Tackling Climate Change in West Orange

By Daniel Shapiro ‘23

The climate crisis is currently one of the largest threats to the globe that humanity has ever faced, and government action is required. However, that action need not only be at the national or state level. The local governments of towns and cities can act on this dire issue immediately.     
Amidst the threat that climate change poses today, the Flame interviewed Susan McCartney, West Orange liaison to the Environmental Commission. She spoke about what the town of West Orange has been doing to combat this grave threat.

“Mandatory recycling ordinances were not in effect, but now they have been for a number of years. Electronics became mandatory to recycle,” McCartney said.
These initiatives are important in making West Orange a more environmentally friendly city.
    “A few years ago we were contacted by a group called Second Chance Toys, and their effort was to keep plastic toys out of landfills. So, we put an 8-foot by 20-foot trailer up at the West Orange Environmental Center and residents can donate their plastic toys for others to use,” McCartney said. “It became another way to recycle and to protect the environment.”
That being said, there are still many things that a concerned citizen can do to help.
    “Be cognizant of the environment, and just how much waste is generated. Just [be] conscious of the environment and recycling everything and anything they can to repurpose it somehow,” McCartney suggested.
With a threat so seemingly insurmountable, society must come together to work against it, and the student body represents one of many resources that can be used to take on the responsibility of climate change.
    “I’d like to see more effort given towards tracking and reducing community greenhouse gas emissions,” sophomore Izzi Zellan said. “It feels like climate change isn’t a top priority, and I would like to see West Orange make it one.”
The world needs strong climate action if humanity is to get through this struggle. The change needs to be at the global level, but local work can build up to a global scale. The push for more action at every level, including local, must come now. There is no compromise with climate change. The cost of inaction is simply too great.
With local work, pushing for the correct legislation and the effort put in by the populace and government officials, the climate crisis can be beaten.
    “I believe we, as a society, need to align our lives to environmental protection. This is not a political or economic issue. This is a moral and ethical dilemma,” GOA guidance counselor Dr. Klein said. “Consumerism drives society. Governments incentivize corporate change and innovation. Towns have programs and regulations. Education is the way we will tip the scale towards sustaining a change in people’s behaviors.”