Weekly Climate News

Updates for September 10th

• A record-setting heat wave swept through Southern California reaching a high of 121 F. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning on Sunday, Sept. 6 for areas in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. 

• California is grappling with an unprecedented wildfire season made worse by the historic heatwave. Over the Labor Day weekend, about 200 hikers in the Sierra Nevada National Forest trapped by the spreading flames had to be airlifted out by helicopters. 

• The heatwave and wildfires in the West, a massive derecho in the Midwest and the record-breaking 2020 hurricane season illustrate an extreme climate future. Read about the connection between these weather events and climate change here. 

• The European Environment Agency confirmed on Tuesday, Sept. 8 that environmental factors such as air pollution and heatwaves worsened by climate change contribute to around 13 percent of all deaths in Europe. 

• Ministers from 11 African countries met virtually on Monday, Sept. 7 to discuss progress on implementing the Great Green Wall, an initiative to develop a 15-kilometer-wide and 8,000-kilometer-long vegetation strip across Africa said to be integral in coronavirus recovery. 

• Oil refineries in the Louisiana petrochemical industry have been impacted by recent hurricanes, dumping harmful substances into the environment and disproportionately impacting communities of color.

• EPA relaxes standards that limit toxic waste and regulate wastewater from coal-fired power plants. Environmental groups claim this makes rivers and streams more vulnerable to contamination by corrosive pollutants like lead, selenium and arsenic. 

• Communities permanently affected by environmental damage or economic disinvestment are known as “sacrifice zones.” Read this article about how these areas are currently on the front lines of both climate change and the global pandemic.

• Read about these organizations which are helping the youth of color enjoy the outdoors in the middle of the global pandemic. 

• In Ottawa, Canada, farming techniques that reduce greenhouse gas emissions are being developed. 

New study gives hope for the restoration marine life

Photo by Trinity Kendrick ‘21

by Catelyn Fitzgerald ’23

Marine species are rapidly heading towards extinction due to overfishing and climate change. The UK World Wildlife Fund (WWF-UK) reported in 2015 that marine species declined by 49% between 1970 and 2012. Marine life and ecosystems play an essential role in the lives of both people and animals. Not only are over 800 million people reliant on the fishing industry as their livelihood, but marine life constitutes the foundation of countless animal food chains. Marine life is also a cornerstone of many cultures around the world, at the current rate of decline, traditions such as the Italian-American tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes will soon be symbols of an abundant past. 

While current trends predict a rapid decline in ocean life, a recent review published in the scientific journal Nature claims that with the right policies, marine life can be fully restored in as little as thirty years. The review points to the recovery of humpback whales and other endangered species as a source of hope for the rest of marine life. It identified several policy changes that will help achieve this restoration, such as making 20-30% of the ocean into marine protected zones, enacting more restrictive fishing guidelines and reducing ocean pollution. 

Protecting the ocean comes with a price tag. It is estimated that restoring marine life would cost at least $20 billion per year. However, the payoff of implementing stronger marine policy will far outweigh the costs. An increase in environmental protection will revive the declining fishing industry and create new jobs. A less obvious financial incentive for the restoration of wetlands and coastal ecosystems is their ability to buffer severe storms and decrease resulting damage done to coastal towns, protection that almost 200 million people rely on.

Protecting the ocean has a myriad of benefits to people and the environment alike, but it cannot succeed alone. Climate change caused by events on land contributes to the decline in ocean health by causing ocean acidification and warming, which are detrimental to marine life. Ocean acidification lowers the levels of calcium carbonates in the sea, which organisms like clams need to build strong shells and skeletons. Ocean warming pushes species who can no longer tolerate the water temperature towards deeper waters, emptying out coastal ecosystems and disturbing food chains throughout the ocean. International collaboration to decrease global greenhouse gas emissions is necessary. For the policy changes suggested by the scientific review to succeed, international collaboration to decrease global greenhouse gas emissions is necessary. 

The ocean still has a chance to rebound from decline, but the window of opportunity is closing fast. The report states that if we do not act soon it will be too late to reverse the damage done to oceans. Restoring marine life will require what the authors of the review refer to as a “Grand Challenge for humanity,” an international collaboration that is unprecedented in environmental policy.

Outdoor accessibility in urban spaces during social distancing

by Cayley Delancy ’21

Since Mount Holyoke closed its campus in March, students have returned to homes in locations ranging from the rural mountains to major urban hubs. Despite social distancing recommendations, many municipalities have accommodated and even encouraged the need to go outdoors for exercise and sunlight. For example, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York stated on Thursday March 19, “If you have to get outside of the house to exercise, to get some fresh air, which is 100 percent necessary for a lot of people in a lot of circumstances, then do it." Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts said on Monday March 23, “I do not believe I can or should order U.S. citizens to be confined to their homes for days on end. It doesn’t make sense from a public health point of view, and it’s not realistic.” However, access and limitations to outdoor spaces plays out differently in urban areas than it might in the Pioneer Valley.

Jackie Park ’21 is at home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Park said it's been challenging for her to go outdoors during social distancing because, “there are some days where there are a lot of people outside, and some aren’t wearing masks or seem very nonchalant about the idea of social distancing and how precautions should still be implemented even during short walks.” Park said she wished she could spend more time outside, but is afraid to venture outside on nice days since there tend to be a lot of people.

Although Sidney Boker ’21 lives in the suburbs of Long Island, New York, she has experienced similar complacency among other pedestrians. “There are people who don’t seem to care and don’t make room when you pass by and that is upsetting, but it’s also really annoying when people get aggressive about social distancing. Sometimes, instead of both passers-by moving away from each other while they pass, I’ve been yelled at to stay 6 feet away even when they have room to move over on their end and I’d have to step into traffic.”

