LOS ALAMITOS, CA —  Climate change is an obvious environmental issue causing more damage every year. Improvements to daily habits and other environmentally-friendly changes can help with this growing problem. Information about climate change, as well as methods to combat it, are rapidly spreading on social media platforms in hopes of bringing awareness to the situation. Taking steps to help the environment as well as spreading awareness about climate change are extremely important. The more people know about climate change, the better they can prevent further environmental damage.

Social media platforms and public spaces are effective ways to get information about many topics, including climate change. Climate change is spread in many unique ways to get others’ attention. 

One example is the Global Climate Clock, placed in multiple locations, which showcases the time before climate change is irreversible. The clock is a good confrontation to show people something important.

 “The longer we wait, the more severe and irreversible the damage will be, especially in the Global South and for vulnerable communities,” said Raul De Lima, a Climate Clock communication team member. “At Climate Clock we can’t stress enough that delay equals denial, so to postpone climate justice is to deny life to billions of people.”

The Climate Clock can be presented in public spaces, buildings, schools, and many other locations. When shown, it gives a message to people about the time and work we need to put in before it is too late.

Work and effort to help the environment might seem difficult or unavailable, but many organizations and clubs are available for people who want to help. Teens for Climate is a club on the Los Alamitos High School campus where students can help the environment through conservation, volunteer work, and more.

“Teens for Climate is mostly focused on raising awareness about current climate events so that we can individually take action,” said Avery Yew, president of the club. “Last year we had a meeting about the Willow Project and took the time to sign petitions that were urging President Biden to stop drilling in Alaska. In terms of club activities, we’ve attended beach cleanups, and we hope to do much more in the future.  

Save Our Beach is another great way to volunteer to help the environment and the community through local work. Every third Saturday of the month, beach clean-ups will occur at Seal Beach from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“We have been conducting monthly beach clean-ups in Seal Beach for 25 years to remove the trash from the San Gabriel River before it gets into the Pacific Ocean,” said Steve Masoner, the Save Our Beach founder and president. “We have had over 250,000 volunteers help collect over 1 million pounds of trash.”

While climate change and its significance is something people mostly know, education on climate change is vital to making it improve.  Some people are unaware of the full effects of climate change by choice or because no one told them.

“I haven’t learned much about climate change from school or anywhere else, and I’ve never taken the time to study it,” said Riley Mitchell, a Los Al freshman.

It is important to not ignore the issue of climate change, and there are many more opportunities to help. Getting started today with small acts can build up over time to help reverse the damage and preserve our environment.