Climate change is a critical problem weighing on society today, and Carlmont’s Green Team knows it.
In an effort to encourage recognition of climate change, Green Team issued a Climate Emergency Petition for the Associated Student Body (ASB), Carlmont staff, and the Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) to recognize climate change urgency.
“I hope that the petition raises awareness about the urgency of climate change,” Connie Gong, vice president of Green Team, said. “At Carlmont, I know that the students are aware that climate change is a huge issue, but there’s not a lot of emphasis by teachers, the administration, or just by the nature of the courses that we have at school on environmental literacy.”
Green Team’s goal is to reach 100 signatures on the petition before sending it to ASB, Carlmont administration, and SUHSD. If Carlmont then passes climate resolutions and declarations, Green Team would have a foundation for future projects.
Through this Climate Emergency Petition, Green Team hopes to spread awareness about climate change and inspire students to be conscious about their impact on the environment. The petition also aligns with a more extensive, district-wide petition for climate change.
SUHSD recently sent out an email to teachers and staff with their Climate Emergency Declaration and Resolution attached. This declaration, along with a petition on change.org, is a collaboration between Carlmont’s Green Team, Woodside Greenies Club, and the Sequoia Sustainability Project. Green Team hopes that this, along with their own petition, can help bring more awareness to climate change.
“If our petition gets 100 signatures, that is a very powerful thing in terms of getting other people to sign the change.org petition, and ultimately getting the school district board to pass a resolution,” Gong said. “It would be built up from the students at Carlmont and the student body of the county as a whole.”
Green Team is close to reaching 100 signatures, thanks to the many club members who share the same vision of spreading climate change awareness.
“It’s really important that we recognize that climate change is a big deal,” Natalie Su, a freshman and Green Team member, said. “By sharing the petition… it not only raises awareness about climate change and how big of an issue it is, but it also allows people to share their voice and be able to be a huge influence.”
Su hopes to take on more significant projects in the future to help improve Carlmont’s campus and the environment. Although only a freshman, her aspirations to fight climate change might take her far beyond high school.
Carlmont alumni and former Green Team leadership member Emna Sellami is currently a UC Berkeley student majoring in environmental engineering. Like Su, she also became involved with Green Team as a freshman. Sellami expressed her happiness about the actions the Green Team is taking with the petition.
“I am proud of everyone for doing the petition… because environmentalism is really important to me, and it is one of the most pressing issues of our lifetime, probably even in modern history,” Sellami said.
The current Green Team leadership maintains this passion through their Climate Emergency Petition and various activities to motivate Carlmont students to take action.
“I think that this petition will, hopefully, open students’ eyes up to the whole world of environmental literacy and inspire them to not only change their own lifestyles but talk to their parents, talk to their friends, about the importance of being conscious of your own impact on the environment,” Gong said.
