Be a part of the solution, not the pollution.

“I know that the weather is getting more extreme.”
Allene Biederman, SHS chemistry and integrated science teacher, shared her viewpoints on the recent climate changes in Arizona.

“Temperatures rapidly increasing, along with the random switches to monsoon storms is concerning and it’s only supposed to get more intense,” Beiderman said.
There are multiple factors that affect climate change that range in impact, such as the overuse of fossil fuels to our everyday life decisions.

Things as simple as what food we eat and how we get around can impact our climate more than we realize.
“I know that we talk about trash a lot when it comes to being environmentally friendly, but just making sure that trash gets put away will have a big impact on our community,” Biederman said.

Some may not realize, but disposing of trash properly is more important than many may think.
In our Sunnyslope community we have a big problem with trash being left on our streets.
The problem intensifies because this trash gets stuck in sewers.
As Arizona enters its monsoon season, the sewers get backed up with trash-resulting in more flooding.

Sunnyslope Environmental Awareness Club Vice President Cairo Smith said, “We want to teach people to first love the environment before they try to help it, because I feel like a lot of people don’t have a strong enough connection with the environment, so they don’t truly understand the impact they can make”.

Sunnyslope Environmental Awareness Club (SlopeEAC) is taking the initiative to educate our student body on current climate conflicts.

SlopeEAC plans to go on group cleanup hikes along with other club activities in hopes of getting our student body involved.

“Our main objective is to educate the student body on making more sustainable choices,” said Ivana Grgic, President of SlopeEAC.

Kaytlin Mosher, a SHS sophomore shared that she does not use any plastic water bottles.

Instead she uses a reusable water bottle as a sustainable alternative.

When you use a reusable water bottle, you can help prevent an average of 156 plastic bottles from entering our oceans annually. (https://www.inspirecleanenergy.com/blog/sustainable-living/do-reusable-water-bottles-save-plastic)
There are many ways that you can be more environmentally aware as a student, for example transportation.

Smith shared that he feels like Arizona lacks public transportation because of that it leads to more cars being used, more driving results in more pollution in the air.
Transportation plays a huge role in our climate conflict.
By carpooling, biking or walking to school we can reduce our carbon footprint by a substantial amount.

“Educate yourself on better choices, choose the sustainable options,” said Grgic.

Being aware of your everyday decisions and making the effort to make more sustainable choices will benefit our very own community.