If our school is required to teach us this, what do they actually do? Do they buy locally sourced materials and what do they do with the recycled materials? They never show us how to do it or lead by example, if not most people don’t know what their school does in order to help the environment.

I agree I think as a way to help this; student could have a day of every month where you have to go outside and clean up garbage with your class then bring it to a recycling depot where the teachers could show how they recycle stuff from the school. Or the student council could bring this topic up to the school and get them to start implementing more climate friendly actions into the school system.

Fast fashion is cheap, poor quality, disposable clothing that is produced quickly and sold at low prices. It is not something completely new and it has been around for a long time. You don't even know it but most of your favorite stores like Zara, H&M, Primark, Forever 21 and Shein that have lately been very popular are considered fast fashion brands. This has always been a big problem and today even more because fast fashion is responsible for 10% of global carbon dioxide emission. So, next time you want to shop in one of these stores think twice.

I agree that these popular brands are a big contributor global emissions. Unfortunately, with the rise of social media and trends, fast fashion has become something that is popular. Brands are often quick to jump on these trends and as a result they mass produce clothing that will become unpopular and irrelevant. These companies emit carbon dioxide during production and waste these clothing that remain unsold.

Yes, I totally agree that's fast fashion has increased carbon footprints. This is also a waste of money because a while later it will just go out of fashion and then you don't want to wear it and then you buy another one. Instead you should just stick to one and use it as long as its useable.

I agree. Fast fashion is harmful to environment. It produces lots of carbon emissions and waste.  It also takes up a lot of water and energy. Millions of clothing end up in landfills every year. Textile processing contributes to 20% of global water pollution.

I agree, many clothing brands contribute to the carbon dioxide emissions. but I never knew that it was so high and harmful. I will definitely rethink about all the clothes I buy to help the earth, rather than destroy it.

Since actually accepting the issues is the first step towards reaching change, it's really cool and encouraging to see how many of us are aware of the negative effects of fast fashion has on the environment. It is also cool to see how many of us rethink our initial perspectives and change our purchases to help the environment. Making these more deliberate purchases by selecting items carefully that we'll use for a long time is something we all can do. Little things like repairing clothing instead of replacing it can also have a significant impact leading to businessses themselves being more pressured to implement better practices if more people collectively change their habits.

I wholeheartedly agree. I think an easy and affordable way to decrease the footprint of fast fashion is to look at secondhand shops first. If you want or need the same styles, or price, you can look to sites like ThreadUp. This is an online thrift store on which you can sell the clothes you no longer need and buy the clothes you want.This is a good and eco-friendly way to shop.

I totally agree with you. Fast fashion is so harmful and slowly destroying our world. The industry is harmful in so many ways; it creates so much carbon emissions and also their ways of making clothes is unethical in the way they treat their workers. I know fast fashion is so tempting since in this economy it's hard to buy new, non-fast fashion clothes since clothes are expensive and so many stores are part of fast fashion but under disguise like I bet you didn't know that Aritzia, Urban Outfitters, Gap and Zara are fast fashion stores. There are more ethical things to do such as going to your local thrift stores which some also benefit charities, do more research in which brands are fast fashion or not, reuse your clothes, or even taking hand me downs from families and friends. I hope more big sustainable brands come to popularity so this climate change dilemma doesn't keep destroying our world as fast as it is.

I do not struggle with this topic personally, as I have been a vegetarian for over two years. I have done this partially because of meat's impact on the environment. I know this decision is not as easy for others as it has been for me, as many cultures have meat as a key component in their diet. This could be reduced by substitutions of food, like using tofu for a protein source.

I've improved my meat consumption for the environment and reduce animal suffering by eating less pork and beef which are the least efficient meat sources, substituting meat with beyond burger, and hunting for some of my diet.

There are a lot of sad things happening around the world, and unfortunately, they are usually what make the news and get lots of publicity as opposed to the good changes and actions happening. This can lead to hopeless or anxious feelings about climate change that cause some people to stop trying to fight climate change. It is important to be aware of the good and innovative things happening in the world as well as the bad.

