How hard would you say you work to keep the environment positive on a scale of 1-10, asked in a recent expressions poll. Photo courtesy of Canva and junior Cate Tucker.
You are a terrible person. I have to be the one who tells you. You could have taken a shorter shower, eaten less meat, made sure to compost your food, etc, but did you?
No.
There are many small things you could have done to make this planet better, but you are just another incredibly lazy San Luis Obispo High School student.
“I see vapes and trash all around the school and I feel like some of the students are trying to help but most of them are not caring as much as they should,” said freshman and poll respondent Tyler Hinson.
How about SLOHS? According to Harvard.edu, schools are one of the largest public sector consumers of energy, producing the equivalent of 18 coal-fired power plants or 15 million cars each year. Which is the second-largest source of expenses for districts.
“People on campus are not helping much. Students only contribute to picking up after school as a ‘punishment’ through lunch detention. There are certainly members of our student body that make positive change, but out of all students that seems to be a fairly small group,” said junior Julian Johnson.
Schools have the power to help lower greenhouse gas emissions while also lowering costs: They can reduce energy usage through renewable sources like geothermal heating and cooling, LED lighting, and solar energy.
“The phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle” is really important. Many people forget about the first two but in reality, recycling should be our last resort. It’s important to reduce our impulsive purchases and redefine items that we “need” since Americans produce so much waste every year. Trends come and go quickly so it is important to ask ourselves what we will continue using in order to reduce consumption,” said the president of the environment club and senior Emma Jantos.
Overall no matter who you think you are you could help more. Research and put it on the forefront of your mind, we all need to take part for any difference.
Source: Harvard.edu
Jackson • Feb 1, 2024 at 1:30 pm
You are furthering a corporate idea run by the companies which need to be held accountable. A single factory’s emissions in 3 seconds exceed the carbon emissions of one person in their entire life. Instead of blaming the people who can do little to actually negate the effects of climate change, it’s far more important to hold companies responsible. Please consider writing a call to action for companies to focus on lowering carbon emissions.