It’s time for change. Climate change is a huge issue for the friends community and the world. Climate change for WFS is important because of our role. We are leaders to many other schools. America has been combating climate change’s effects since the early 90s. States like California focus on rising temperatures, while states like Delaware deal with less severe effects. States with less of an effect on the national economy need to focus on how they can help others. One of the most common problems when combating climate change is that people refuse to work together to achieve their goal. This is what needs to change.
Wilmington Friends makes many steps to being climate friendly. A great example is the Global learning center. Its lights are straight and are directly powered by the sun. Renewable energy is a very important step that many other countries and states are yet to accomplish. Friends does a fantastic job of finding alternatives for renewable energy. Something else that Friends does well is their use of solar panels. They have solar panels on the roof. These are located at both the lower and upper schools. This is very important because WFS and other schools use a large amount of energy. A couple examples are lights, electronics, and production of food. As a result of the school’s considerable energy consumption, and the costs that comes with it, Friends decided to switch to renewable energy. Rodrigo Saldana says, “The sun powered lights work very well and are very easy to use.” Another strategy that Friends has done well is their switch to online work. Instead of wasting tons of paper everyday, Friends switched to computers in 2012. It saves many trees! David Gertler taught at Friends in the late 90s, recently returning this year to teach AIM2. When asked about how Friends improved since he first joined the school he said, “The use of technology has increased.” Mr. Gertler also talked about the amount of paper used. This helps prevent a small portion of deforestation. Friends sets a great example to people looking to make an impact and other communities!
Though Friends has done a great job with changing their ways, they can still improve. First, Friend’s waste problem needs to be addressed. The trash bins are always filled up by the end of the day. People often mix the trash and recycling cans together. This completely defeats the purpose of having both bins. A student at Wilmington Friends admits that she doesn’t think before throwing out food. “I just throw my lunch into whatever bin is more empty at the time.” Many other students share this same tendency. The amount of waste in both bins is very disheartening. Someone who sees the amount of waste everyday is Lisa. Lisa is one of our lunch ladies. When asked about the amount of food wasted every week, she says, “We have a new system to measure our waste per month. There is still a very large amount that could be saved. Many of our warm foods are thrown out at the end of the day. ” Friends could also focus on increasing its organic food options. Processed food also has a large impact on our climate. The levels of waste that people create everyday need to go down in order to become more climate friendly.
Climate change is a very complicated topic. It has many causes and effects. WFS does a great job of finding solutions. They make it clear that they prioritize renewable energy and cutting back on waste like paper. Friends also tried to work on reducing waste from trash and recycling, but it was not as successful due to the lack of interest from students. Waste of food and resources should absolutely be cut down. Friends spent many years improving their impact on the environment yet they still have a long way to go! They have made an impact through renewable energy and switching to electronics. In this bigger picture, we are making a difference.
