Climate change has been a growing controversy between the Democratic and Republican parties. Some hope to crack down on unsustainable energy practices to stop climate change from degrading Earth’s plant and animal species, while others believe it is crucial to support the oil and gas industries due to energy independence and job creation. Voters’ views on climate change will help decide the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, specially given that climate change has significantly intensified in recent years. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Serive — a European Union Earth Observation Program — 2023 was the warmest year in global records going back to 1850. Moreover, according to 2023 research conducted by the World Health Organization, 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. As Gunn students approach voting age, their understanding of current debates will help them establish their opinions on the matter.

Concern about climate change has increased rapidly for decades. In 1970, former U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day to raise awareness about environmental issues. In 1988, ozone-layer depletion became an increasingly prominent issue in politics. The ozone layer protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation, and its depletion contributes significantly to global warming. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that currently, the rate of warming is more than three times as fast as it was in 1980.

Beyond the ozone layer, Earth’s average temperatures are increasing, sea levels are rising, glaciers and ice sheets are melting and severe weather is becoming more frequent, according to the Nature Conservancy, a global environmental nonprofit. Indeed, scientists estimate that the “safe threshold” for global warming could be passed in less than a decade. Nevertheless, Democratic and Republican views differ significantly when it comes to climate change. A 2022 U.S. survey conducted by the Pew Research Center on climate change showed that amongst the respondents, 78% of self-identified Democrats and 23% of self-identified Republicans view climate change as a major threat to the nation’s well-being.

Many Democrats believe that tackling climate change is important because of the threat it poses to humanity. During his time in office, President Joe Biden — who is running for reelection this year — passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the largest piece of federal legislation to address climate change thus far. Aiming to reduce carbon pollution, this act includes $8.8 billion in subsidies for home energy efficiency and electrification projects, which are estimated to save American homeowners up to $1 billion per year.

On the other hand, many Republicans don’t see a strong connection between human activity and climate change. In 2017, former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, which slowed international efforts to reduce emissions. Additionally, in 2020, Trump finalized plans that allowed mining and drilling in nearly 1 million acres of land in Utah, which were formerly off-limits. More recently, ahead of the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses, Trump supporters showed their enthusiasm for oil and gas drilling. Along with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump promised surging levels of oil and gas drilling and the removal of President Biden’s climate change policies.

These differences could prove significant in November. According to 2024 research conducted by Matthew Burgess, an associate professor at Brooklyn College, views on climate change played a significant role in whom people voted for in 2020. Burgess and his team of researchers from Vanderbilt University and the University of California, Santa Barbara used logistic regression, a machine learning model and a simulation of the Electoral College, adjusting the importance of climate change in their study. They concluded that Republicans could have gained at least a 3% swing in the popular vote if climate change was not a top priority for voters, which would have almost guaranteed them the White House in 2020. Burgess’ team also found that one-quarter of Republicans who find climate change to be an important issue voted for Biden in the 2020 election.

In 2023, the Pew Research Center found that around three-fourths of Democrats approve of Biden’s actions against climate change. A large portion of the electorate views climate change as an important issue and want to see a future where it is taken into account. These beliefs will lead people to vote for the candidate that supports their views — most likely Biden.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Biden’s policies have universal support. Some climate advocates feel that he isn’t meeting expectations. On Sept. 18, 2023, climate activists gathered in Midtown Manhattan to protest Biden’s insufficient progress in addressing climate change. Young voters in particular used the protest to show frustration with the slow pace of political action on green issues.

The ongoing debate surrounding climate change extends beyond presidential debates — it is something that will be discussed among students, clubs, families and communities. As Gunn students observe the effects of climate change around them, they should take care to understand candidates’ positions on the issue before deciding who they support.

The S/CAP was created by and is continually updated by the city’s climate council. In January of 2022, students across multiple high schools in the area created the Palo Alto Student Climate Coalition [PASCC], which meets with city council members on a weekly basis to keep them updated on student opinions and perspectives.

Senior Katie Rueff is one of the founding members of PASCC. The group is currently pushing to help lower emissions within residents’ homes. “Specifically, right now, we’re working on electrification,” she said. “This is the process of turning gas powered appliances into electric appliances. The goal is to get people’s homes to have electric powered AC, heating, washers, dryers and especially stove tops.”

