Climate change: what should Santa Monicans do?

Due to environmentally irresponsible behavior, the Earth is in crisis. Therefore, it is critical for humans to be active in attempting to reverse past and prevent future degradation of the Earth. Climate change is certainly an intimidating issue which affects both the largest cities and rural areas across the globe. However, as Samo students, it is important that we gain an understanding of how climate change is affecting our school community.NASA has reported that the global climate has experienced its five warmest recorded years since 2010. A major cause of such increases is the output of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to human activity. While oceanic activity as well as volcanic activity can also lead to increased concentrations of the substance, these outputs do not contribute enough carbon dioxide to be considered significant. Environmental pollution has also been aggravated by climate change. Annually, pollution kills more than 1 million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals. In Los Angeles county, four beaches were shut down in 2018 due to the spillage of 200,000 gallons of sewage into the ocean. To push for clean energy, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that within the next decade three power plants would be shut down and in their place, the county would focus on renewable energy alternatives. Biology and marine biology teacher Benjamin Kay stressed the idea that environmental issues are not isolated, but affect the socioeconomic sector as well. In the economic sector, major corporate empires which choose to exploit environmental resources are in the long term potentially limiting future revenue. He also discussed what SMMUSD can do to become more sustainable. “One of the biggest issues is the lack of sustainability literacy, at the student level, within the administration as well as higher up the food chain at the district level. [However], there are some promising [developments] right now, thanks to a lot of students, parents and community leaders who went to the Board of Education and said that [the district] needs to have more sustainability education and to purchase more sustainable goods,” Kay said. In order for environmental curriculum to be successful, students must use the knowledge to take action. Ingo Gaida, who teaches acadeca and AP Environmental Science, also discussed methods for improving sustainability on the Samo campus as well as how climate change is affecting the surrounding community and the globe.“A switch to renewable energy for the campus would do a lot to help combat climate change. Solar is probably our best option. We have a nice opportunity at this point, given the fact that we are about to begin construction on a new building, which could easily have a large solar array on its roof. [In our community], El Niño events are also bound to become more frequent and severe. [Which will] precipitate mudslides in places like PCH/Malibu,” Gaida said. Within the 25-year Samo construction plan, sustainability is a huge focus. Also, we tend to view the recent heavy rainfall as helping to ease issues with drought in our community, however it is in truth having disastrous implications in areas which were affected by wildfires (such as Malibu) which are experiencing significant mudslides. California also tragically struggles to capture the rain received because very few capture-and-store facilities exist for rain in areas like Santa Monica and Los Angeles. Samo Principal Dr. Antonio Shelton discussed how Samo administrators and SMMUSD as a whole are working to incorporate sustainable policies. “Ms. Baxter and the District Sustainability Coordinator are working together throughout the construction process to ensure that we are meeting state requirements and guidelines. [However], our district tried to go above and beyond those guidelines. For instance, the garden [on the football field], in preparation for three years later, having a building and we can use those trees and plants in the site once the building is completed,” Shelton said. While, it is simple to complain about what seems to be Earth’s impending doom, the only way to prevent disaster is to implement simple sustainable habits into our own lives and to encourage others to do so. Students can bike or walk to school in lieu of riding in cars to combat pollution, or cut down their red meat intake to reduce cows’ methane emissions. Additionally, juniors and seniors can take their concerns to the ballot box in the 2020 elections to vote for candidates who support environmental reform. Meanwhile, the current administration has overturned several environmental protections, out of the already minute amount that existed. Our generation must continue to organize to protect our planet from the disastrous effects of climate change. If we do not do so, no one else will, and our planet will face severe challenges.