Marin students share suggestions to slow climate change

Climate change is an extremely large topic, and it can easily feel like there are no simple actions we can take as individuals that will actually make a difference.

As members of Generation Z born in the early 2000s, sometimes it seems like we have inherited the colossal issue of climate change from the generations before us, and it can feel overwhelming. But we are choosing to embrace knowledge and action. We are freshman students at Terra Linda High School, in an environmentally focused program called the Marin School of Environmental Leadership (MarinSEL).

In this program, we focus on learning about the necessity of helping the environment and key solutions for doing so. The goal is to learn, then inform others, about environmental issues such as recycling, composting, wildfires, climate change and more. We are writing on behalf of our Leadership and Environmental Action Development group, which also consists of Adina Golbus, Julia Hamilton and Zander Ostrovsky.

One of the easiest ways to help create improvement in the fight against climate change is through composting. Composting occurs when organic waste items like cardboard, yard waste, food scraps and paper towels are decomposed in a complex process. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that an average of 40.7 million tons of food waste is generated every year. Of that, only 2.6 million tons, or 6.3%, is composted. Globally, that means more than 90% of the compostable items that could be converted into compost is instead sent to landfills or other garbage disposal sites, releasing extra methane into the atmosphere. That methane absorbs heat, which causes global warming. We could easily stop these excessive emissions if we all started to compost.

Following recent developments in advanced composting, we can reuse organic waste to benefit plants and organisms along with producing rich nutrients for human vegetation sources. Humans monitor the process with measured inputs of water and air, as well as carbonand nitrogen-rich materials, to make sure the waste becomes compost. The use of microorganisms and specific types of decomposers (fungi and worms, to name two examples) and bacteria further break down the compost. They help break down the pieces of waste into smaller sizes, reducing the time it takes to become compost.

With advanced composting, we can turn waste items into reusable and sustainable nutrients and soil for the health of plants in the environment. However, without composting, organic waste in landfills rots away, releasing tons of methane and other toxic greenhouse gases and chemicals into the atmosphere, negatively impacting the climate.

Another method for positively affecting climate change is something we are all familiar with — recycling. Recycling is a process in which waste is converted into new resources. Over the past decade, California has made leaps and bounds in the right direction to reduce our plastic use, although recycling rates have gone down more than 5% in the last five or so years. Creating plastic uses fossil fuels, so when we recycle and reuse, we help reduce the carbon footprint. In addition, when recyclables end up in the landfill, greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere.

Plastics also pose a threat to animals on land and sea. Some animals unintentionally consume it, which can make them sick. Animals, especially those that live in the water, are vulnerable to getting caught in the plastic, which causes unnecessary pain and potentially even death. In simple terms, the environment isn’t the only thing suffering from climate change. Animals are being hurt too.

Climate change is real and it’s big. There’s no doubt that massive action is needed on the parts of our global leaders. But we can’t ask our leaders to take action unless we are ready to make some changes ourselves.

We’re calling upon our Marin neighbors to recommit to reducing plastic use, recycling and composting in the New Year.

It’s a gift Mother Earth will all thank you for. Gen Z will thank you as well, knowing we will have a viable and healthy planet to sustain our future.

The goal is to learn, then inform others, about environmental issues such as recycling, composting, wildfires, climate change and more.