Climate change has always been a controversial topic especially since many are uninformed as this topic becomes more serious. Two science teachers at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech), Mika Anderson and Daniel Baker paired their knowledge of the world around us with the evidence of the devastating effects of climate change.

“Climate change is something that is not affecting us as humans right at this moment, but in the long run we will be affected,” said Anderson.

Climate change is not internally affecting humans as of right now, however, both teachers agreed that there will be long-term effects and issues that are affecting them right now lifestyle-wise. Effects such as “our ability to grow crops, our zones where we used to produce farming and crops and cattle are changing and reducing because of either the lack of water or the rising temperatures,” according to Anderson. This will result in instability of produce and food, further damaging the health of everyone that consumes it.

Other changes in our environment include “the weather effects” as Mr. Baker explains. This includes fires, hurricanes, storms, heatwaves and the rolling blackouts that some have been forced to endure throughout these tragic events. Not only that, but water-based disasters can contaminate people’s drinking water, leading to preventable diseases such as parasitic infections and dehydration. When we have severe weather, it then affects people’s health due to this chain reaction that occurs. 

Another contributing factor of climate change has been an increase of the acidity in our oceans. As we have seen, the “ocean is getting more acidic, which bleaches the coral,” Baker states, which then affects the health of the ocean, and subsequently, our planet.” Ocean acidification “reduces the amount of carbonate, a key building block in seawater” making it difficult for many creatures in the ocean to create exoskeletons, disrupting the food chain by killing many sea creatures.

Phrases such as reduce, reuse, recycle are not enough anymore since we can not ship our recycling to other countries because other countries are no longer buying it anymore. This results in making the cost of recycling higher than if you were to dump trash in a landfill. While it may sound unnerving to hear all of this, there are many lifestyle changes that can be made in order to reduce the effects of climate change. Simple changes such as using reusable bags, walking and biking to places nearby, using bar soap rather than plastic soap dispensers, reducing plastic usage, reusing and repurposing items and overall being aware of your footprint on Earth can create a better environment for generations to come.