Committed To The Land

Immediately following Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the public was swarmed with hundreds of executive orders, including withdrawals from the World Health Organization. Executive Order 14162 titled, “Putting America First In International Environmental Agreements,” which prompted the United States to withdraw from the Paris Climate agreement. In Dec. 2015, 196 parties entered into the legally binding Paris Climate Agreement, which went into effect on Nov 4, 2016. The Paris Climate agreement is an international treaty to help combat climate change, with a goal of bringing global temperatures to 2 degrees celsius below pre industrial levels.  His lengthy executive order titled “Unleashing American Energy” proposes the resuming of oil drilling and mineral farming on the Outer Continental Shelf. These changes have stirred up concerns from the experts to the students on our campus. “My aunt is a park ranger at Yellowstone and she has a lot of concerns about preventing people from messing with the animals. She said the buffalo petting season is going to be very interesting with a smaller staff,” junior Ayda Sloan stated when asked about her concerns. Hours of operation for national parks will remain as they are for the most part, major parks such as Yosemite, Great Smokey, Arches, Zion will remain open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, services in the parks may see shorter hours due to the lack of employees, including decreasing the park’s educational opportunities. 

         This executive order overrides the Electric Vehicle Mandate which was put in place by the Biden Harris Administration. This mandate stated that 67% of new light-duty vehicles and 46% of medium-duty vehicles would be required to be electric by 2032, but was terminated by the Trump administration long before it would have gone into effect. By overriding this proposition,  the Trump Administration is effectively removing the emission limits on gas powered vehicles, stating that limiting markets to electric only vehicles would severely damage competition and economy, prioritizing markets over Climate Health. These changes in the United States Environmental Policies have sparked frustration and criticism from climate organizations and environmental experts. “There is no possible world in which greenhouse gases are not a threat to public health, It’s simple physics coming up against simple physiology and biology, and the limits of our existing infrastructure to protect us against worsening climate fueled extremes,” Kim Cobb, a climate scientist from Brown University, stated in an interview with AP News. Contrary to this belief, there are people who believe that these changes are very beneficial, while at the same time many people are unsure if they should be concerned about these changes at all.

From the newest water bottle to the latest meme shirt on TikTok shop, consumerism surrounds our culture, but for the good of our environment we should avoid this spending culture at all costs. Personally, I try to live my life in a way that avoids unnecessary spending through these methods.

“Do I really need it?” is a great question we can all ask ourselves. One rule I try to live by is the one week rule: If I want to buy something that isn’t a basic necessity, I make myself wait at least a week after my initial urge to buy the item. Then, if I still want the item after a week, I figure that I will get good use out of it and it will not go to waste. This rule makes me purchase items based on long-term reasoning rather than short-term emotion, and has saved me from buying many useless things.

A couple of years ago, I saw a nice pair of headphones for sale and almost bought them, but after waiting a couple days, I realized I already had a pair of headphones that I didn’t use enough to justify buying the new ones. 

While I try my best, I am not perfect in avoiding consumerism. I am a sucker for clearance sales, and I find it hard to pass up the opportunity of a good deal. Too many times I have found myself impulse-buying a new pair of flashy running shorts that I don’t really need the second they go on sale. These sales test my discipline for the one week rule due to the common time constraints of the low prices.

Here are the areas of my life where I avoid consumerism the most:

Clothing: To avoid consumerism culture, I try at all costs to not buy new clothing. I have worn some of the same pants, shirts, and sweatshirts since middle school, and I have no intention of replacing them anytime soon. While I try to suppress the urge to buy something new, thrift stores are where I allow myself to shop to my heart’s content, without the environmental consequences of buying new clothing.

Sports Equipment: I compete in both Cross Country and Track, which means I burn through lots of running shoes. To avoid consumerism and save money, I never buy the newest models of running shoes. It takes some extra time, but I have bought high quality running shoes in good condition at the thrift store, in the REI return section, and from friends. These are running shoes that would have otherwise gone to waste. I didn’t buy them new, so I am not supporting the companies and encouraging them to increase their supply. The way you spend your money sends a message to companies that they won’t ignore.

Food: To avoid consumerism with food, I make intentional choices with what I eat. Recently I have changed my diet to cut out red meat and I have limited my meat consumption to once a day at most. Livestock accounts for a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions  and is a leading cause of water pollution.  A more sustainable alternative that I have grown fond of is sardines. Sardines repopulate quickly, making them less susceptible to overfishing, and they are low in mercury because they are low on the food chain

For three hours on Mar. 8, 21 students in GEO hiked up Big Sur with 40 pounds on their back. They are told to only pack what they need and spend the next day exploring their campsite, filtering river water, and cooking food around the campfire. Days like these are typical trips for GEO students, who spend time during class learning about human ideologies and impacts towards the environment. The class has gone on five hikes this year as they prepare for their week long backpacking trip in Escalante, Utah. 

“You can overcome anything you thought impossible by shifting an aspect of what you carry,” senior Kylie Troy said, who has backpacked with FSC and is currently enrolled in GEO.  

GEO is a senior class which stands for Global Environmental Options, first offered at PRHS in 1992. Mark Dimaggio, the former science teacher who helped create the class, was teaching an environmental science class which his students really enjoyed and he wanted to add an additional class that would give students more experience in nature such hiking and backpacking.

The class consists of six units that cover: climate change, ecology, pollution, the nitrogen cycle, hydrology and demography. The current teacher of GEO, Daniel Diaz, says when teaching he hopes his students can implement this knowledge while they are in nature and begin to notice the interconnections of humans and the land. 

“I feel like I am the rock that is being dropped into a lake. It’s sort of like I am making a small ripple, but my students are the ripples that eventually make it across the lake, the lake being society. So if I teach students this and they go and share their knowledge, we can make an impact,” Diaz said. 

As students learn about the effects of human impact on nature, they are more prepared and more insightful towards nature while they hike and camp. 

“Being in nature really changes your perspective on humans and the environment. You can begin to notice how interconnected everything is and how human actions impact the planet,” GEO student Alexia Mendoza said.  

In the second semester of the class, students read the philosophical novel, Ismeal by Daniel Quinn. The novel questions human “culture” as it explains how humanity has “takers and givers.” Every other Friday students are given a written quiz where they must answer a thought provoking question such as “Ishmeal argues that ‘we are captives of a system that compels us to destroy the world in order to live. What is he talking about? Do you agree?”

“Ever since I read the book it’s made me a little sad to realize that all of our ‘accomplishments’ can be damaging to the world. I think it gets most kids thinking about their place in a world of consumerism. Sort of like what’s wrong and what’s right?,” Diaz said. 

The novel questions human ideologies such as consumerism. 82.1 percent of students said that human ideologies negatively impact the environment according to a PRHS survey of 44 students.

The material in this class is structured to educate students on the environment and their impact on nature. Dimaggio visited GEO in January as a guest speaker to give a lesson on mass extinction and express concern about a sixth mass extinction.

Senior Ethan Castelli says he agrees with a stronger education on environmental impacts. 

“We shouldn’t turn a blind eye to nature because it was here before us, GEO has helped me realize that,” Castelli said.

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FILTRATION (Big Sur, CA) : Senior Anthony Williams uses his water filter to clean river water for breakfast. Filtering water is one of many skills GEO students learn and practice while on their backpacking trips.