Rueff has always taken an interest in helping fight the climate crisis. Part of her motivation to start the student coalition to try to raise more
community involvement on a local scale.“I’ve been working within different climate change organizations for a really long time and I noticed
significant barriers to entry for people to get involved in the climate crisis,” she said. “I think everyone should get involved. In the past [on the
coalition] we have had many different people involved: people in sports, Student Executive Council, theater [and] people across different
boundaries that you wouldn’t normally think of as [having] anything to do with climate change.”

So far, the city has made progress in meeting its goal; in 2020, Palo Alto emitted an estimated 385,320 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent(MT CO2e) from the residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, waste, water and municipal sectors. In comparison to the 1990 base year of 780,119 MT CO2e, this is a 50.6% decrease in total community emissions, according to the city’s utilities website. However, the city is still falling short of being on track for the 80/30 goal.

Rueff recognizes the challenges the city faces and believes that PASCC is a bridge into generating more awareness to the issues. “I know that many of the city council members are trying their hardest to get updates passed,” she said.“They’re just working on a limited budget, limited
resource allocation and also the fact that they need to be re-elected. The main issue I would say is the lack of community engagement within
these goals.”

To combat the challenge of awareness, Rueff created something separate from the city’s goals:The Cloud Project, an organization founded by
students centered around educating Palo Alto kids on current climate issues. Rueff believes that by educating a younger audience on these issues, the next generation will be better equipped to handle what’s to come in the future. “I came to believe that ignorance breeds fear,” she said.“By educating people, especially from a younger age, before they can fall into a trap of fear, [it] will help them be better and learn to take action in a reasonable manner against climate change.”

For Rueff, the most important part of working on these projects is trying to get more public support involved with the crisis. “I found that,
no matter where you come from, and what your interests are, there’s a place for you in the fight
against climate change,” she said. “There’s so many ways to weave it into whatever job you want to pursue in the future.”

Senior Anna Stine-Unchino is another member of The Cloud Project and PASCC, who focuses specifically on marketing and creating workshops. Stine-Unchino believes the goal is for kids to learn and also engage with the material being taught to them. “A lot of climate education is about how we’re harming the world, and how we’re doing so many horrible things to it,” she said. “But I think another way you could think about it is how you can inspire others to see that there is a possible way to make change, and that helps get people interested.”
Stine-Unchino would still encourage kids to have their own interests and passions—whether that be related to climate policy or be entirely
separate. “I want kids to be interested in their own passions, like soccer, tennis, painting or drawing,” she said. “But [I also want them to] be
aware [of] how our hobbies and passions relate to climate change.”

Stine-Uchino hopes that in terms of the greater community, everyone will try to fight the climate crisis in whatever way they are capable.“In terms of climate policy, we tend to think about it in a very global sense that we are exposed to the
fact that weather is going to change,” she said. “I think trying to get a localized understanding of what’s happening in your city and in your own town, can actually contribute a lot more than most people think.”

From Dec. 2011 to March 2019, California was officially in a drought: the ground was cracked and dry, and water had to be saved and regulated. It was during this period that we first began to see the huge wildfires that came with the transition to fall—hotter temperatures continued to dry out forest floors while winter snow melted sooner and left our forest floors vulnerable for longer. This year, we saw both natural and man-made causes for the fires that pervade the air outside. Just a few weeks ago, many of us were kept awake by loud and violent thunderstorms that continued for hours on end—and sparked numerous wildfires. Conversely, the El Dorado fire, currently burning its way through San Bernardino county, was started by a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device used in a gender reveal party. 

The effort to prevent fires is a burden placed both on us and our state government. As environmentally conservative citizens, it’s imperative to ensure that campfires are put out and that no one drops any cigarettes on the ground. If you’re up in the hills or out camping and see an unattended fire, report it, make sure that there’s no flammable liquids being spilled onto the brush, and hey, maybe don’t set off pyrotechnics in the middle of a forest?

As for the government, there are two directions to take. One is to fund our firefighters and place money into funds that will combat these fires.  While this is essential, we must also focus on the root cause of the fires. The climate is changing, and each year it seems to be getting worse. Greenhouse gas emissions are polluting our ozone layer, and that, in turn, increases the global temperature. With the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Climate agreement, a United Nations backed resolution to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, we have even less time to get things right. Our other choice is to convert to sustainable energy sources and pass the Green New Deal in Congress, which is currently the clearest path to progress. The deal states that Earth must achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and lays out a ten-year plan for the United States that will help lead us down that path. As much as individual efforts will help, we need mass government oversight on this issue.

