Max

Max standing in front the harbor that represents his summers fishing, and the Sea Walk that represents how he says Sitka's economy is turning toward tourism.

They put in this huge harbor walk for tourists that's kind of showing the shift as Sitka moves from more of a fishing and lumber focused town to a tourist focused town. Just downtown and along the water here there have been a lot of infrastructure changes that make it look really nice.

What do you think about those changes?

I think it's good -- I think tourism is a good thing to put money into because obviously lumber is outdated and moved out of town, and with fishing the oceans have become more unpredictable. So I think it's a good place for the town to put money in and it makes the town look really nice...

Have you seen any climate changes here?

I already mentioned the fish -- that's kind of why I came out here for climate change is... since I've been fishing here my whole life, you can see certain populations like Kings and Silvers have gone down over the years while Sockeye have gone up because of the plankton and the ocean... there's a lot of variables. The winters have been more mild too.

How do you feel about those changes?

I feel like we definitely need to keep conscious of it because I want to be able to come back here when I'm 70 and go fishing and still catch fish in my spots.

Like Long Island for example, we used to be able to go out there and catch Kings all day, but now you go out there and troll for hours and don't catch anything -- you have to go out further sometimes. So I want to be able to come back here and have it still be beautiful and nice. I feel like the changes that they've made downtown have been for its benefit for the most part; they haven't encroached too much as far as development down here.

Do you remember learning about climate change at Sitka High?

I took a marine biology class, so I learned a lot about it there. It always came up when you took science, if you did a research project on animals or stuff. So [I] always kind of picked it up that way, and Mrs. Golden did a whole unit on ocean acidification [in marine bio]. So I learned a lot of it, but I also sought it out because I was more science oriented... I don't know if someone who was just taking history or stuff would get a lot of it, like I don't know if gen ed got a ton of climate change. You also saw it with the students; the students brought it into class... I remember, what was that... Junior year? When we went out into the [school] parking lot and did the climate speeches [to protest climate change]. So it was definitely discussed because you can see it in town and everyone relies on the ocean and the natural beauty in town.

It's more discussed between the kids. I don't know if I remember teachers bringing it up in class very much; you kind of just had to find it on your own, which you did a lot just because of the circumstances around here.

Do you remember anyone talking about how climate change will cause changes in the economy or in society?

The fishermen always complain about prices and how much fish they're catching... They don't always attribute it to climate change... That's one thing that I think a lot of people ignore -- that overfishing and climate change are the factors, not countries overseas... Some of the older families are talking about... how the temperature is increasing. I mean I honestly think it might make Sitka a more appealing tourist destination someday because we're gonna have a Hawaiian temperature and everywhere else is going to be so hot that it's gonna be a getaway place. I honestly want to own property here someday because I think it's just gonna increase in value. But by and large, [climate change is] not a good thing.

Do you feel anxious about your future because of climate change?

I definitely -- just the world as a whole I think about just how it affects the global economy because as climate change continues it's gonna make the weather worse and people are gonna get their stuff destroyed and there will be less resources to go around. And that's kind of why I decided to go into electrical engineering because I want to work on finding ways to be innovative and use less power.

I would even be open to working on electric cars and trying to find alternatives to faze [in] because I really do think that fossil fuels is not gonna last a whole lot longer. I'm concerned about the world being able to shift because some people really do a good job shifting, and some people really like what they've been doing because that's what they've been doing and it's hard to even imagine shifting to a whole different philosophy. But yeah obviously just concerned... I know there's going to be more poverty and more disasters as a result.

Yeah it's definitely... again for me I've kind of looked at climate change and as much as I hate to say it, I've placed my bets on people staying the way it's been, and I've gone and set up my life so that I benefit from these new innovations.

And like I said about owning land in Sitka I'm predicting that it's gonna be hard to change. Like I want to try to help change, but I also meet a lot of people and I like to look at their personalities and see, and you can tell with some people that it's gonna take a lot. It's always interesting. You don't really believe how hard it can be to change someone's mind until you meet somebody that just has a dead set belief about it...

Is there anything you wish you would've learned in high school about climate change?

Little ways to do what you can. Just more. Like I said I sought it out because I was interested in science, but I think generally learning about ocean acidification and little things -- I did a research project about that in college this year.

There's a lot of little things people don't realize are happening as a result [of climate change], and people just showing you the evidence that it is something that we can change and there are things going on that we can actively change with our decisions. Like I would love to know that as soon as possible and maybe even take that home and try to change little things because if everyone changes a little bit it helps a lot. Yeah that would be my biggest thing. And just awareness is the biggest thing for a lot of people.

Is there anything else you want to add about what you think about climate change?

I think about the future a lot. I have a general plan, but I've based it a lot on on life will be in 30 years. It is something that comes to mind like if I want to have a family...

It's just hard for me to imagine people changing... The biggest thing is if the money is gonna be there. The only way I've seen people change quickly -- it's hard to change people through pathos and emotion. Logic doesn't really work. But if money is in the green stuff, like green and environmental things, then that's where it's gonna go, but as long as the money is in gas and oil then people are going to keep going to gas and oil. So maybe I'll invent something or help design something that makes it more cost efficient to go to cleaner alternatives because that will bring the money to invest in the environment. That's the only way I think anything is going to change...

Max wants:

Climate change to be taught to everyone and for students to be aware of its effects

Science Fairs (Idea #1) would give all students the opportunity to learn about climate change and teach their peers about it, if it was done as a part of a class (or classes throughout middle and high school) and had a specific climate change focus.

Scientist in the Schools and GLOBE (Programs #2, 4) teach all students about climate change in their core science classes. They also both use local data to show students the effects of climate change around them.

TROP ICSU, Podcasts, Climate Lit, and Weather Stations (Resources #1-4) are all resources to help teachers incorporate climate change into their classes in many different subject areas. Climate change is such a broad and important issue that affects so many topics that it needs to be taught in many different contexts, many times.

Climate change solutions and little ways to make a difference

Hydroponics and Sustainable Food (Idea #3) would teach students about how changing the way we grow food can help mitigate the effects of climate change. It could also give students the skills to start growing their own food and help decrease the carbon emissions from shipping food, which greatly contributes to climate change.

Science Fairs (Idea #1) would provide students the opportunity to do a deep dive into a climate change solution that's important to them, while also learning about other students' chosen solutions.

Hydroponics and Sustainable Food (Idea #4) would show students ways to reduce carbon emissions by localizing food systems.

STEAM classes (Program #1) at Blatchley include learning about how to mitigate the effects of climate change through cultivating yellow cedar seedlings.

The Aquaculture Semester (Program #6) teaches participating students skills to mitigate climate change through things like mariculture (kelp farming), which can be a carbon sink and replace other protein sources that are more harmful to the climate.