I agree! I think that if people were more informed about the good changes that others are making to help fight climate change, then they would be more motivated to help make changes to improve as well! I think that instead of promoting the tragic news to make people feel hopeless and doomed (although it's still good for awareness), we should promote more news about positivity to motivate others into willingly helping improve the state of the world. Positive news could be more inspiring and help lead someone into wanting to do what others are doing to make the world a better place for everyone to live in and to inform them of the small changes they can do to make a big difference. Sad/tragic news on the other hand could make someone feel like it's too late to make a change or the problems are too big to be able to do something about it (which is completely untrue)

I agree with this, I think it is very important to focus on what we can do and change instead of what we are doing wrong all the time. Though it is important for people to know the severity of whats happening right now I think we could educate people on whats happening in a less scary way. Educating people and especially kids in a way that makes them feel like they can do their part is vital so people actually start making change instead of being scared of how much they need to change their lives in order to save the whole world. I think a great way to educate everyone is start with small things like how to recycle properly and to advertise clean ups that you could sign up with your friends or family.

I agree! There are many organizations that are trying help. Educating people about it will help raise awareness. Everyone can help by recycling, planting trees, etc. Creating a community and showing the positive benefits will encourage more people to help.

I agree! Many people get discouraged when they hear that climate change is getting worse, so people think that their efforts to stop it change and they just give up. But to the people that don't get discouraged, keep fighting, your efforts do impact the climate change for the better

I agree, There are many things happening right now that are benefiting the world but they get no publicity whatsoever. The organizations that are trying to make a change deserve at least a bit of recognition for trying to educate others.

Although some aspects of generative AI can appear to be very useful to our everyday life,  it’s benefits still should not overshadow the overall destruction it has caused to our planet. Of course, we can’t blame it all on the AI (a survey conducted in August of 2024 and ended by August of 2025 by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that 44.6% of adults in the US use Generative AI regularly)as the many users on platforms such as ChatGPT, Sora AI, are the reason why AI takes up so much resources. According to the UN Enviorment Programme regarding what AI does to our environment ,“they use massive amounts of electricity, spurring the emission of planet-warming greenhouse gases". We should focus on finding ways to decrease the amount of resources that AI uses to function, or better yet, we should minimize how much we use AI.

I see what you're saying, DANNYTHEOG, you also make some strong points. Generative AI is really helpful in our everyday lives, but its true that it also has a big impact on the environment. With so much people using AI tools nowadays, it makes sense that they use a lot of electricity. And like the UN Environment Programme said, all that energy use goes to more greenhouse gas emissions, which is not good for the planet for sure.

People always say to boycott companies so they will do better with their waste such as Shein but no one actually does anything about it. People still buy from them because it is easier and cheaper but does it really matter when our ozone layer is deteriorating because of the CO2 given off by these companies? How come people never take any accountability for what they do but then preach something else?

The design of cities is highly correlated with the carbon output of its residents. aside form obvious causes like the power grid and whereof it draws its energy, street design and urban sprawl create a mandate for personal vehicles to get on with daily life. In towns and cities in Europe which were originally built when there were no cars, it was expected that everyone would walk everywhere. As such the distribution of houses, shops, and institutions was condensed such that it was possible for an individual to reach them on foot. These cities retain, even now with automobiles, the relevance of walking. With narrow streets designed for walking it can often be cumbersome to drive, lowering the otherwise resulting emissions. In modern cities this is a stark opposite to the urban sprawl and normalization of driving everywhere.

cite:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/129 … y-country/

Hello Hilo,

You bring up an amazing point about how historical design shapes current sustainability. I also would add that cities with walkable infrastructure also benefit from reduced emissions. Not just due to less driving, but because dense urban living often means smaller living spaces, which consuming less energy overall. However, in our wonderful country the United States, many newer developments prioritize wide roads over narrow and start to enforce zoning laws that separate residential from commercial areas, making cars almost necessary. So if we start to reimagine urban design around mixed-use zoning and transit-oriented development, it could definitely help reverse some of the effects of urban sprawl.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "compact, mixed-use development helps reduce emissions and promotes healthier lifestyles."

