Climate Change in communities

As we know climate change is a worldwide phenomenon affecting us now more than ever. It has in an impact on all of our lives, from affecting our health and environment to affecting our global equality and economy. The idea of climate change can be off-putting to some while others are taking control, seeing the damage and putting in the effort to help change. Maybe we have taken some small steps, but the data doesn't look good.

It is more likely for communities of color in the U.S to be polluted and have poor air quality than white Americans, which shows the importance and harm of climate change in our communities. If black American women are 20 percent more likely to have asthma than a non-Hispanic white woman , what does that say about the difference in the air in these communities ? It says that pollution is affecting some more than others, specifically ones who live in poverty.

Not convinced? Think about the effects of the past hurricane seasons. Who was impacted by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico? How about Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans?

Being around high school students who live in urban communities I was curious about how they felt about climate change and how they see it in their everyday life. Out of 14 responses, 85.7% of students disagreed that climate change was taught in their school curriculum. The other 14.3 percent spoke about it being taught in their science class but only being taught briefly. Students feel that this is an important issue to speak and learn about in a predominant time.

When asked ” what specific ways does climate change affect you?” one student quotes “Climate change impacts how my future generations might have to experience earth.” This demonstrates how young people are seeing climate change and how important the future is too young individuals.

In future communities, some may see how climate change is affecting health and it is essential that we teach our youth and following generations how important this matter is and how to take care of it. While there are many climate change organizations who put this issue first, many more communities need to address climate change. This global issue should have people worldwide helping because we are now out of time and we need to be focusing on the future. Climate change should be taken seriously. We need global recognition on climate change, from being taught in school curriculums, to being recognized by our politicians and acknowledged in communities of color. These steps would begin to spread awareness and be a start to a better change so that we can put a stop to the continuous threat.