The buildings that make up New York City contribute to over 70% of the pollution that affects climate change. Schools are just ⅓ of that 70%. Making up 20% of the cause of climate change.
Schools contribute heavily to not just New York City, but also the country and the world as to why many unnatural disasters are becoming more frequent.
In New York City, extreme weather conditions and the rising sea levels are putting many neighborhoods and citizens in danger as global temperatures and greenhouse gasses are increasing.
“We’ve seen a lot of massive rainstorms and flooding that, you know, starting with Sandy but it’s but it’s become more regular. Doesn’t have to be a hurricane. It could just be some of these huge downpours that are flooding same places over and over,” said Eliza Clark, a member of an activist group called Climate Families that aims to make greener schools.
How does schools impact climate change?
The schools in New York City that contribute to climate change are much more than what people may think. Food waste and the age of the buildings are just a portion that keeps on contributing to climate change.
On average schools are over 75 years old and most over 30 years. The structure of these buildings were not built to sustain climate change. These older buildings’ infrastructure still rely heavily on fossil fuels which are gas and coal. Fossil fuels let out big amounts of carbon dioxide that are a main reason for the ongoing climate change.
With older buildings, the poor heating, ventilation, condition and lights just exposes how much energy is truly being wasted. The need for greener schools is at a all time high and should be more accommodated and climate friendly.
Food waste in schools is another contributing factor. The process to grow food is tedious as it is, so wasting the food as school means wasting all the energy and water used to sprout the food. Water scarcity is already an ongoing conflict and wasting food makes it even worse.
The Consequences Of Climate Change
Many activist groups are pushing to strive for a change for not only New Yorkers but for the future of NYC. “These kids are going to be growing up with the consequences of our, you know, the climate crisis, and we need to make that visible,” said Clark.
The future for these children raises concern for parents when they’re older.
As a mother of three, Clark is concerned for the future of the children. “You want to bring up your kids to feel like you’ve brought them into like a place that has everything.”
A change many environmental groups are pushing for are greener schools. Activist groups like Climate Families and ALIGN made changes for New Yorkers.
“Climate Leadership and community Protection Act that was passed in 2019 and we are part of the coalition that worked on that. And right now it’a really important goals for reducing emissions and in New York state,” said Clark.
How are New Yorkers and our government handling climate change?
Making change for the city is hard when many turn away from the reality of climate change.
“There’s a lot of this kind of environmental racism or just, you know, kind of dismissal of the things that are affecting places like India or like Sub Saharan Africa, or places where it’s, you know, going to be pretty intolerable to live at some point,” said Clark
Governor Hochul has stated her dissatisfaction with many environmentalists. She accuses them of practicing a “con job” when many activists are trying to strive for change. With people like Hochul in charge, their goals are difficult to attain.
“Climate Leadership and community Protection Act that was passed in 2019 and we are part of the coalition that worked on that. And right now, it sets really important goals for reducing emissions and in New York state. We’re proud of that, but now we are finding out that Governor Hochul doesn’t really want to follow this law,” said Clark.
Students are trying to make change within school. Despite schools being the one that houses these clubs and contribute to climate change, students make clubs like the Lorax Club at Baruch High School strive for many to be more aware about the ongoing problem and to take a stance against this.
“[The] best thing you can do is to join Climate Group, a climate activism group,” said Clark.