Transportation makes up a large part of both personal and national carbon emissions and is definitely a problem that needs to be addressed, especially in the United States. Public transportation has been underfunded for years in the U.S. and it is very difficult to live in most cities without a car, but in many European cities people can rely solely on walking and public transportation. European citizens on average have much lower carbon emissions, too, though likely from a combination of things. Better train systems in the United States would also lower the number of domestic and intrastate flights taken, which right now is a number in the tens of thousands per day range and affects greenhouse gas emissions greatly. The government needs to focus on providing safer and more widely accessible transportation options and U.S. citizens need to commit to choosing them over personal vehicles when possible.
https://www.sei.org/publications/consum … itigation/
https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involv … alculator/

We don't all have the resources to do big things to save our planet, like spending money on electric cars, or buying expensive heating systems that use electricity instead of gas. And that is totally fine because there is so many more different ways we can help our planet, for example: recycling and composting, when you recycle it reduces the amount of garbage that would have been sent to the landfills. Or just putting your left over scraps in a bin thats only for compostable things, that reduces so much waste that we would mix with garbage and put and put in our landfill. Other simple things we can do are: Talking to people about this topic, turning off lights when leaving rooms, taking more transit or carpooling, bringing reusable bags to the grocery store. And all those small things can help reduce the affect us humans have on the climate.

I completely agree. Nobody's forcing you to change your home's heating or invest in new cars, but so many easy things can reduce our carbon footprints. One example is taking shorter showers. Instead of taking your time and using the water for 20 minutes, you can easily reduce down to 10 minutes by going at a normal pace and using the water for a small amount of time. Another thing is powering down your laptop. If it goes into sleep mode, it's still using battery and it's technically still on. Constantly leaving it on can also cause it to have a shorter life. These are two examples of things that don't require you to spend money or make huge changes in your daily life. I think everybody needs to consider opportunities like this to lower our carbon footprints.

I really appreciate both of your points – especially how you emphasize that even small changes in our daily habits can make a big difference. I completely agree with the idea that we don’t need to make expensive lifestyle changes to help the environment. I also liked the example about taking shorter showers – that’s something I’ve started doing too, and it really made me more aware of how much water I was using before. Another simple action I’d add is washing clothes in cold water. Experts say that about 90% of the energy used by washing machines goes toward heating the water, so switching to cold water saves energy and lowers emissions. It's a small change, but if many people did it, the impact could be huge. These everyday actions might seem minor on their own, but together they can build a more sustainable lifestyle.

I agree with the idea that we don’t all need a lot of money to help the planet. It’s true that small things like recycling, composting, or turning off lights can make a big difference if everyone does them. It’s good that the text points out that you don’t need to buy expensive things like electric cars. People often think they have to do something huge, so they end up doing nothing. That’s why it’s important to talk about small steps that everyone can take. I think messages like this should be shared more often in schools and communities.

I also think that making even small changes can have an effect. I personally have thought before that i'm one person and the things I do cant make a difference. But if everyone thinks this way then we make no changes. One persons decision to make a change can be followed by other eventually creating an impact.

It's very true how small actions can make a big difference, especially when not everyone can afford expensive solutions. I agree that composting, recycling, and turning off lights are all great ways to help. One thing I would add is the impact of water use, such as cutting down on how much water we waste. Things like by taking shorter showers or fixing leaks also helps the environment out. As you mentioned, starting conversations can lead to bigger community changes and it's important to continue doing so in the future.

I like how you are emphasizing that the little things do matter. I agree, and I think that sometimes people get discouraged because they don't have the time, money, or resources to change their lifestyle in a large way. Some things I do to help are reusing containers from things like skincare or hair products, I always turn off the lights when I leave a room, and I carpool almost everywhere I go. Although these things may seem like they are making minimal impact, if everyone did this bare minimum, our world would be much better off.

