Climate Crisis

On September 19, 2020, the New York City Climate Clock was unveiled to the world. This unveiling is a tribute to the wildfires and hurricanes happening around the world and in the United States. In honor of Climate Week, this clock was assembled and presented to the public. The clock displays in large red numbers, seven years and around ninety days by now. This is around the time when the global temperature will reach a critical high. There hasn't been much talk of climate change up until recently and it raises a question - are we doing enough?

I interviewed Mr. Simcoe and asked for his opinions and concerns regarding climate change and some ways we, as students, can help. "One easy thing you can do is eat less beef," says Mr. Simcoe."Cutting down forests in order to feed the cattle or for the cattle to have green land" is a major concern. "Cows also produce methane gas which is another greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change."

Mr. Simcoe goes on to explain how one of the most important things to keep in mind when it comes to climate change is that "it is a serious problem that is going to get worse if we don't make some big changes." The most important things we as students can do is educate ourselves about climate change because we need to understand why this is happening in order to take action.

Trust me, I know this can be a scary topic to come to terms with, but it is our harsh reality and to make a change, we must face the problem head on. I asked Mr. Simcoe what his opinion was on how the Saint Ursula Community contributes to climate change and whether that be in a negative or positive way. "At school, believe it or not, recycling and composting do have an impact on climate change, because instead of sending our food to a landfill where it decomposes and produces methane gas […] we're turning our food into a resource which can be used to improve soil and our farms," he explains, showing us that even the little things, such as recycling, really do make an impact on the world.