As the winter months grow warmer, the climate crisis has become a topic of concern for many students.
According to a recent Student Voices survey by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse, 81% of college students report being worried about climate change. Maddy Griffin, social media manager for the Webster Environmentalist Coalition (WEC), shares these concerns.
“Young people are the future and the ounce of hope we have for this country,” Griffin said. “If they speak out against global warming and make sure to take those small steps, more people can be informed about climate change and how to be more environmentally conscious.”
The rising levels of greenhouse gasses, driven by the increase in farming livestock, deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels, are having a formative effect on global climate patterns, according to the European Commission.
This change in Earth’s climate is already leading to more severe storms, droughts, rising temperatures and other negative effects. Jack Farish, co-president of the WEC, has been working to spread the word about these consequences.
“Our whole generation should be concerned about the changing climate,” Farish said. “We’ve already seen its effects on communities and ecosystems. Growing zones have shifted northward, hurricanes are more intense, and rising sea levels have been observed in parts of the U.S.”
Farish recently presented alongside Griffin at WEC’s yearly summit, where they joined co-president Inma Cepeda, vice president Claire Wallace and adjunct professor Randall Hyman to discuss climate-related topics. They covered a range of issues, including the causes of climate change, informational statistics, food sustainability and ways to help the effort going forward.
Hyman has written about the science of climate change for National Geographic, Science and Nature Magazine and many other journals. In his research, Hyman discovered that food and agriculture account for approximately 10% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
For many, the scale of the climate crisis can feel overwhelming, and local barriers only worsen that feeling.
“A challenge I face when trying to be more environmentally conscious, for example, is Webster having very limited recycling dumpsters around campus and it is rumored that Webster barely recycles at all,” Griffin said. “How are we supposed to be environmentally conscious if we live on a campus that isn’t?”
Griffin recycles everything that she can, does her best not to waste food and only thrifts her clothes.
“I think it is important for people to adopt eco-friendly practices because a little goes a long way if many people take little steps,” Griffin said.
Becoming more eco-friendly is a choice that anyone can make, even if it is only a small step, like cutting out single-use plastic. One way to reduce waste is to utilize a refill store. Refilleries offer a way to cut out any unnecessary packaging by storing products in bulk, from which shoppers can fill up their own containers.
The Refill Effect, a store in Kirkwood, is about 10 minutes from Webster University. Owner Sarah Kim started her business in 2018 after realizing there were no refillery options available in the St. Louis area. Since its opening, The Refill Effect has already saved over half a million pieces of plastic from the environment through refills and sustainable swaps.
“I thought, well, this is a way that I can solve a problem that I want to solve, which is access to refills, and teach my kids how to do the same and offer something to the community that I was looking for,” Kim said.
The Refill Effect offers some locally made refills, such as laundry detergent, along with other eco-friendly swaps. There are free and paid reusable container options in the store for its customers. Kim’s efforts have also made candy wrappers and cork recycling available through her business, doing her part in reducing, reusing and recycling.
“We have planted close to 500 trees, just based on donations, and we collected over 6,000 pairs of solar eclipse glasses from the last eclipse to pass on for use in South America,” Kim said.
While climate change and pollution of all kinds are issues that seem very overwhelming, eco-friendly swaps that seem small can make a big difference.
“No matter their passion or skill set, young people will play a part in these changes,” Farish said. “My advice to anyone who wants to make a difference is to first find what you’re good at and passionate about, and then think about how you can use those skills to address environmental concerns.”
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