I agree with you that everything matters. Many use the fact that they don't have power or money to excuse them not attempting to help, but even one person can make a difference. We all need to be advocating and raising awareness for this because we are, unfortunately, all contributing to this. I also like all the suggestions you made like composting and using reusable items. Anyone can do this and if we all did it the world might not consider this such a big problem. The reality is whether or not we have power or money, we are all responsible for doing our part.

I completely agree, especially your point about how we don't need to make big sacrifices to save our planet; instead, small, everyday actions can make a big impact. I try to do small things every day, such as turning off my lights when I leave my room and using a reusable water bottle rather than plastic ones. I also bring reusable shopping bags for groceries when I go shopping. I believe these small actions can lead to the best results in protecting our Earth, and if each of us does just one small thing every day, we will see a better future for our world.

The human population has been growing since the 15th century in Europe and its been growing ever since.  The population continues growing but at a slower rate. The human population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2058, if the population continues to grow, ( which is predicted to grow) the humans will out compete other species, which can lead to a lot of animals going extinct. The planet will no longer be  able to sustain the growing population and we will end up reaching the carrying capacity. As our population grows other populations of other species will drop, we will end up killing them all. As humans it is our responsibility to look after the other species that we are out competing.

I think that this is very insightful because it acknowledges that climate change is not just what humans are doing, but also that there are a lot of them. Everyone blames climate change on how poorly the human race uses our resources and makes choices that contribute to an increase our greenhouse gas emissions, but as a race we are also increasing in population, which increases our greenhouse gas emissions. We still do need to work on how much greenhouse gas we emit and make sure we make good decisions for our climate.

Doing things as simple as composting, turning off lights when you're not home, recycling, taking quicker showers, and carpooling or riding a bike or walking can help the environment. these are all easy and not very time-consuming lifestyle choices that you can make that can help save our earth. Obviously, there are larger problems than plastic straws in the world but every little thing can help.

Dear BigCmanCrago, i agree that we must make these small changes in our own lifestyles, and even though it may not seem like it's making a big deference, if everyone does it, it will.  I know this to be true because I used to use the opposite argument, that if i buy and throw away just one or two recyclable bottles, its not that big a deal. If I take 30 minute showers just this week, it wont really matter. Yet its when everyone in the world thinks like this that we have a problem. We must shift our our mindsets together to start thinking about the little things, and thinking about our future.

I think osker makes a very good point. It can be easy to forget about the other eight billion people we share a planet with, often using the excuse “what difference can one person make?”. And sure, one person who chooses not to recycle couldn’t have less of an impact, but when hundreds, thousands, millions of people decide that its no longer their responsibility, well you can imagine the problems that would come with that. It is imperative that we do not keep a solitary mindset, as climate change is not a battle we are fighting alone.

I agree that these small actions make the environment around us a better place, but what will these actions do for our planet in the long run if not promoted? What is the point of putting ourselves through more work to act sustainably if it only benefits our egos? I understand that taking actions like carpooling and taking short showers takes away from our carbon emission, but these actions will not have a large impact on our planet if there are very few making an effort. This is why I believe that we, as students, must find ways to promote our healthy lifestyles as much as possible. Although much debated, one citizen acting sustainably and keeping it to themselves will not have an impact on climate change or global warming. If change is desired, we should be actively looking for ways to promote our healthy and sustainable ideas to many others.

I agree that every little think thing helps and just by taking a 10 min shower instead of 20 can be helpful, but also just by decreasing your meat eating by one meal can help so much more than you think. For example a McDonalds Big Mac cause around 2.35kg of CO2 where an impossible burger (which is a type of veggie burger) produces 0.75kg of CO2. So yes every little thing helps, but it’s is also good to think about the bigger things like becoming vegan and things like that.

In class, we talked a lot about our environmental footprints, which I didn't even know about before. I also learned that the United States is in a concerning ecological deficit which may be scary on the surface, but there are many people working to make a change.

The major thing that I've learned throughout all of my research is how many people genuinely want to make a positive change and help our Planet. This entire sustainability idea means a lot to me, and it makes me hopeful knowing that so many want to and are trying to help