College students put the environment at the top of their ballot

Climate change has become a common topic on our television screens. Whether it’s a turbulent hurricane in the south, the melting of the ice caps or even the persistent winds right here in Orange, it’s beginning to be a major issue sweeping the nation.

According to a 2019 poll from CBS News, 91 percent of Americans believe in climate change and 64 percent think it should be a top priority for the president and Congress.

Dr. David Shafie, an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, said most people tend to focus their votes for president on other issues, like equal rights, gun violence and healthcare. Now voters have been changing their essential need for change to be the environment, Shafie said.

“The problem is the environment is rarely the single most important issue for people when they vote,” Shafie said. “That could change this year.”

With the next presidential election coming up, some people are leaning toward the idea of being a ‘single-issue voter,’ meaning their voting decision is entirely based on the candidate’s stance on the environment and nothing else.

After Greta Thunberg, a 17-year-old activist from Sweden, was named TIME Magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year, young people specifically felt a certain urge to step up for the environment. In May 2019, over 1.5 million young people from more than 125 countries decided to walk out of schools to show the need for immediate action to care for the Earth.

This drive for restoring the environment is particularly pertinent to young people ranging from middle school to college. Climate activists or “Generation Greta,” and are trying to make a change in the world. According to the World Benchmarking Alliance, in 2018 around one-third of today’s youth believe a “sustainable society” would make the world a better place.

Lauren Lynam, a sophomore with a double major in environmental science and policy and economics, said all other issues may not matter in the end if we cannot protect the earth. The effect of greenhouse gasses amplifying the sun’s rays at an ever-increasing rate needs to be addressed, Lynam said.

“Climate change affects every single person on the planet – no matter if you are rich or poor,” Lynam said. “It should take precedence over other issues that only affect a certain population.”

Daisy Torres, a senior environmental science and policy major, shares the same concern.

Torres is also the vice president of Net Zero Chapman, an on-campus club that promotes students to get involved in climate activism in the City of Orange as well as urging Chapman to move to a more sustainable system instead of fossil fuel use.

Although Torres emphasizes that voters should pick a candidate that they agree with on multiple issues, she said that candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have the most effective and comprehensive climate policies while also addressing things like equal rights and healthcare.

“We need someone to take the immediate action that is required at this point,” Torres said.

Technology and innovation may be something our country values strongly, but a love for the environment seems to have been put behind the back burner. Whether it’s through single-issue voters or through participating in a beach cleanup, college students have re-illuminated that love for the environment in hopes for a better future.

“We’ve lost our connection with nature,” Torres said. “But if everyone could respect nature and see the benefits that will come and how many things we get from nature that we don’t even realize–it could be a much better place.”