“The lakefront paths and parks have been closed because the first nice day outside during social distancing, the parks were overcrowded with people exercising,” said Hope Rogers, ’22 who lives in Chicago. “This has made it slightly more challenging to find open spaces that are empty enough on warm days, but my family is in a privileged position because there are still large, well-maintained parks in our neighborhood that we can spend time in, which is not the case across the city.”

Trinity Kendrick ’21 has also experienced difficulties in Houston, Texas. “I have a large backyard area that I can hang out in but I can’t really walk around my neighborhood because there’s no sidewalks and my area’s not the safest,” she said. “If my family and I want to walk long distances we would have to drive to a park, but the parks have been closed for the time being, so being outdoors besides my backyard hasn’t been very accessible to me.” 

Beata Garrett ’20, of Mill Basin, Brooklyn, New York, spoke about different accessibility concerns that have been highlighted by the virus. Garrett said that they’re lucky enough to live in a less crowded neighborhood and have access to a park next door and a backyard. “Even on busy days, the park [doesn’t] have a lot of people. So I haven't felt the strain of accessibility as others have and have felt pretty safe going out, leaving aside the fact that I'm Chinese.” However, Garrett underscored that doing things like buying groceries has become more challenging for those with  disabilities who have to wait in line or who have to take transportation to get to the nearest grocery store.  “I haven't really seen measures addressing this,” said Garrett. “If anything the virus has shown us the necessity of funding more public places like public libraries where people can stay there for free.”

In addition to accessibility concerns, environmental inequalities in cities have been exacerbated with COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders. Rogers highlighted negative environmental factors like pollution in Chicago which disproportionately affects people of color and people from low-income backgrounds, making it harder for them to spend time outside safely. “[Chicago] recently made the decision to begin the demolition process on an old coal plant and air pollution spread throughout the surrounding area, which is a neighborhood of predominantly people of color,” said Rogers. “A local organization fought back and the demolition process stopped after a day, but particles remained in the air, making breathing conditions worse at a time when a disease that affects the lungs is already spreading.” Rogers highlights how environmental injustice and unequal access to outdoor spaces doesn’t stop being a problem when the brunt of the pandemic is over. “[In Chicago], access to outdoor spaces was already a privilege rather than a universal right in many parts of the city before the pandemic started, so the shelter-in-place order has brought to the surface issues that were already there.” 

Despite difficulties, outdoor spaces can provide positive mental relief during social distancing. “I've actually been spending way more time outdoors than I usually do when I'm home because it's the only thing to do,” said Olivia Marble ’21. “I live in a suburban area so I have space to go outside but I’ve never appreciated it before now.” Boker said that she would like to spend more time outdoors, but the constant flow of depressing news, school work and poor weather has made it challenging for her to find the motivation to go outside. Rogers also said that, “Being able to walk to the lakefront or a park really helps my mental health when I start to feel closed-in.”

These experiences certainly do not begin to encompass the range of experiences Mount Holyoke students have faced outdoors in urban environments during social distancing. However, it is apparent that while outdoor spaces can serve as a place of peace during an otherwise stressful time period, pedestrians not abiding by social distancing guidelines and crowding in public spaces can limit accessibility to safe time outdoors.

A reflection on the 50th Earth Day (Op-ed)

Photo by Rose Cohen ‘22

by Abby Wester ’22

Fifty years ago, twenty million people across the United States took to the streets on April 22 to observe the first Earth Day, protesting environmental degradation and its effects on human health. As the nation was inspired and infuriated by the findings in Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”, Senators Gaylord Nelson and Pete McCloskey launched a college teach-in project, with the goal of informing students about air and water pollution. But as their idea gained traction and coverage, it turned into a nationwide demonstration including folks from all walks of life. 

On the 50th Anniversary of the first Earth Day, the celebration was very different. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the country, many of us recognized the environmental holiday while practicing social distancing, thus not in crowds of millions. 

With all of the passion surrounding environmental issues fifty years ago, you would think that the power of the people would take hold and help better our ecosystems and human health. However, as I look around in 2020 while self-isolated from the outside world, I see that environmental issues have not gotten much better. And some have gotten much worse. Sure, more environmental laws are in place, more research has been conducted into these issues and public awareness has increased. But climate change has already begun affecting many regions of the world, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported that in order to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, the world needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions drastically before 2030. 

It has been additionally proven that environmental degradation and climate change do not affect everyone equally. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a study in 2018 that found particulate matter - a pollutant caused by fossil fuel combustion that can result in adverse human health outcomes - is disproportionately higher in communities of color and impoverished communities. And climate change is already affecting developing and impoverished nations, furthering global inequality.

With environmental injustice and the impending uncertainty of our global ecosystems, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and not know what to do to fix it. While it is important to do individual things that benefit the Earth, it is also important to understand that the security of our planet is above what one person can do on an individual level. Societal changes need to happen in order to right centuries of environmental wrongs. 

Similar to the global pandemic we are all facing, it takes a whole society to change their habits, social distance and stay inside to reduce the spread of the COVID-19. One individual’s actions will not eradicate the virus, but the collective awareness and responsibility of society will help beat it.

It is not your individual job to solve all of the Earth’s environmental issues. But as a good world citizen, it is your job to understand them and the connected injustices. The first thing we can do is educate ourselves. Learn what environmental issues are important in your area, research local groups and see what you can do to get involved. Then educate those around you, because if everyone is involved on a local level, societal change can be achieved.