The Cypress’s editorials are written by a board of writers and reviewed by volunteer staff. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of each individual staff member.

It seems that every day we read more bad news about the climate crisis: California gets pummeled by storms after years of drought, one of India’s trash mountains burns and emits toxic fumes, Biden approves the Willow Project. It can seem hopeless, especially when we are bombarded with pessimism that signals the end of the world as we know it.

We want to see future construction projects in the town prioritize taking care of the environment, through solar panels, sustainable materials and improved waste management. We only have one planet and one chance to protect it. We can either idly stand by like our schools and government, or we can demand that institutions make meaningful, large-scale change. If we as students really want to see change enacted, we need to take action.

Part of this means being loud and unrelenting until we see the change we know we need. The Public Schools of Brookline (PSB) and the school administration are not taking enough action-oriented steps towards creating systemic change in our school community. Despite the many renovations that have been made to Brookline schools over the past ten years, few of these changes have adequately prioritized the climate. Two recently renovated K-12 schools, John D. Runkle and Florida Ruffin Ridley, included solar panels in their renovations, yet the newly built 22 Tappan building failed to do the same. Furthermore, in the most recent and upcoming renovation at the Pierce school, the approved plans do not include solar panels, despite student advocacy.

Thankfully, many students have already joined environmental protection and education initiatives at the highschool: Climate Justice club, GreenZine and AP Environmental Science. Farm To School works to make PSB more sustainable in the cafeteria and improve curriculum around climate change. The Cypress acknowledges and appreciates these efforts, and looks forward to seeing their work evolve and bring us closer to climate justice. As students, we must take the time to support the work conducted by these organizations, while simultaneously taking action as individuals.

Here are some ways to start: research how to make schools more sustainable, what the financial restrictions are and who should be responsible for implementing these reforms. Email those in power and demand a direct shift to renewable energy and more plant-based foods. Call your senators and representatives to remind them that the people most affected by climate change are the least responsible; show them that these disparities are important to young people; show them you care! We can force this change to happen through direct action, protests, walkouts and repeated communications, or we can stand around politely asking for change. We all know how the latter plays out. The choice is ours.