by: Tanvi Ambekar, Advika Anand, Quinn Hathaway, and Jane Wilde

Opinion Editor, Graphics Editor, Media Editor, and Humor Editor

Every day, Los Gatos High School students must negotiate several traffic issues both arriving and leaving the school premises. This inconvenience is tied to a broader issue: while many students are stuck in their car and growing frustrated by the lack of movement, they are unknowingly contributing to a global climate issue. A possible solution to this predicament is the usage of both public and alternative transportation to deviate from the reliance on individual means of arrival. Due to environmental harms, students should utilize alternate forms of transportation, including public buses, walking, biking, and carpooling, to help alleviate their morning struggles and take immediate action to counteract climate change.

Environmental factors emphasize the necessity of public transportation, with rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions detrimentally affecting the planet. Humans burning organic or fossilized carbon compounds within an oxygenic atmosphere releases CO2, and photosynthetic processes work to lower the levels of the emissions. But there continues to be excess gas, and that extra amount creates a phenomenon known as the “greenhouse effect,” resulting in increased ocean levels, higher surface temperature, and ocean acidification. Driving a gas-powered car is a major contributor to the abundance of emissions. The average passenger vehicle emits about 400 grams of CO2 per mile. Currently, transportation creates more than a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study by the International Energy Agency. Over the span of a year, an individual passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of CO2.  Yet idling a car also adds to the negative impact. California enforces laws mitigating diesel vehicles’ ability to idle, but the legislature does not illegalize idling in the average petrol-powered car. Many LGHS students sit for over thirty minutes during their commute to and from school with the engine running. Senior Alice McKee shares, “It takes me an hour to get home from the lot, and I only live about seven minutes away.” This excess time spent finding parking and waiting to exit burns exorbitant amounts of CO2, significantly advancing the greenhouse effect. The facts are simple: a car can carry several people, a bus can carry dozens of passengers, and a train can carry hundreds. Utilizing public transportation works to mitigate the full extent of CO2 emissions by decreasing an individual’s carbon footprint.

Many alternatives, such as carpooling and sustainable mobility options, offer significant benefits to the environment and the student population as a whole. Carpooling and active transportation also lessen the financial burden on families through the reduction of fuel costs, senior lot parking expenses, and upkeep of vehicles. Furthermore, active travel supports mental and physical health, stimulating both the brain and the body. A study from the Universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus found a positive correlation between walking and cycling to school and the ability to concentrate. Junior Pranav Sethuramen explains why he chooses to bike to and from school daily: “The fresh air in the morning, and biking before school de-stresses me, as I get a break from the thought of schoolwork, classes, and tests.” These breaks from academics allow for increased attention when in class, as Professor John J. Ratey of Harvard Medical School confirms: “Memory retention [is all] about brain cells…changing, growing, and working better together…Exercise creates the best environment for that process to occur.” In terms of fitness, Walk Bike to School notes on its website that physical transport to and from school enables teenagers to incorporate regular physical activity while building strong bones and muscles, overall decreasing their risk of obesity. Ultimately, teenagers who arrive at school using active travel receive mental benefits through improved concentration and connections with peers, physical benefits through an overall increase in fitness, and financial advantages by saving money.

Finally, multiple public transportation methods are available to high school students within the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District. One of the most popular routes in the city is under the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), a major public transportation network that manages multiple systems across the Bay Area. Their Route 27, a nearly eight-mile-long route, connects Winchester Station to Santa Teresa Station. It halts at the LGHS bus stop six times before school begins, starting at 6:00 AM and running every 30 minutes. Buses departing from Santa Teresa Station pause at nine stops before arriving at LGHS, with Campbell and Monte Sereno’s stops including those on North Santa Cruz, Winchester, and more. Although bus stops do not exist at every intersection, taking the extra ten minutes to walk or bike to the closest stop can save students up to an hour of traffic. Loma Prieta Joint Union School District, a district located in the Santa Cruz Mountains near LGHS, also supports a daily school bus system for students who do not have access to the VTA system. This bus stops 12 times every morning, starting at 7:00 AM and reaching LGHS at 7:45 AM, offering affordable and convenient transportation for students who live farther away.

Both public and active transportation offer viable and vital alternatives that more members of the LGHS community should utilize to combat morning traffic as well as climate change. If all Wildcats are more considerate of their environmental footprint, it will result in less traffic congestion and significantly decreased CO2 emissions.

(Sources: California Air Resources Board, Loma Prieta Union School District, MIT Climate Portal, NOAA, TheWalkingClassroom, US Department of Energy, USEPA, VTA, Walk Bike to School)