Two conversations this week on the sensitivity of certain subjects in the classroom produced lots of reaction from listeners. A ban on ethnic studies in Tuscon Arizona, and a resistance to teaching Climate Change as an accepted body of knowledge in certain school districts around the country raises a broader question. Are there pieces of history and science that are simply too hot to handle in a classroom where active debate may get away from the truth and consensus on what to teach may be hard to find?

On Tuesday the National Center for Science Education, a nonpartisan group of scientists that works to promote the instruction of evolution in American public schools, announced a new initiative aimed at teaching climate science. The NCSE claims global warming and climate change have become increasingly charged topics in classrooms around the country. The initiative is a way for teachers to be supported in states like Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Oklahoma where regulations are being considered that would require educators to justify the denial of global warming as a valid scientific position.

On Wednesday, the European Union's highest court will rule on a lawsuit filed two years ago by two U.S. airlines and a industry trade association attempting to halt the E.U.'s plan to charge for carbon emissions pollution. It would include the industry in the worldwide cap and trade market. If the court decides to uphold the 2008 European law, on January 1, airlines will be forced to reduce their carbon emissions to an historic low, or buy emission credits from companies that pollute less than the base rate.  

It was a long two weeks with plenty of drama, but UN delegates from around the globe agreed on Sunday in Durban, South Africa to forge a new deal to combat climate change. For the first time, the Durban Platform will force all the biggest polluters to limit greenhouse gas emissions, including emerging economies like China and India.

It's the second day of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. For the next two weeks, delegates from 194 nations will meet in Durban, South Africa to discuss the future of international climate change legislation. But amid such concerns as the looming expiration of the Kyoto Protocol, a perennial question emerges: Why have actions to stanch global warming been so timid? And will this conference do anything to change that?

Alaskan waters remain off-limits to drilling, much to many oil companies' dismay. But Exxon has decided to hop over the Bering Strait, and make a deal with Russia to explore for oil in the Arctic Ocean in their territory. This deal may show how lucrative climate change has become to the oil business, since more oil is becoming available as Arctic ice recedes.

A heat wave is hitting much of the United States, and some states say they’ll soon be reeling from the effects of climate change. Chicago’s long-term forecast looks like a scene from a horror movie: lethal and extreme weather, including blizzards; a termite invasion, and even a 1.5 foot drop in the depth of Lake Michigan.

Over the past few decades, an incredible amount of time and money has been spent trying to remove populations of "non-native" plants. But according to a panel of ecologists, climate change, urbanization and other changes in land use have largely invalidated the theory that foreign plants are inherently harmful to their newly adopted ecosystems.

Eighty percent of New York City's pollutants come from buildings and 20 percent from transportation. This is a reversal from most cities, which see pollution from transportation rather than high density buildings, explains New York's Mayor Bloomberg. The mayor is in Sao Paolo, Brazil for a meeting on climate change. "There's an awful lot that has to be done on a national and an international level, says mayor Bloomberg. "But at the same time, mayors are held accountable to deliver services and are trying to do things at a local level."

From the tornadoes in Joplin, to a record drought in Texas and the floods in Mississippi, and giant earthquakes off the coast of Japan, why is the Spring of 2011 so terrifying and terrible? Is our environment really getting scarier, or is it just our short-term memory? Professor Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech University and author of "A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions." She says our unpredictable spring is part of climate change and that Spring is coming earlier and earlier each year.

Many are wondering if intense weather around the country suggests environmental shifting; but scientists say the data points don't make a big storm a harbinger of climate change. 

Majora Carter is host of American Public Media show "The Promised Land," and an environmental strategist for the Majora Carter Group. As leaders gather in Cancún to tackle the big picture of climate change, Carter is advocating for "protecting what we still have." She's concentrating on grassroots movements on the ground that have the potential to create jobs and protect the environment, and preparing for climate change in a pragmatic ways. 

The Takeaway's Washington Correspondent, Todd Zwillich talks about the climate bill hearings; headlines.

(Follow Todd on Twitter @todd_zwillich)

A leaked document on climate change is causing furor and driving a wedge between rich and poor countries at the worldwide summit in Copenhagen. Developing nations say that the document asks them to reduce carbon emissions by unfair levels. Former Vice President Al Gore and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon went on the defensive Tuesday, saying that the draft text was only one of many options on the table. We talk with Andrew Revkin, environment reporter for The New York Times and Richie Ahuja, India Program Manager for the Environmental Defense Fund. 

Democratic Congressmen Henry Waxman of California and Edward Markey of Massachusetts will unveil a bill on climate change as early as today. Waxman and Markey say the bill will create jobs, help end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and combat global warming. But the bill is facing stiff resistance from Republicans and even some key Democrats. The Takeaway talks about the bill and the political strategy involved with Washington Correspondent, Todd Zwillich.

Want more Todd Zwillich? Follow him on Twitter.

Today marks a new year and a new chapter in the global battle to combat carbon emissions. Utility companies across the eastern seaboard are lining up for the rights to carbon emissions. The new market called The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (REGGI) is the beginning of a global trend in green politics. To explain all of this is Edward McBride, the energy and environment correspondent for The Economist, he joins John and Adaora from London to answer what is the price of used carbon?

Van Jones, author of “The Green Collar Economy,” explains how to save the world and the economy one green job at a time.

The National Weather Service is warning residents of Galveston, Texas they could "face certain death" if they don't evacuate. At this report, the center of Hurricane Ike was about 230 miles southeast of Galveston and moving toward the upper Texas coast at about 13 miles-per-hour. Top winds are near 105 miles-per-hour and forecasters say it could strengthen before making landfall early Saturday.

Hundreds of thousands of Texans are fleeing as Hurricane Ike barrels towards the coastline. Are the hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes and extreme weather we've seen lately just random chance? Are these storm clusters seasonal? Or are humans and global warming causing more storms and more severe storms? The Takeaway talks to MIT atmospheric science professor Kerry Emanuel to find out.

Read Senior Editor Femi Oke's notes on the series below.

It's been three years since Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast and changed the lives hundreds of thousands of Americans. This week, The Takeaway is talking to some of those people and looking back at the events that followed the storm.