Editors note: This article was previously published in volume 91, issue 2 of the Clarion hardcopy.
The entire Clarion staff contributed to the ideas presented in this article.
In this day and age, it seems as though there is a new world-changing obstacle around every corner. As high school students, we’ve lived through a global pandemic, polarizing political and social movements, and foreign conflicts all within recent years. “Generation Z” has, and will continue to face numerous life-altering challenges throughout our lives, with one of these poignant issues being climate change.
The unequivocal evidence supporting the growth of global warming is staggering. The global temperature and carbon emissions continue to rise, the ice in the arctic is shrinking at an alarming rate, and sea levels are at an all time high. The increase in natural disasters continue to uproot the lives of coastal populations, and our everyday weather is less and less predictable. The damage being done is only irreversible if we are complacent and indifferent to its existence.
One high school in the Midwest cannot make a substantial difference in the battle against climate change alone, but our communities’ actions can plant the seeds for greener habits. In the best case scenario, eco-conscious habits will create a ripple effect for generations to come. But in order for this to take place, there needs to be someone to initiate the first wave.
In recent years, Riverside Brookfield High School has taken part in projects that promote a greener environment. They have been cutting back on electricity and water use, as well as promoting the reduction of carbon emissions.
Currently, RB has upgraded 75% of the current halogen light bulbs and light fixtures to LED lights. These new LED light sources use 25% of the energy that the previous non-LED fixtures used, and they last longer. These new lights are motion sensored and timed, which offers a huge reduction in electrical savings. Along with this, these LEDs can be recycled. RB has also changed plumbing fixtures to be motion sensored in an effort to cut back on wasted water. Starting as a senior gift from the class of 2014, RB replaced water fountains with motion sensing bottle fillers. This also cuts back on water usage and promotes the use of reusable water bottles. In January of this year, RB installed two electric car charging stations in the student parking lot. The ultimate goal is to move to electric drivers education cars.
The RB administration has presented interest in exploring a renewable energy source, such as solar panels, as their next big green initiative. Additionally, RB will be replacing the HVAC unit located by the library and cafeteria with a more energy efficient version, running off of occupancy. This HVAC requires less energy which saves on cost and greenhouse gas emissions. There are also plans to participate in an energy saving event this summer.
The cafeteria has a lot to do with RB’s environmental impact because of food waste and non-biodegradable dishware. RB utilizes the services of Quest Food in the cafeteria, a third party food management company. Quest maintains stringent production records and keeps track of the amount of food waste accumulated everyday in pounds. To avoid overabundance, Quest tracks what menu items are purchased more than others. This allows them to create a strategic amount of each menu item to ensure that supply and demand align. Employees that work in the kitchen are granted first dibs on products before they are eventually discarded into the trash.
Currently there are two plate and cup containers that are made of styrofoam. Notorious for its thousand year decomposition span, styrofoam fills up to 30% of the world’s landfills. There are efforts to get rid of these items altogether, but backed shipments, product delays, and price hikes in the alternatives have prevented this from happening. The raise in prices makes it unrealistic to be able to convert totally to an entirely biodegradable set of cafeteria utensils, plates, and cups.
These developments and intentions, although helpful, are nearly irrelevant when it comes to promoting a greener student culture at RB. Based on the current state of things, the student body might be unaware of the severity of the climate crisis, let alone what they can do to fix it.
Education is not the root to solving the issue of climate change, but it accomplishes the task of getting people aware. Step one is to present the information, showing what the reality of the situation is. This life threatening issue is not the topic of discussion nearly as often as it should be. After elementary school, it seems as though the topic of ecology fades into the background. Global warming and the state of our environment should not just be a unit in Biology or AP Environmental Science. It needs to be more than an academic objective and something that is in the curriculum just for students to forget about later. The issue of climate change needs to stick.
When posed with such a monumental issue to solve such as climate change, hope seems to be lost quickly. Interest in something that you cannot make any real difference in yourself becomes faded. The only question is, how do we find a way to effectively make this issue something that the youth of the world is passionate about, without scaring individuals into indifference?
Usually, students are not inclined to remember things when they are framed as a school subject. Simply memorizing facts for a test and forgetting it later is a bad habit students have acquired over the course of their academic career. Where it stands, grade-driven learning is not invoking any sense of passion within students. In other words, we need to make the issue of climate change more eye-catching, giving students a reason to get involved. Having a generation that is not only conscious of the natural environment, but also passionate about it is the second step to this process. There needs to be emphasis on approaching climate change as a global cause we are all working towards and creating a culture of productivity.
Another bad habit our generation seems to fall into is exhausting a topic until we no longer find it worthy of interest. Climate change cannot become a “trend” as most social and political movements have become in recent years. From experience, passion about issues tends to be short lived. This cannot be treated as a social media fad, or something that we are going to focus on until we get bored, or things get hard. Because there will need to be work done, and we cannot stop when we realize it won’t be easy.
However, education and consistent enthusiasm only goes so far, when action is not being taken. Climate change is an extremely current, and time sensitive issue that requires initiative. Effort is required for any difference to be made. The right balance of education, enthusiasm, and action is what is required to potentially aid the climate crisis, and become more ecologically conscious individuals.
It has become abundantly clear that in order for this to be effective, it needs to be a student led movement and a youth driven change. Communication among our generation is crucial because we are the ones inheriting the problem that we are going to have to work together to fix over the course of our lives. Younger climate change activists, such as Greta Thumberg and Aiden Gallagher, are proof that the interest is there. We just need to spread the idea more around our community.
To help provide a greener communal environment, here are a handful of proposals that can be put into practice. Change doesn’t have to be extreme to be effective since little things add up to create big outcomes.
At RB we could look into doing a student led project of planting trees on campus or possibly looking into the re-implementation of the school garden. Promoting the ecology club’s projects by collaborating with Student Association as well as other clubs may grow student engagement.
Back in the cafeteria, possibly offering almost expired food for a discounted price, or providing incentives for students who bring their own reusable cups by offering a discounted price on drinks.
In short, you have to give a little to get a little. Each person switching up their lifestyle a minute amount may be what it takes to back track the damage of the ongoing climate crisis. It is the responsibility of our generation to make the world as healthy as it can be for generations to come.