This past week’s insufferable heat is just another symptom of global climate change. Sitting in front of a fan all day shouldn’t be the new normal, and neither should power outages. As much as each person has an individual part to play in being environmentally conscious, it must be emphasized that all of this can be undercut by a few greedy people. Climate change cannot be solved by incrementalism; instead, this country needs to make some big changes right now, and the best way to make sure that happens is to vote.

As constituents, it’s necessary to always push our representatives to do better–not just at the national level, but at the state and local level too. Email and call your representatives and ask what they’re doing to help with fire prevention and environmental preservation. Demand that they act because, at the end of the day, their loyalty is not to their own opinions, but to yours. Inquire about what the state is doing to switch to wind and solar power, what they will do to preserve water and how they can prevent and extinguish fires. 

In 2018, the Woolsey fire in Southern California caused massive mudslides after it was put out. In a way, that’s how this climate crisis exists in America. We are constantly sliding down a mud slope to impending doom at the bottom. It’s slippery, yes, but it’s not impossible to get a holding. It has to be a conscious effort to climb back up: it can’t be a few minor actions followed by slacking off. From one day to the next, choose to bike somewhere or take the train. Refuse that plastic bag offered at the grocery store, get a reusable water bottle and bring it along everywhere. Making small changes in your daily life to accompany government action is the perfect formula for success. At the end of the day, California is a state with so many beautiful beaches and parks—it’d be a shame to ruin it. 

On Sept. 20, Bay Area ecoactivists assembled in front of the Palo Alto City Hall to take part in a global movement of climate strikes inspired by teen advocate Greta Thunberg. The two-hour long event, which was organized by the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, featured guest speakers, chants and a march around the neighboring blocks. 

Gunn junior Henry Poole, who attended the rally, emphasized the importance of calling for change from legislators. “If we don’t tell what’s important to us to those who represent us, they won’t represent our interests,” he said. “Rallies like these, right in front of our city legislature, are important because you’re bringing it right to those representatives.”

For many at the protest, the lack of government action to combat climate change has reached a point of crisis, requiring legislative action. “When you’re rioting in the streets, you’re calling for top-down changes,” Audrey Chang, a member of the Los Altos High School Green Team, said. “If the government isn’t acknowledging climate change as a whole, there isn’t going to be legislative change in order to support sustainable behavioral change that people want to pursue.”

Gunn sophomore Shana Ebrahimnejad also highlighted the importance of expedient government action. “I hope that politicians and people with power will be more motivated to pass deals or laws that can help make it so that we can preserve the Earth,” she said. “If not, we will basically face an apocalypse.”

Gunn senior Sophie Alexis called for businesses to do their part in being environmentally friendly. “A lot of corporations that might be unwilling to change can be swayed by consumer opinion,” she said. “If there’s a lot of public support behind these kinds of initiatives, and behind environmentally friendly business policies, then I think they can change.”

Protesters were motivated to show up for a variety of reasons; chemistry teacher Heather Mellows was inspired to attend by the similar events taking place nationwide. “I saw the videos of marches all over the country today, and I was really moved by that,” she said.

On the other hand, Poole heard about the climate strike through a friend. “I had a friend who goes to [Palo Alto High School] and he told me about it,” he said. “I decided it would be a great thing to come out to do.”

Gunn staff, too, have advertised the event. “I had a poster up in my classroom,” Mellows said. “I encouraged my students to come. I think this is a nice compromise; it wasn’t during school, but it was still available, and it was still a way of showing our voice.”

For many of the strike’s attendees, PAUSD long-term substitute Christopher Duff included, the issue of combating climate change has become critical. “This is it,” he said. “This is our time. If we don’t do it now, it’s over.”

Gallery • 13 Photos

Melissa Ding

The History of America’s Green Teams

In the mid 2000s, the popularity of Green Teams across the country had soared, especially within large-scale corporations like PayPal and Yahoo. Their teams served as corporate embodiments of their eco-friendly ideals, which then sent a message to the public that change was needed in the near future.

