After learning about the dangers of carbon emissions and the easy accessibility of solar panels, junior Kendall Place sought out to inform her community and her government around her about the various ways that solar panels can help the climate crisis.

“Texas has the highest amount of CO2 emissions in the country, and about 40% of that is from electric,” Place said. The fossil fuels needed to power a house or building adds extra CO2 to the air. The unnaturally large amount of CO2 causes the warming of the atmosphere at an unnatural rate which has led to melting glaciers in the poles.”

In the infographic she created, Place heavily focuses on global warming and the melting of glaciers.

“The glaciers melting decreases the salinity of the water,” Place said. “Salt content is what allows the movement of water, called convection currents, to occur. Convection currents are what regulate the temperature and weather around the globe. Without them, we would

see dangerous extremities in both.”

Place, who has chosen this topic for her FCCLA project, hopes that by spreading this message, her government will have more incentive to enact change and begin transitioning to renewable energy.

“Solar panels are an amazing way to reduce our CO2 emission, but they are simply unaffordable for the average household,” Place said. “Solar panel prices are slowly decreasing as the industry develops, but right now we need the government’s help to start the shift to renewable energy.”

The project she is creating for her FCCLA class will center mostly around global warming and how solar panels can cause changes to our environment. Through this project, Place urges her friends, family, and community to take action.

“Global warming is occurring at an unadaptable rate,” Place said. “Scientists are calling it the 6th mass extinction. We need to act quickly in order to avoid the destruction of the planet.”