For a Native New Yorker Living in LA, Recent Wildfires Are a Wakeup Call

On June 6, New York City’s air quality index was measured at 200 (considered a “very unhealthy” level of pollution) due to wildfire smoke that had spread east from central Canada. As a native New Yorker now living in Los Angeles, I anticipated such an event was more likely to occur in my new state rather than where I grew up. This week, the true horrors of climate change are really hitting home for me.

What my family and friends are currently experiencing back east is nothing new to Californians. I have personally spoken with several Californians who, due to increasingly bad fire seasons, already had a stockpile of N-95 masks before the pandemic even started. What is a constant fear here became a reality in my home state, as wide-spread masking in New York City has made a comeback due to the dangerous conditions.

The number of fires across Canada, along with their emergence early in the season, mark a significant increase from prior years. The scorched area is already 10 times larger than what is typical this time of year, and the risk of fire is expected to remain unusually high throughout the summer. It’s as if these fires are nature’s way of sounding the alarm and alerting us to the devastation that will continue if we don’t take steps to mitigate our environmental footprint.

Of course, some say that climate change isn’t cause for alarm because climates change regularly. While that is true, it’s the long-term trend that distinguishes climate change from natural weather variability and crosses the line into chaos and uncertainty. What else could explain why California just saw one of its rainiest winters in years while New York barely got a drop of snow?

In recent years, the term “climate change” has more accurately turned into “climate crisis” because, quite frankly, the planet is at the end of its rope and has very little slack left to give. From our extraction of natural resources to copious carbon emissions to failed conservation policies, our actions have consequences.

But not all hope is lost. There are organizational and multinational efforts to take action. Currently, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is attempting to urge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finalize the most ambitious carbon limits possible. Meanwhile, California and Mexico are working to address sewage and other toxic waste that are polluting waterways. Along with the Canadian-American joint effort to fight the recent wildfires, this demonstrates that the endeavors to protect our environment must reach across borders.

Unfortunately, elected officials seem more interested in maintaining power and helping their funders profit than they are in addressing the crisis at hand. They protect the status quo instead of finding innovative ways to transition to clean energy sources. They claim that their constituents will lose jobs without these power plants but fail to acknowledge that they have the power to create new jobs in clean energy fields. We need to call them out and push them to act not just to protect some abstract future, but also to protect us right now.

I’m calling on my cohort of like-minded, climate conscious individuals—Jews and non-Jews alike—to be that positive difference.

I’m calling on my cohort of like-minded, climate conscious individuals—Jews and non-Jews alike—to be that positive difference. We must work to protect our air and water quality at the local, state and national levels. This means urging the EPA to pass stricter measures when it comes to emissions limits, and supporting legislation in California like Senate Bill 252, which calls for statewide divestment from fossil fuels.

Let’s pressure our leaders to work for us, not against us. Who’s with me?

Hannah Pomerantz is a Jewish Center for Justice Summer Fellow and rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.