Around the same time, Palo Alto formed its own small community of eco-friendly citizens, as science teacher and Green Team advisor Eric Ledgerwood recalls. “We had a true Green Team for the whole school that involved everybody, including the principal, assistant principals, guidance counselors, community members, students and teachers. It was just a very good broad representation from all the different departments on campus,” he said. “Then, that sort of faded, and we’ve just had a very low number of motivated students.”

Today’s Green Team

While the club’s composition and environmental work has shifted over time, Ledgerwood agrees that there are benefits to having a smaller, passionate group of students. “The team has evolved to be a function of the people who are here at the time and what their interests are. Some years we focus on energy reduction, some on waste disposal and others on just sustainable things of one kind or another,” he said. “Either way, it’s always something that’s environmentally or sustainability motivated.”

Besides supervising their meetings, Ledgerwood’s main role in the team’s work is to serve as an inspiration for ideas and opportunities.

Their Weekly Meetings

The team meets every Thursday during lunch in science classroom J-3. While the club’s meetings sometimes focus on planning environment-related events around campus, they incorporate a fair share of science lessons, too. There’s a different lesson every week, Green Team President junior Swati Goel explains, where different students take turns speaking to their peers. Other weeks, Palo Alto environmentalists will visit and describe the work they do around the city. Leading up to special events, like Earth Day, these meetings are reserved for planning and expanding their current outreach programs and curriculums.

While Goel herself gives the majority of the lunchtime lectures, both she and Ledgerwood encourage other members to share their own learning experiences and their environmental opinions. “We’ll have student guest lecturers, like when a student just did a big thing on paper towels and waste. So they’ll research it more and give us a presentation at lunchtime on that. It’s really fun to see,” Ledgerwood said. “But on occasion, there’ll be an interest for me to guest lecture about something, and I’m happy to do that.”

For junior Kyle Matthys, who joined the team this year and will become treasurer in the fall, these lunchtime meetings made him realize how hard it is to organize an student-led event. “Before, I was very confident that we can just put out some flyers and create a movement very easily,” Matthys said. “And while it’s still possible to [inspire these movements], the actual difficulty and time that needs to go into it is very challenging, especially at Gunn.”

No matter how the club spends their 30 minutes, Ledgerwood believes that the students maximize their time together due to a shared interest in environmental issues. “The Green Team is a catalyst for students to speak out about things that they’re passionate about, in regards to sustainability and environmentalism. So, it’s a really nice opportunity for them to go and do different things,” he said. “It’s a great way to meet friends and do more things that are environmentally responsible.”

Gunn’s Environmental Science Curriculum

While not every member is not currently enrolled in AP Environmental Science (APES), everyone who joins is passionate about the planet around them. “Since I started teaching APES in 2010, I think it was then where I had brought more students to the team,” Ledgerwood said. “I have a decent amount of my AP students [on the team]. I’d say [they make up] about 25 to 30 percent of the team.”

Though APES and other opportunities for learning about the environment are available, Goel wishes environmental awareness would become integrated into high schoolers’ curriculum. “[Taking APES] is a very self-selecting thing. Like, you’re going to already have been interested in the environment,” Goel said. “We have living skills, social studies classes and [Social and Emotional Literacy and Functionality] (SELF), which everyone takes as freshmen and sophomores. I think it’s a shame that we’re not utilizing that to teach kids about environmental issues. There’s a lot that people really need to know about the world around them before graduating from high school. Environmental issues is one of those things.”

On the other hand, Matthys believes that schools should not be obligated to “convince” students to take more interest in the environment and climate change. “It’s not really a worry of the Green Team to convince people or force them to change their opinions [about their role in protecting the environment],” Matthys said.

America’s Food Waste Problem: A Green Team Priority

This year, the Green Team has been determined in reducing the amount of waste that comes from daily school lunch and in food waste at home. The United States Department of Agriculture reported that nearly 40 percent of food is lost or tossed. Globally, wasted food generates eight percent of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. K-12 schools across the country waste $1.2 billion worth of wasted food each year.

To tackle this issue, the Green Team tried to limit the usage of plastic utensils at Gunn. For the last few years, they have worked on single-use plastic reduction as a part of an outreach that APES and Marine Biology classes have done with the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Nonetheless, Goel admits that, to truly reduce the amount of plastic in the environment, every student must take larger measures in their own lives. “As a high schooler, you probably have more control over what your parents are buying, especially if you’re an upperclassman, and you might be doing the groceries,” Goel said. “Try to make sure that you’re wasting less food, and also take shorter showers, don’t litter and try to buy as little single use plastic as you can.”

