Gerrymandering Is a Climate Problem

Provided by: Yale Climate Connections |Published on: April 27, 2021

Articles/Websites Grades 6-8, 9-12, ap-college

Synopsis

This article outlines how gerrymandering impacts climate change legislation at the state level, using examples from Texas and Ohio to illustrate the point.
This article includes information on redistricting vs. gerrymandering, gerrymandering's effects, different ways of redistricting, and environmental justice.

Subjects: Civics

Authors: Sarah Wesseler

Region: North America, USA - South, USA - Midwest, United States, Texas, Ohio

Languages: English

Positives

This article shines a light on the problem of gerrymandering in the United States and how it hinders climate legislation.
This article links to many other resources for further research.

Additional Prerequisites

States redistrict their congressional maps after the decennial census, which happens every ten years. The last redistricting happened in 2020.
Teachers may need to define the term gerrymandering before students read the article.

Differentiation

Art students can analyze the political cartoon at the top of the article.
Students in social studies or civics class can research their home state to see how their districts are drawn. Students can discuss whether they think their districts are gerrymandered or not.
Students can conduct further research using wonderful resources from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Two great resources include these climate opinion factsheets and these climate opinion maps.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.