The vast majority of the Lynn Classical student body attended last week’s presentation by the nationally acclaimed California-based Alliance for Climate Education. Courtesy photo

LYNN - Attitudes among high school students about energy use may be changing as quickly as the planet's climate.

Nearly every one of the 1,300 students at Classical High attended last week's presentation by the nationally acclaimed California-based Alliance for Climate Education (ACE). By the end of the sessions, about 80 percent of the students were signing up for energy- and climate-related projects, said Principal Gene Constantino.

The Lynn school also formed an Environmental Club under the supervision of science teacher David Winchester and about 30 students joined.

"We had four assemblies, one for each grade, spread over two days," said Constantino. "The purpose of the assemblies was to increase the understanding of climate change for the next generation and give them ideas about what they can do to prevent it. The whole school was behind the initiative. We just put energy-efficient lighting in the gymnasium and the kids were actually clapping because they were excited about it."

According to Constantino, Classical High already recycles paper products and will soon install bins for recycling bottles. "The Environmental Club will be finding ways for all of us to get involved and for ways to go green," he said.

Constantino and science department head Mark Johnston were instrumental in bringing ACE to Lynn and plans are under way to visit a North Shore regional high school that has adopted a comprehensive green-education initiative.

ACE educator Alan Palm said the free presentations meet with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) essential principles of climate science and are given by dynamic educators in a face-to-face venue. The presentations can be tailored to fit a 40-60 minute window.

"Along with providing a cool presentation, we also build on education to inspire students to take action via our grant and scholarship opportunities," he said.

Palm comes to ACE from BioTour, an environmental education non-profit that he co-founded with fellow ACE educator Ethan Burke in 2007. During the past two and a half years with BioTour, Palm has crisscrossed the United States dozens of times on a school bus powered by waste vegetable oil and solar electricity, giving presentations to thousands of students at colleges and K-12 schools about climate change, sustainability and the youth movement.

A graduate of the University of Colorado, the Semester at Sea Institute for Shipboard Education, and the National Outdoor Leadership School, Palm has worked as a volunteer with indigenous communities in Ecuador, a faculty advisor with the National Youth Leadership Forum and a youth sailing instructor on Cape Cod.

According to Palm, ACE intends to deepen the understanding of climate change among the country's next generation of leaders. The primary goal is to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to confront the global warming challenges facing the planet. The result: students can take initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through more informed lifestyle choices. They can also share this knowledge with family, friends and their broader communities.

It's the power of sharing knowledge that has ACE educators and high school teachers brimming with enthusiasm. The reason: If everyone does a little, it collectively can amount to a lot in terms of climate health.

Some scientists believe the global climate crisis is worsening each year and that immediate action must be taken before Earth is locked into an irreversible course. Since there are more than 22 million high school students in the United States, channeling their energies through a single voice and common network could help alter that destructive course and make a significant impact on the future.

ACE was created a little more than a year ago by Michael Haas, founder of a wind energy company called Orion Energy Group. A father of young children, Haas came to believe the key to finding solutions for our climate crisis lies in the education and empowerment of tomorrow's leaders.

Today ACE, funded solely by Haas, employs several educators like Palm, who each make up to eight presentations a week to students everywhere from Oakland to Boston, Houston to Chicago. The goal is to reach 140,000 by the end of the year.