Additional School-Based Work

One key event that took place at school was the annual Trashion Fashion show on Apr. 22. Green Team members stayed after school to prepare for the event on the senior quad by building various costumes. “The show was to raise awareness and just see how much trash is actually produced at Gunn in an intriguing way,” Matthys said. “We had a lot of interesting statements said, but it’s unclear whether that has really helped or not.”

Their Community Work

The Green Team is not restricted to spreading environmental awareness solely at Gunn. This past school year, the team also has organized and participated in a myriad of events focused on promoting an eco-friendly culture in the community. On the weekends, the team has done beach cleanups along the coast. They’ve also paired up with YMCA to teach kids about the environment during their kids club, as well as a Morocco cultural exchange alongside local non-profit organizations.

Lately, they have also made attempts to informing younger groups of their cause. Over the past year, they have organized elementary and middle school mini-lessons and cleanups around Palo Alto. “We’ve been going to [Herbert] Hoover [Elementary School] and their fourth and fifth grade classrooms. We teach them about the environment and their impacts on it,” Goel said. “I remember how I used to sort of hero-worship the kids who are older than me. So, our goal was if we can try and make this something fun and cool, but also impress upon the kids, that’s really important, and they can make a change.”

Visiting local elementary and middle schools, as Goel mentioned, may indeed inspire a substantial amount of interest for the environment among the younger generation. “I loved how willing they were to engage on some of these issues. They asked a lot of questions and really want to know what’s happening,” Goel said. “I don’t think high schoolers are different, but we just stop teaching them about [the environment].

What High Schoolers Can Do

While the Green Team is currently comprised of a small portion of the school, every student at Gunn should be responsible for maintaining the campus’ clean state. “If you see trash on the ground, pick it up. Especially if it’s just a piece of plastic, it’s not going to hurt you,” Goel said. “I know people usually say that it was someone else’s trash so they shouldn’t have to pick it up, but you live on this planet, and you go to this school.”

According to recent assessments, humans are said to have until 2030 to make strong environmental differences before they’re headed on a pathway that’ll make living on this planet tough for humans. Due to these reports, Ledgerwood urges that leading eco-friendlier lifestyles is essential for everyone. “Eat 30 percent less meat, drive an electric vehicle and stop consuming so much stuff,” Ledgerwood said. “Tackle consumption and consumerism on the deepest level you can. That’s something we can all do. [Meat reduction] is not something unattainable for most people.”

For there to be a substantial amount of change in our environmentally harmful ways, Matthys suggests that students begin to normalize healthier lifestyle choices. “There are very easy ways to reduce emissions. Turning down your shower temperatures actually turns down the temperature of the water heaters, which some people don’t know,” Matthys said. “It’s just these tiny changes that don’t really affect you but save a lot of money.”

The Climate Change Crisis

Goel agrees that there is a sense of environmental apathy among many students. “I earnestly believe that there’s like an alien spaceship overhead, and everybody’s just going about their daily lives. The environment today is in a crisis, and people need to better understand that, and they need to understand the impact that they can have throughout their life.”

Members also credit this sense of apathy to widespread ignorance surrounding current climate change. For Goel, she believes that labeling climate change as a political issue, and a divisive one at that, overlooks the actual environmental damage that’s occurring. “Look at the data. It’s a near scientific fact that it’s happening, and there’s a lot more going on besides just climate change. Part of it is climate change, but there’s also resource depletion. There’s only so much stuff on Earth, and we’re using it really fast,” Goel said. “The most important thing is for people to understand what some of the biggest threats facing the planet are, to try to at least not actively contribute to them but also to vote in such a way that reflects the importance of those issues.”

In regards to the skepticism surrounding climate change, Matthys believes that its negative aspects lead to negative reactions. “It’s very hard to change someone’s opinion,” Matthys said. “It’s hard to believe something that negatively affects you. But it’s easy to say climate change doesn’t exist and to just stick with that, but to challenge your own ideas and look it up is something I recommend people do.”

Moving Forward

Next fall, Matthys will become the team’s treasurer, which in itself does not entail specific responsibilities, Nonetheless, one of his own goals in his new position is to gain funding for the Green Team. “School protests can affect the actual income of schools, as they make money from kids attending school,” Matthys said. “So if we start protests in the morning instead, we could force the school to realize that they’re losing money and have to change.”

