Opinion: What is Happening to Our Environment? A Middle Schooler’s Viewpoint

April 3, 2025 By Charlie Inglis

The past two months have been a whirlwind of environmental activity at the federal level. Here are just a few recent developments:

• The United States withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement.
• The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is under attack, freezing protections of endangered species and almost guaranteeing multiple species’ extinction.
• What the government considers the “forced use of paper straws nationwide” is ending, with plastic straws being reinstated.
• Federally protected lands and waters have been reopened to drilling for oil and gas.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations are being unraveled, including the bedrock “endangerment finding” that states that greenhouse gases are endangering public health and welfare by warming the planet.
• An executive order has been proposed to start logging in national forests.

These actions paint a devastating picture of the future of our environment. The government is taking a wrecking ball through the United States’ environmental policies, and our seeming nonchalance about the Earth’s health is setting a terrible example for the rest of the world.

I’ll admit that I’ve been feeling a bit hopeless lately. Maybe since we don’t feel the effects of environmental harm in our immediate daily lives here in Hingham, we might think we don’t need to worry about it. Well, I’m here to ask you to reconsider. Climate change is happening – in fact, according to NASA, 2024 was the warmest year on record, and global sea levels are rising faster than ever. A devastating 99.7% of tropical reefs in the Atlantic have experienced bleaching-level heat stress.

So – what are we kids supposed to think and do? We’re worried, scared, and wondering if the adults are going to take care of the earth we’re inheriting. What will be left for us by the time we’ve grown up? It will be our job to fix the mess that’s left behind. Please, show your children and grandchildren that you care about our future. We’re not old enough to vote yet, but you can call or write to our senators and representatives (you can reach the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121), take part in local community action, or even just talk to us about what’s happening and keep it front of mind. And let’s focus on the positives where we can – for example, Massachusetts is one of nine states that has enacted a “Buy Clean” law to promote greener construction and transportation. And right here at home, Hingham is working on joining the Department of Energy Resources Climate Leaders program, with an important vote coming up at Town Meeting on April 28th (vote yes!). No matter what happens, we can’t lose sight of how important it is to protect our environment.

Sources:

https://science.nasa.gov/earth/2024-is-the-warmest-year-on-record/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/immediate-expansion-of-american-timber-production/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/putting-america-first-in-international-environmental-agreements/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-ends-the-procurement-and-forced-use-of-paper-straws/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/11/trump-wildlife-agencies-species-extinction
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/unleashing-alaskas-extraordinary-resource-potential/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/14/epa-lee-zeldin-trump-environment
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-industry/states-are-moving-forward-with-buy-clean-policies-despite-trump-reversal?amp%3Butm_medium=email&amp%3Butm_campaign=canary&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_OZpNIhQeFyGZgO5LtEe8yOf2mnRbFwtcEgTdzgGQxKbL0SA83WzfvgZWSrRo3_u93Ygbf55S7pdNkLDj-PmHr9H0jGw&_hsmi=348204418&utm_source=newsletter
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/152904/culebras-coral-reefs
https://www.hinghamanchor.com/another-reason-to-vote-yes-on-the-specialized-code-make-hingham-a-climate-leader/