“February showers bring March flowers,” doesn’t sound right at all. It’s nearly sixty degrees out in February, in Michigan of all places. The ground should be covered in white fluffy snow which should only slightly start to melt. This is the slow yet eminent effect of global climate change, which is something that SACC (Students Against CLimate Change) were interested in helping other students learn more about when they hosted an event with the Sunrise Movement on Friday, March 2.

Three full-time volunteers for the Sunrise Movement, Cody, Nicholas, and Carolyn, who are on a speaking tour of schools all over Michigan and Minnesota, came to PNHS to talk to students about climate change and what they can do to help reduce the effects. There are countless problems regarding climate change all over the world, and most people don’t understand what extent this problem goes to because of their limited exposure to the disastrous effects of climate change. Communities are having their cities and homes destroyed by the rising sea levels, not to mention all the wildlife and animals that are being affected by other changes.

“Our main goal is to stop climate change and make it a priority in the 2018 elections in America and create millions of jobs in the process,” says Nicholas Janson, a representative from Rives Junction, Michigan, in explaining what Sunrise is doing to help climate change.

In their presentation, they explained how there are many ways that students at Portage Northern can get involved with saving the planet. There is a leadership call that is open to all coming up on the 13th of March at 8:00 pm. In the call, participants will talk about ways to take leadership and share their ideas. Another option is to join Sunrise Semester, a program designed for high school seniors. In this program the potential candidate would take 6 months, from June to the November election, out of their life to be a full-time volunteer with the Sunrise movement. Visit the sunrise website to register for the leadership call Sunrise Semester. There is no deadline for the call but you must register by April 13, 2018 at the latest for the round 4 of applications for Sunrise Semester.

Even the smallest contribution can make the biggest change, so try to spread the word, participate, or donate so that progress can be made towards a healthier planet.