The scope of the Los Angeles fires is so vast that they have touched many lives that are far, far from California.
I live in Lanesboro, MN, but my grandson’s wife, Holly Horazdovsky, taught in a school in the Palisades that burned to the ground. She is now teaching in a new space. Their school was evacuated, and many children lost their homes. Will these children have the courage to stand up to adults and demand action to prevent future global warming disasters?
As Holly describes her situation: “We are now at the Brentwood Science Magnet, another Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) school. Their enrollment was low, so they had space open. Many teachers had to move classrooms over the weekend to accommodate us moving in. We are so thankful for their school, staff, and students letting us move in. It is about 15 minutes from our old school.
We lost most of the school in the fire. The original bell tower and some upper-grade classrooms are still standing. All the bungalows like mine are just a pile on the ground, so everything inside was lost, years of files, planning, etc. and technology. Mainly, the memories in the rooms⎯our second homes. My second graders are 7 and 8 years old. Students have adjusted well and openly talk about their homes burning down rather casually because they are so young. They also ask each other where they are staying⎯many are in hotels, friends’ or relatives’ homes for now. A funny quote from a kid today was, ‘Ms. H., do you remember what happened to my homework? That thing went up in flames. It really burned.’
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I am one of the lucky ones [to still have our apartment] as most of my students lost their homes, as well as many of my colleagues. Parents have said how important and healing it is that the school is remaining together in one place. The Pali community is very strong and supportive of one another.”
In the face of this catastrophe, which was so exacerbated by the effects of climate change, these students are now presented with an extraordinary opportunity to learn about global warming⎯what is causing it, what actions they might encourage their families to take to fight it.
Since 2023, climate change has been a required part of California’s school curriculum. There are questions for each grade level to ponder, including for second graders and younger children. As they grow older, most importantly, they need to learn what’s causing global warming on a larger scale and how to engage with activism that is fighting the larger forces.
What’s more, they need to learn–as do the adults in their lives–to learn more extensively about preparing for the effects that have become inevitable. California is already at a point where fierce wildfires will be an increasing fact of life. From Yale Climate Connections: “A 2023 study found from 1971 to 2021, human-caused climate change contributed to a +172% increase in burned areas in California with a +320% increase from 1996 to 2021. In the coming decades, a further increase in annual forest burned areas is expected, ranging from 3% to 52%.”
Will the Palisades supportive community work together to make the landscape become more fire-resistant? What can be done to wrangle with the realities that are already here? Now is the time to introduce not only knowledge about how and why this is happening but also to enrich the curriculum with ideas about how to ameliorate it and be ready for the fire next time.
Proposed action by state government includes increased funding, shorter work weeks for fighters and adding 2,400 additional state firefighters, expanded aerial firefighting fleet, more forest management and prescribed burns, tracking mechanisms for wildfire prevention work, cutting-edge drone technology, Artificial Intelligence and real-time data tools, advanced mapping and satellite technology, and greater capabilities for incident reporting. This will be a costly endeavor to save lives.
Youth organizations such as Sunrise Movement, SustainUS, and Youth Gov build political power for climate action and fight for environmental justice. Younger generations are more willing than older adults to engage in nonviolent protests and share global warming information on social media. There are several resources available nationwide to give children the knowledge to protest climate change effectively, such as SubjectToClimate, NASA’s Climate Kids, and EARTHDAY.ORG
Two excellent books to envision the world we want to create are What IF We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. As Kimmerer states, “All flourishing is mutual…When human survival is threatened, compassionate acts overrule market economies.” For our children’s sake, it’s past time for compassionate action.
A. Renée Bergstrom, EdD, is a Public Voices fellow on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls with The OpEd Project and Equality Now
Trump fans brave frigid temperatures to cheer his second inauguration
Joshua Sukoff/Medill News Service
