Elemental Emergencies
On Aug. 29, heavy rainfall caused the Pearl River in Jackson, Mississippi to overflow, leading to a water crisis in the city (National Weather Service). Cable News Network (CNN) reports that the storm took out water pipes in the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant, which was already dwindling in quality for years, causing an extreme drop in water pressure throughout Jackson. This sudden drop led to Jackson residents being without clean drinking water for nearly two months (CNN). The city was under a boil water notice until Sept. 15, meaning that any tap water had to be boiled in order to be safe for consumption (CNN). Jackson suffered immensely during this time, as schools were forced to switch to remote learning as toilets would not flush, residents had to purchase bottled water since tap water was a murky brown and restaurants closed their doors because they did not have clean water.
Elsewhere in the U.S., California experienced a record-breaking heat wave during the week of Sept. 4 that featured some of the highest temperatures in state history and intense wildfires. Temperatures reached up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit in Sacramento and 110 degrees Fahrenheit in LA, according to The Washington Post. The rise in temperature has also sparked wildfires, the two biggest wildfires being the Mosquito Fire, spanning 48,700 acres with only 16% being contained throughout Northern California and the Fairview Fire, covering 46,000 acres close to Hemet, California (CNN). Freshman Valerie Chia Mendez recounts a time she and her classmates were affected by a wildfire.
“In fifth grade, my school was at a science camp in Malibu and had to leave because wildfires were happening close by,” Chia Mendez said. “I specifically remember feeling the ash on my face and looking up to see a completely gray sky before we got evacuated. It was scary and showed me how dangerous weather can be. I hope something can change soon so wildfires will not happen as often as they have in the past few years.”
The effects of the California heat wave were exacerbated as some schools in California have never had air conditioning installed, or they were not in working condition, as stated by the LA Times. At Peninsula, many classrooms did not have air conditioning or had to wait in order to have it repaired.
“It was very hard for me to focus in classes without air conditioning because all I could think about was how hot and uncomfortable I was,” freshman Kylie Johnston said. “It was honestly just a really bad experience.”
Due to many people using air conditioning and electric fans at home, the California power grid was in danger of shutting down. In addition, smoke and fog from wildfires obscured sunlight which reduced the solar energy that California relies on, causing the power grid to suffer. On Sept. 6, California residents were issued an emergency warning urging them to reduce nonessential power to ease the pressure on the power grid. The alert was a success, allowing for the avoidance of a severe power outage (Marketplace). The future of California and other states’ power grids as temperatures rise and wildfires take place at alarming rates is still unknown.
The recent situations in both Mississippi and California have shown the immediate effects of climate change, which is the cause of this extreme weather. Beyond access to clean water, climate change has also affected factors such as the rate at which wildfires take place. Compared to 2010’s 150,000 acres burned from wildfires, 2021 had 2,489,405 acres burned (Weatherspark).
Underprivileged communities are generally hit hardest by climate change. During power outages, a lack of power causes refrigerators to shut down, leading to perishable foods or medicine that must be refrigerated to spoil. People who already struggle to purchase these necessities must find a way to buy the items on a limited budget during a power outage (San Francisco Chronicle). Similarly, after the water crisis, residents of Jackson agreed that problems like these reflect that predominantly Black and underfunded cities like theirs have historically had their infrastructure neglected (TIME). The mostly-white nearby suburb of Madison has never struggled with access to water, despite being just a few miles north of Jackson. Furthermore, the effects of racist policies such as redlining, or refusing to give someone a loan because of the area they live in, still linger in Jackson. Residents of redlined areas did not have the resources to efficiently run public infrastructure leading to a disinvestment of water treatment facilities, like the O.B. Curtis Plant (National Resources Defense Counsel). In order to stop such issues, action against climate change must be taken, and the needs of underprivileged communities should be considered. As the Californian heat wave that sparked multiple wildfires across the state began to fade, on Sept. 9, California governor, Gavin Newsom, signed Senate Bill 852. This bill enables cities and counties to create climate resilience districts. These districts will work against both heat waves and wildfires, as well as other effects of climate change. Helping communities recover after disasters and reducing the risk of a disaster before it occurs will be the main goal of the districts. Newsom also added that the heat wave was a reminder of the painful impacts of climate change (LA Times). In addition, senior and Sustainability Club president Owen Oschman listed possible solutions to climate change. “To combat global warming there are a plethora of things we can be doing, but to keep it simple I like to stick with the three Ss: speak up, spare cattle and save energy,” Oschman said. “When we speak up about sustainability and climate change, we alert others to the global troubles we are facing as a whole, and we can get them involved in our fight against global warming. Sparing cattle and reducing the meat and dairy we eat greatly reduces our individual and communal environmental impact. And finally, saving energy is a no brainer. It allows us to conserve natural resources and reduce air and water pollution.”
