Sesame Street's Storm Episode Won't Say 'Climate Change'
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- Sesame Street aired "Storm on Sesame Street," a special episode in which a fierce storm knocked over lampposts, blew out windows, and scattered debris around Oscar the Grouch's trash can
- The episode features Elmo, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Grover, and Snuffleupagus preparing for the incoming storm and assessing damage once the clouds clear
- The show, now in its 57th season, is viewable on Netflix and PBS Kids, and the episode contains no mention of 'climate change' or the fossil fuel emissions driving global warming
- Rocio Galarza, Sesame Workshop's VP of U.S. educational programs, said the team is well aware of the overwhelming scientific evidence that human activity is dangerously warming the planet
- The episode's premise directly contrasts with the show's longstanding theme song lyric that "sunny days sweep the clouds away," swapping that optimism for depictions of escalating extreme weather
Why it matters: Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit with deep reach into early childhood education across Netflix and PBS Kids, chose to depict extreme weather's destructive consequences while declining to name climate change as the cause — a content decision parents and educators will weigh against the scientific accuracy kids deserve.
