Students reflect on climate change
Ecothoughts • Sunnyside Environmental School contest
JONATHAN HOUSE / PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP PHOTO
Sunnyside Environmental School 6th- to 8th-graders selected an inspirational message to convey after a weeklong teach-in on climate change to honor Earth Day.
We’re being haunted. Not by a restless spirit, but by something even more upsetting and much more real.
We’ve awoken it, and unlike supernatural haunting, it’s our fault.
Climate change.
A fear, a promise that our lives (and world) will become drastically different in the years to come. We desperately need an exorcist, but in this case, it’s not as easy as mumbling incantations.
We’ve dug and drilled (and drilled) ourselves into quite a big mess. I’m surprised the tilt of the earth hasn’t changed from all the natural cycles we’ve thrown off. We’re throwing off the nitrogen cycle so we can become fatter, and the carbon cycle so our newly fat selves can sit around all day, and not lose the weight we spent so much effort gaining.
Eventually we’ll end up with a flood of problems, and our bailout system will consist of a sieve.
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As I sit here writing, listening to Nina Persson croon, “It’s closing time, and a well known fact is that life is very short,” in my heated bedroom (with very bad insulation), I am contributing to climate change.
What’s the big deal, you say. Life is very short;, I’m not that much of an impact, right?
The average American creates about 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and, although life is very short, we’ve done in about a century what normally takes millions of years. You, as you are reading this, are probably contributing to climate change.
Winning cartoon • Drawn by Capella McCurnin, sixth-grader at Sunnyside Environmental School.
From transportation and electricity to food and clothing, we are slowly killing our planet. And everything on it.
Seven hundred and eighty four species of plants and animals have gone extinct in recent history, and there’s no sign of slowing down. In fact, 16,938 species are currently “threatened” by extinction. Eventually, if we can’t curb our appetite for, well, everything, there will be nothing left to feed us.
“It’s closing time, and a well-known fact is that life is very short.”
So what do we do? Just let the ghosts of the future haunt us?
Yes, our actions can affect our planet in harmful ways, but we can also help – by taking the bus to work, buying local produce or simply remembering to turn your lights off – you can lessen your impact, your footprint, and, essentially, help save the world.
So I’ve made a list of easy, inexpensive ways to lower your carbon footprint:
• Turn down your thermostat when you leave the house. (Or even just down a degree or two when you’re at home.)
• Take the bus, or bike to work. Even carpooling helps.
• Turn off lights when you leave a room.
• Keep extra reusable grocery bags and Tupperware in your car, for when you go out to eat, or when you shop.
• Don’t use as much paper. Reuse and recycle it whenever possible.
All of these tips will save you money instead of costing you. If that’s not enough to convince you, look at it this way: You’re just making it a little nicer for my generation. It certainly makes me want to be more ecofriendly.
Claire Canfield is a seventh-grader at Sunnyside Environmental School in Portland