Lincoln High School is an under-resourced school in Yonkers, New York that released 304.95 tons of carbon emissions for the 2022-2023 school year. This is just one of the 69 public high schools in Westchester County, yet was the only high school, for that school year, to reach climate neutrality. While it is an outstanding accomplishment for a disadvantaged high school, it is a shame that no other schools could join the feat. Climate change is apparent and on the rise and one way we can take action is by starting in our schools. Unfortunately, my generation faces this issue the most as we are still avidly growing up on this Earth. Student leaders, such as myself, are gaining the courage to start taking action and trying different approaches. However we try, it shouldn’t be difficult for adults to get on board, gain support from peers, and achieve the goal of not only climate neutrality but carbon net zero, all for the interest of our shared home.

The K-12 Action Plan of Westchester Green County is to mitigate, educate, adapt, and advance equity within schools. Alongside WGC USA, it is our goal to become climate-neutral by 2025, 50% net-zero by 2030, and 100% by 2045. (Carvin, 2023) To begin, short and long-term goals have to be mapped out according to the systems already set in the school. There is an abundance of appliances that emit carbon emissions that can be replaced with an energy-efficient version of it that is just as effective. A portion of the carbon emissions released every school year is the result of the electricity from the light sources Lincoln High School uses. A way to prevent this is by installing solar panels on the very flat and open roof of the high school. I’ve also proposed the idea of installing a new heating system for the school that doesn’t emit incredible amounts of CO2 and having a recycling and composting system in place. Out of all these mitigation efforts only two were slightly considered, recycling and composting, because it could be entirely student-controlled. The heating system is a bummer, it was installed when the school was first established and it would take a fortune to update it. However, the installment of solar panels is the most disappointing part. Lincoln High School is a part of the Yonkers Public Schools district so everything that happens to any of the schools in the district has to go through the board of education of the district. There is only so much the principal can do to support but it ultimately is up to the board to decide if the school should have solar panels. They ultimately decided against it because climate change was a trivial issue to them. It is disheartening because although they may not be around to see the devastating effects of greenhouse gasses being emitted into the atmosphere, I may, the other children in the district may, and their children may. Changes that help a crisis like this should be done now rather than later when it may be too late. The adults in charge of the decision would not hear it from me even with the knowledge of the tons of CO2 emitted, and my principal didn’t dare to contest it.

Now that I knew I couldn’t mitigate these plans to reduce the carbon emissions the school released, I had to shift gears and continue to educate my peers. I decided if I couldn’t do anything to reduce the numbers, I could offset the damage. I did research to choose a green project in a third-world country that Lincoln High School could invest in to reduce carbon emissions indirectly to achieve climate neutrality. For example, since the school emitted 304.95 tons of CO2, we could invest in a composting project in India and prevent 304.95 tons from being released over there so that the net amount of CO2 released comes out to be 0. That is exactly what we accomplished, but before we got to that, I prepared an assembly for over 250 students who were interested in my school to learn a little more about the climate change crisis. Then I transitioned that into my proposal to Lincoln High School of reaching the goal of becoming climate neutral. I had students answer a poll of which green project they preferred Lincoln High School invest in to offset its emissions and the upgradation, operation, and maintenance of 200 TPD Composting facility at Okhla, Delhi, India won. That meant $1,524.75 had to be raised because the project cost $5 a ton. Yes, it was done. I hosted Lincoln High School’s first annual staff vs. students basketball game and raised enough to reach the goal. You’d think after such a great accomplishment came about press and recognition, not that I was looking for it, but the real issue I had was that the accomplishment wasn’t publicized for other schools to follow suit. Unfortunately, the media person for Lincoln High School did not believe in climate change so the staff vs. students basketball game was only painted as the school event of the year. However, I look forward to the hype for the next annual fundraiser, and this way the push for the reduction of carbon emissions at Lincoln High School is still supported even when a few people oppose the cause behind it. But I recognize for my efforts to be fully heard, all my peers should be on board for maximum efficacy.

When you lead a group of people, you must consider the best interest of the majority. That being said, if you have a say in decisions for any Yonkers Public School, choose to help the planet everyone in the district lives on. Using logic and research when deciding to support a cause. With that also being said, the Earth is getting warmer each year and it’s breaking records (Lindsey, 2023), if you can’t believe that the climate is changing drastically you must be out of your mind. Support the effort the youth is taking and help spread the word for solutions for issues we all face today. The efforts I took were completely my decision and I heavily relied on the team that makes up Westchester Green County, who happen to be other high school students and adults who are passionate about taking action against climate change. I was somewhat lucky to be able to achieve climate neutrality at Lincoln High School, but it shouldn’t have been as hard as it was to cause change at my school. Let alone the other students in Westchester Green County who couldn’t begin to do what I did because they were restricted even more. Lincoln High School shouldn’t have been the only school in Westchester County to achieve climate neutrality.

Work Cited

Carvin, J. (2023) Westchester Green County USA https://greencountyusa.org/Lindsey, R, Dahlmann, L. (2023) Climate Change: Global Temperature https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature#:~:text=Earth%E2%80%99s%20temperature%20has%20risen%20by%20an%20average%20of,year%20on%20record%20based%20on%20NOAA%E2%80%99s%20temperature%20data.