Climate change is something most of us are familiar with, due to the state of the world. While climate change has been occurring for years, and the news has been covering it, fewer people are actually taking action. If you don’t know, climate change is temperature shifts and changes in weather patterns over a long time. It started approximately two hundred years ago and has been affecting the world, which includes us, every day. Unfortunately, we are the cause, because we have been burning fossil fuels ever since the Industrial Revolution and creating greenhouse gasses since the nineteenth century that eventually burned a hole in the ozone layer. The effects of climate change are disheartening. One of the more important effects is known as global warming. Global warming is when the average temperature of the Earth goes up, harming wildlife and nature. Climate change also disrupts the balance of nature and risks the health of living creatures. Water and healthy soil is becoming more scarce. Sandstorms are also becoming more and more common.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, we have made progress “Since 2005, however, total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 20 percent.” However, we still have a long way to go. So what can we do? While a lot of people believe that we can’t make an impact on climate change, there are many actions we can take. We are the cause, but we can also be the end of global warming.

One of the individual solutions you can do is to use your AC correctly while limiting its use. Don’t use your AC for an extended time, especially not on warmer days. The hotter the air is, the more power your AC uses. Whenever it’s not too hot, find other ways to cool down like using a fan or wearing lightweight clothing. Make sure it is working correctly before using it at all because the extra mechanisms can cause it to use extra power. Planting flowers and trees for pollinators and just for the environment is another easy thing you can do to help. While this might seem quite simple, it can help climate change quite a lot. Fixing things instead of throwing them away or recycling them can help as well. This will prevent millions of shoes, clothes, and electronics from going to landfills and releasing greenhouse gasses. Most people still use gas stoves, but there are many better options such as electric cooking. People argue that they don’t use their stoves too much, but, “Research has shown gas stoves can leak pollutants even when they’re off,” it says in the article Individual Actions You Can Take To Address Climate Change https://www.npr.org/2023/10/08/1202152408/ climate-change-action. Just like how using an electric stove can help, so can an electric car. Companies are working to make electric appliances and cars less expensive so more people will purchase them. The race is on for more EV charging stations at stores, offices, and apartments article https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-25/ev-charging-stations-businesses-landlords-race-to-install said, ‘The thing we are all acknowledging is having charging stations is no longer an amenity, it’s a necessity’ to attract and keep tenants,” which shows that the charging stations for these cars are also becoming more accessible. These are some of the many individual solutions you can start doing today to improve the climate.

There are many students who can’t change their at-home habits, but as long as the school supports it, kids can help end climate change right here at Rosemont. The EPA says to “reduce, reuse, and recycle. Recycle school or classroom paper, newspapers, beverage containers, electronic equipment, and batteries.” One of the easiest things to do is to reuse and recycle your notebook paper by writing on the back or throwing it in your classroom recycling bin. Another easy way to help is by shutting your Chromebook down when you’re not using it rather than just pushing it aside. Most schools have compost bins, so throw your fruit peels and vegetables there. If your school doesn’t have one, start a composting club and encourage others to join. There are tons of solutions, so stop talking about climate change, and take action.