The Green Team is open for any and all students, regardless of their previous experience in helping the environment. “The team is just a great outlet for anyone who wants to do a little more than just sit back and watch the world do its own thing,” Ledgerwood said. “The students who have come in and been active have really done a great job of making a difference in their community.”

Ledgerwood adds on to the benefits of student-led awareness and activist groups. “It’s just a great away for students to have a more powerful voice,” Ledgerwood said. “Sometimes you feel something individually, but when you get into a group that does something, it’s like echoing your enthusiasm.”

Ultimately, Goel agrees that widespread, normalized change in the environment will happen as a result of education on such matters. “[The environment] doesn’t get much press, but there’s actually been a lot of environmental change that’s happened under the Drumpf administration that people don’t know about,” Goel said. “Especially in high school, you’ll be able to vote about these issues soon and make political decisions regarding them.”

The Green Team held their last meeting in mid-May. As the school year comes to an end, its members reflect on their growth as eco-friendly citizens. During both their weekly meetings and off-campus events, Matthys agrees that the student-led group has formed a special bond over the years through collective environmental interest. “The people who are on the team are courageous and strong-willed,” Matthys said. “They are actually determined to make change and definitely believe in it.”

Hand-in-hand with a rapid rise in consumerism are elements that perpetuate the deterioration of the planet’s environments at a rate far faster than many voters are aware of. What follows is a dangerously ignorant and passive approach to a global issue—one that will almost certainly result in catastrophic consequences that affect not just a few, but literally every person on the planet if citizens do not take action and political parties continue to deny the existence of climate change.

Students and educators alike are obligated to, first and foremost, understand that climate change is a real and pressing issue. Furthermore, citizens must begin to act responsibly, not only changing their own lifestyles to minimize deleterious environmental impact but to also advocate and vote for municipal, state and federal policies that prioritize slowing climate change. Although such choices and actions will cost people time, effort and, in some cases, money, the results are crucial and already long overdue.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), climate change is defined as an overall change in the Earth’s climate. The greenhouse effect, in which gases such as water vapor, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and methane rise to the atmosphere and block heat from escaping, is one of the biggest causes of climate change. According to NASA, the greenhouse effect is causing an annual increase in global temperature. Activities relatively recent in human history, such as the burning of fossil fuels, have increased the carbon dioxide buildup in atmosphere, aggravating the greenhouse effect. The increase in global temperature has caused oceans to become warmer and ice sheets and glaciers to melt. As a result, the sea level has been rising at a steady rate of 3.4 millimeters per year, as reported by NASA. In addition to expanding oceans, climate change has caused an increase in drastic natural events such as droughts and heat waves. There has also been an increase in record high temperatures throughout the world and ocean acidification, impacting many sea creatures.

Thus, it is evident that climate change is a real and serious issue. Politically-based denial of such a large-scale issue is absolutely unacceptable, especially among those who have the ability to change their habits and behaviors to alleviate the impending negative effects climate change will have on the globe. For example, at an individual level, students have the power to alter even small aspects of their lifestyles to reduce the effects of climate change. By turning off their lights, unplugging electronics when fully charged or using cold water to wash their clothes, students can limit their use of energy and electricity. To reduce their individual carbon footprint, students can carpool with friends, use public transportation or bike and walk. Students can also reduce the amount of meat in their diet, as the meat industry has a large negative impact on the environment. In 2011, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization stated in a report that nearly 40 percent of greenhouse gasses sourced from agriculture come directly from livestock, largely due to dairy cows and beef cattle. It is understandable if people are unwilling to go entirely vegan or vegetarian, but choosing chicken at Chipotle over steak is an easy and small, yet significant choice. The best way anyone can make an impact is by making mindful, conscious decisions about their lifestyle and behavior. Understanding the impact of any choice, from leaving the air conditioner on to grocery shopping will, in the end, make a difference.

In that same vein, it is crucial for students to educate themselves on policies affecting the environment and voice their opinions. Although young adults tend to complain often about social and political issues on social media, to make a direct impact on government policies surrounding the environment, students should vote responsibly once they are able to.

