As of January 18, the global temperature has been increasing by an average of 0.14 degrees Fahrenheit every decade since 1880, which accumulates to nearly an increase of 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit. To put that into perspective, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) declared that the Earth is the warmest it has ever been in 125,000 years. The global temperature will only continue to rise as greenhouse gases continue to be emitted into the atmosphere. 

     Several countries have already been legally bound to an agreement to lower average global temperature to lower than pre-industrial period levels. While this has sparked very necessary action to be taken at a federal level across the world, the effort to fight climate change needs to be expressed on a scale smaller than national governing: everyday people. 

     Especially in the U.S., many people have the ability to make decisions that are more conscious of the environment. Switching to more biodegradable materials for everyday items such as toothbrushes or water bottles is just one way the average person can make the effort to reduce pollution that contributes to climate change. This is an expectation many people are held to, especially as the severity of natural disasters and pollution increase. 

     However, it’s easy to push aside this responsibility with the thought of, “What does it matter? I’m only one of about 8 billion people in the world.” Breaking down this mindset is how we get people to make the change that the world needs. Although not many people like to think about it, everyone has their own carbon footprint. 

     For example, let’s break down the amount of waste one Kaneland High School student will produce just by driving to school. 

     Starting at the very beginning, every student has to take some sort of transportation to actually get to their school’s building. The school is situated in the middle of a very large field, accessible only through a couple of roads like Keslinger. Students must spend a minimum of five minutes driving to school if they happen to live in Kaneville. If you live elsewhere, however, you should expect to spend a minimum of 10 minutes driving to your destination, possibly more than 20 for Montogomery or Aurora. I, for example, have a 14-mile commute on days that I drive to school.

     Considering that the most popular car fuel type in the U.S. is gasoline, driving releases about four hundred grams of carbon dioxide per mile. Take that number and apply it to both the drive to school and back and you’ve got possible thousands of carbon emissions for transportation to school every day. Kaneland High School has about 1,300 students, and even if you take away the students who carpool or take the bus, hundreds of students still are individually driven to school. 

     While transportation is a factor not many people have control over, I’ve noticed that many students choose to drive rather than take their bus once they are legally able to do so simply to have more independence. You may not realize how, just on your own, your everyday actions compound over time to create significant waste. 

     Luckily, that same concept applies to actions that reduce waste too.

     It’s not possible to take the pollution that’s in the air out or clean the entire ocean on your own, realistically speaking. Although those are big tasks, that doesn’t mean you can’t organize local groups to clean your town.

     Many videos and guides exist online that can aid you in how to organize these groups, but if you’re looking for an example to go off of, then the Keep Kern Beautiful Committee is one to look at.

     Kern County is located in Bakersfield, California, and its mission is to organize clean-up events and educate residents on different concepts such as recycling and how to dispose of waste. 

     Its clean-up events are coordinated with other community organizations such as churches, schools, businesses and social organizations. This helps bring in volunteers from a variety of demographic groups, but anyone is encouraged to join in. According to the committee’s website, “It’s the spirit of the group and the conviction of the individual that makes the difference.”

     Individuals have the opportunity to organize their own clean-up events through the committee as well through their website. For others, the committee offers promotions like “adopt-a-road” where residents can “adopt” a section of a county road to clean up. 

     While impressive, you may be intimidated by the large influence the group has. However, they only grew to this point over the course of about three years since starting in 2021. 

     All it takes is for you to start a group or just find out if there are any community groups local to you!

     If you are unsure where to begin yourself in helping fight climate change, the United Nations has a list of ten ways you can start today: https://www.un.org/en/actnow/ten-actions

     Although we cannot forget that climate change is causing serious harm to life around the world, it’s still important to try to find fun in fighting it. It’s much more fun to get people on board for something that brings people together, especially in our currently divided and isolating society. 

     It’s a big task that needs everyone to be on board, including you. When you are one among billions of people, you may feel that you don’t have much of an impact on the world, but that can change with your actions right now. Because, no matter how small those actions may seem, they can become massive.