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Our world is facing a crisis. Our climate is deteriorating and it is greatly affecting our planet. In recent decades the first hand effects of climate change have been more noticeable in communities. Whether it is rising sea levels or change in weather patterns, communities all across the world have experienced the effects of the climate crisis.
In March 2022, Portland Public Schools adopted the Climate Change Response Plan (CCRP) in which PPS outlines the ways in which they plan to combat climate change in our Portland community. The CCRP has two major, overarching goals to one, “reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030, using the 2018-2019 school year baseline, and reach net zero emissions by 2040.” and two, “take steps to prepare schools for the effects of climate change,” and “ensure staff and students learn about and engage in climate solutions, climate resiliency, and climate justice practices.” So far, these goals have started necessary conversations within PPS highschools. As of the 2022-2023 school year, the majority of PPS high schools have climate justice classes and programs as well as out of school opportunities for students like the Climate Justice Youth Advisory which is a group of young people in the Portland Public Schools System (mostly students) who meet to discuss climate related issues in our community such as the CCRP. Students have even led and participated in school walkouts protesting the district's response to climate change. The CCRP has also struck debates about the energy we use in our schools.
Since the 2012 enactment of the School Building Improvement Bond, five PPS high schools have been remodeled: Franklin, Grant, McDaniel, Lincoln, and Roosevelt. The most recent PPS High School to begin the renovation process in Benson Polytechnic High School in Northeast Portland. The renovations to all six of these buildings, including Benson, began (and majority concluded) before the passage of the CCRP which means that when the spaces were renovated, PPS didn’t have to account for their emission goals.
All the schools that were renovated before the CCRP was passed will have to be retrofitted with alternate heating and energy systems before 2040 so that PPS can meet its goal of using less methane and more eco-friendly sources of energy such as electric or solar. Though there is still time to change the Benson systems. While it would definitely increase the length of the renovation by about a year compared to the other PPS high schools, partly because of the speciality programs Benson offers, changing the methane system that is being installed and putting in an electric system, would save the district between $26-$28 million dollars in the long run. This controversy has been discussed in many settings around PPS from classrooms to board meetings striking meaningful conversations between community members of all ages.
When talking about the future of the CCRP and the next steps PPS can take is becoming more climate conscious, it is very important to keep the student voice at the forefront of this discussion. In December of 2022, I spoke to the PPS board of directors about the Benson renovation. I shared many of the same facts mentioned in this article and reason with them to do what is best for our community and our planet. This experience proved to me that as a student, I do have a voice and there are times when authority will listen to that voice so we, as a youth community, keep pushing for what we believe in and never stop fighting for our future. So whether it is smaller dilemmas in our communities or the larger crisis around our planet, change can come in many different shapes and sizes. Extensive pieces of legislation or conversions about how one person can make a difference in a classroom. Anything, any choice, any action one partakes in to help our global community and climate, has an impact and the power to make the smallest things possible.
By Ellie Weiner
Photography by Ellie Weiner
Roosevelt High School
Published January 19, 2023
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