After the election of President Donald Trump, there has been increased concern over the current White House administration’s stance and policies regarding the environment, as well as the position of the United States on climate change at a global level.

According to whitehouse.gov, the administration’s America First Energy Plan would be “committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule” as well as “take advantage of the estimated $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil and natural gas reserves,” specifically referring to federal lands across the country.

Concerns over policies

Various motions made by the White House have been directed at environmental issues. On Jan. 24, Trump signed a memorandum to expedite the approval of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines, two pipelines which were heavily disputed during former president Barack Obama’s administration. This prompted critics to condemn the pipelines, saying that they would put air and water quality at risk.

According to Stanford Professor of Earth Systems Science Noah Diffenbaugh, if Trump does what he said he would do during the campaign, it will increase air pollution and water pollution. “I think the clearest indication that we have is what President Trump said during the campaign, [which] includes increasing fossil fuel extractions on the order of $50 trillion and restricting regulations,” Diffenbaugh said. “There is no way to do both those things without increasing air pollution and water pollution.”

During his presidential campaign, Trump also announced his plan to withdraw from the Paris Agreements, alarming the 195 nations involved in the agreement. “Withdrawing from [the] Paris Agreements and eliminating the clean power plan would also roll back environmental protection,” Diffenbaugh said.

Diffenbaugh worries about Trump’s new appointed officials as well. “[Trump] is appointing people to cabinet positions who are antagonistic to agencies and departments that are important for the environment,” he said. For instance, Scott Pruitt’s nomination for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator was approved on Feb. 17, despite Pruitt suing the EPA multiple times and working to eliminate policies geared toward preserving the environment.

Chief Sustainability Officer Gil Friend, who has been working on developing a sustainability strategy in Palo Alto, condemns the federal government’s plan to roll back environmental protection policies, such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. “We’ve made enormous progress in this country on air quality and water quality and energy efficiency and renewable energy, and, over these past decades, most Americans did not want to see those rolled back,” Friend said.

According to Friend, Trump’s executive order signed on Feb. 2, which removes restrictions on dumping coal mining waste into water, is detrimental to aquatic health and people who use those specific waterways.

Taking Action

Despite the threat of regulations being rolled back, Friend says California will continue leading the nation in environmental protection. “The governor was very explicit about that a few weeks ago in a very strong speech where he said California has a very successful strategy and will continue to pursue it regardless of what Washington does,” Friend said.

According to Friend, current environmental programs have very clear benefits for the people of Palo Alto. “They improve environmental quality, they improve quality of life and they contribute to the economy and prosperity.”

Although the city does not have the legal authority to override any federal restriction, it can implement environmental projects at a local scale. Among other programs, the city plans to continue focusing on climate change, renewable energy and waste plants. “We are certainly not going to stop because of what is being said in Washington,” Friend said.

Gunn’s Zero Waste Champion and biology teacher Neeti Schworetzky also believes federal regulations will not change how the school and the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) will approach environmental programs. “What we are hearing at the federal level is a lot of change is going to happen,” Schworetzky said. “But that doesn’t take away our power as citizens at the basic level.”

Schworetzky mentions that many environmental programs at Gunn have been inspired by students. “The three bin [system] came out because the students said this is really what we need and the signs came about because again that is what the students thought we really needed,” Schworetzky said. “I have [ideas] that I think would be great to do, and I’m going to keep pushing for them, but my biggest source of ideas is the students. If we give students time and resources, kids can do almost anything.”

To help the environment, Friend advises students to walk or bike to school and avoid buying a car. “Road travel is a very big part of the environmental footprint in Palo Alto,” he said. He also recommends that students pay attention to their diet. “Go organic or range-fed, or consider reducing meat in your diet,” Friend said.

In addition, Friend encourages students to always think about what they are purchasing, in terms of food, clothing and other items. “As consumers, making smart choices about what we buy is a very powerful way to influence things,” Friend says.  “Every time you drop a dollar on a counter for electronics or food or clothing, you are voting for a future. You are saying, ‘I want the world to go in this direction or that direction.’”

Schworetzky emphasizes that each and every person can make a difference. “I know that I can still, through my purchasing power and through my everyday actions, have a lot of the same impact,” Schworetzky said. “I’m going keep it local and I’m going to do what I can here and encourage others to do similar things. Government is always going to change, presidents are always going to change, administrations change, but we can control our own behaviors.”