Last month, several wildfires scorched the Los Angeles area, including Palisades, Eaton and Hurst. Collectively, more than 12,000 buildings have been destroyed, more than 200,000 people were evacuated and more than 40,000 acres of land burned.
Fire department budget cuts, global warming and climate change have all caused people to lose their livelihoods, savings and fond memories they have made in the locations that are now left in ashes.
Over the last two decades, the number of extreme wildfires has increased significantly in California, while regions around the country have been experiencing record low temperatures simultaneously according to the National Weather Service. This is not something that happened at such a scale before human impact, such as high carbon emissions, became an issue.
Education is vital when it comes to the state of our planet. Students are required to take biology. Students can choose between chemistry and physical science. Environmental science classes are not nearly as heavily suggested as they should be, and the class is not required to graduate.
Requiring an environmental science class would force students to recognize their impacts on our planet. One of the first assignments I did in AP Environmental Science was a presentation on our ecological footprints. Finding out that 4.8 “Earths” would be necessary if everyone had the same lifestyle as I did inspired me to make changes in my daily life to reduce my impact.
With 68% of my footprint being carbon emissions, I decided to change my routines by carpooling more often and planning my routes to reduce the amount of miles I would drive. These actions alone lowered my carbon footprint to 52% of my total footprint.
Current event assignments also keep us connected to the contemporary world and allow students to analyze what is actively happening globally. Events I’ve researched, such as the effects of ground-level ozone, global warming on ocean ecosystems and most recently the wildfires in California, have allowed me to better understand the world as a whole rather than solely my immediate surroundings.
We only get one chance to keep our planet inhabitable. Classes like U.S. Government and Personal Finance prepare us to be civically active and fiscally responsible, and Environmental Science allows students to become globally responsible. As a district, Environmental Science classes need to be required.
