Dear Sundial readers,

This final issue of the Sundial’s magazine for the fall semester has stories connected to sustainability and the environment. As we come to the end of the semester and year, we can reflect on what has been accomplished, as well as the setbacks this year. During this time, most of us are thinking about what we want to change in the new year. We should take a moment to review what damage has been done to our environment and the urgency we should start advocating for in the new year.

Currently, fossil fuel emissions are increasing and contributing to global warming, plastic pollution is consuming our oceans, habitats are dying, deforestation is climbing, sea levels are rising still, fast fashion is growing more popular and laws are being passed allowing businesses to pollute our air.

To me, it is important to be aware that the Earth is facing irreversible damage and it is time to take action. Small or big, we should be advocating for our only home. We should be fighting for more laws to protect our environment and encourage more sustainable measures to be applied. We should be advocating and supporting the parts of the world that need our help. We should be educating ourselves and others on how climate change and environmental damage is a very real thing and we need to take action against it.

The following stories address how our campus has been pushing for more sustainable measures and trailblazing cleaner energy in classrooms, how Los Angeles is one of the highest-ranked cities in releasing pollution, and how we can make change happen on or near campus.

Climate anxiety is a real thing and I hope reading how effective our campus has been in going green will spark a passion in you to make change. I hope these stories bring to light many issues we are or could be working on.