In recent times, our daily lives have been bombarded with headlines left and right about the recent increase of climate disasters around the world. From Hurricane Idalia to the devastating wildfires in Maui and the flooding in New York, it seems like all we are hearing about is climate disaster. Members of our community are left wondering when, or if, these never-ending disasters will come to an end. The undeniable truth is that the recent uprising in climate disasters is directly linked to climate change, a terrifying force that may very well bring humanity to an end.
Our community is already bearing the effects of the recent climate disasters. These events have left us thinking about how these worsening disasters will shape our future as climate change escalates into new levels of terror. As high school students who are thinking about college, the topic of the environment has begun to carry more weight on our minds as we envision our lives as adults. Maya Ross, class of 2027, commented, “If I’m working anywhere or living anywhere and there is smoke fog everywhere and the air quality is terrible, I have asthma so I can’t leave my home. The main reason for the fog is smoke from factories and wild fires so the climate can change a lot of things for people with health conditions.” Many people in our community have conditions that are affected by the climate, and as conditions worsen, air quality and temperature is a concern that many of these students face.
It is difficult to be hopeful about our futures when some of us feel that little is being done in our own country to combat these climate disasters and the overarching crisis of climate change as a whole. Kelley Cox, the upper school science teacher, says, “I wish people in charge were younger all across the board and would listen to those inheriting what we are leaving behind.” Others also recognize the importance of government action, although some feel like our climate has not been made a priority while we are also facing other global issues. Henrik Maansson, class of 2027, says, “There are other problems in the world and we cannot solve this fast enough.”
Not only are climate disasters affecting how we consider our futures, they are also making us reconsider our collective and individual actions on climate change. Kelley Cox says, “We continue to use a lot of energy. The interest is but it is harder to remember to do things like remembering to turn off the lights everytime we leave. Compost and recycling bins are just used as trash.” Conversely, Jacob Sepehriazar, class of 2027, says, “We have a lot of recycling cans and very few trash cans. We do as good a job as a school should be doing.”
It can be excruciatingly painful to ponder how every little decision we make affects the environment. However, we can take one step at a time towards a more sustainable community and develop habits as individuals that can lead us to become more responsible. Sustainability is more than just turning off lights and recycling. In fact, the United Nations claims that, “Education is a critical agent in addressing the issue of climate change…In the classroom, young people can be taught the impact of global warming and learn how to adapt to climate change. Education empowers all people, but especially motivates the young to take action. Knowing the facts helps eliminate the fear of an issue which is frequently colored by doom and gloom in the public arena.”
