October is usually synonymous with cool weather, autumn and warm drinks. Something seems noticeably different this year, though. The crisp chill in the air isn’t yet here, but the temperature runs deeper than just a lack of #SweaterWeather— it’s climate change.
Climate change has long been a controversial, yet increasingly relevant issue, especially with the frequencies of major climate disasters rising within the past decade.
The annual United Nations Climate Summit, organized by the World Climate Foundation is slated for Nov. 8 in Glasgow. Now in its 26th year, the event sees world leaders coming together to implement measures to help combat climate change.
Students have similar ideas of what they want to see come out of the event.
“I want to see a draft of a plan for what everyone has decided to do together. I don’t want to just see what the United States is doing, or what Russia is doing. I want to see what all the leaders are doing collectively for climate change,” said student Delainey Bright. “World leaders need to come together and treat this as a broad issue more than an individual issue.”
Middle College High School senior Dan Vo was definitive in what he was hoping would come out of the event, dubbed “COP26.”
“Actually some change. They always talk about change, saying we’ll do this, but in the end, nothing comes out of it,” said Vo.
The event takes on greater significance in light of a Oct. 3 pipeline burst off the coast of Huntington Beach caused more than 126,000 gallons of oil to pour into the ocean — the largest in the state’s history— resulting in beaches to be closed as remnants of the spill continue to wash up on shore and devastate local wildlife, including the fragile coastal wetlands of Orange County.
Amplify Energy, the company that owns the pipeline could face a class-action lawsuit because of the oil spill. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), which has been found to be the principle cause of many fatal fires including the 2018 Camp Fire which killed 86 and devastated the town of Paradise is thought to have been linked to the start of the Dixie Fire, which has been burning since July 13, and is still burning at this time. As of Sept. 17, The National Park Service issued a statement that the Dixie fire has burned upwards of 60,000 acres within Lassen Volcanic National Park — more than half of the park’s 106,452 acres.
Cause is still under investigation, but victims of the Dixie fire filed to sue PG&E after allegations came out that infrastructure negligence by the company could have caused the fire. “I do believe they should be fined, and I do believe they should be held accountable. The companies should have known.” said Melyka Lewis
A study first published in the journal Science on Sept. 26 claims those born within the last six years will live through three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents.
“We are getting to a point where most of us are accepting that it’s real,” said Lewis.
The bottom line, said Bright, is that caretaking of the Earth belongs to everyone.
“We need to keep our earth clean,” she said. “We all need to do our part.”