Art for the Climate - 2023 Winners
2023 THEME: Environmental Impact Report - Airport Expansion
Emi M.
2nd grade - Art Piece
What About the Polar Bears
Madison H.
4th grade- Essay
If you burn gasoline, you get pollution. Airplanes burn a lot of gasoline so they make a lot of pollution. If you make the airport bigger, there will be more planes. If there are more planes, there will be more pollution. The pollution could cause wildfires,which cause smoke and ash in the sky. This makes people with asthma go to the hospital. The pollution makes the climate hot and sometimes the heat kills people. Please don’t make the airport bigger. It will cause more pollution, and more heat in the atmosphere.
Katie J.
4th grade - Art Piece
Effects of Climjate change on Islands: If you make a bigger airport, lemurs in Madagascar will go extinct, because it will not be a healthy rainforest in Madagascar, it will be too dry. Heating up the glob will make icebergs melt and the sea level rise. That would increase floods and islands disappearing under too much water.
Erika N.
5th grade - Speech
Did you know that if we want to keep climate change at a safe level everyone on the earth would have to release only 1.6 metric tons of carbon waste each year? Did you also know that in the SF Bay Area a whole 10% of air pollution is caused by air travel? We know that you are planning to expand Oakland Airport, by adding 16 gates. This will cause a big impact and here’s why. Greenhouse gasses are gasses that form an invisible blanket around the earth. The blanket lets heat come in but not out. Greenhouse gasses are a big problem. For example, the world is 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it usually is. And scientists predict that by 2050 it will be too hot to live in California IF we don’t stop releasing greenhouse gasses. All planes release the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The longer the trip, the more CO2. As I told you before there needs to be a budget of 1.6 metric tons of carbon waste for each person every year. This is hard because 1 one-way flight from here to Boston already releases 1.6 metric tons of carbon. I’m fully aware that this plan to expand the Oakland airport could increase the amount of money earned, and more money means nicer things. But think of this: if we increase the amount we fly, California will have more wildfires. Some places in California will be too hot to live in. San Joaquin Valley and Tulare Lake Basin have already flooded from the bad California storms. If agricultural land gets flooded, there won’t be enough food, and that will cause food shortages. As icebergs melt, the sea level will rise and the cities near the coast will all flood. So, what's the purpose of nicer things if you can’t live in California? As you can see, adding 16 gates to the Oakland Airport would be really bad. It doesn’t help the world, it does the opposite. So, just don’t do it, it will help the world.
Elijah H.
7th grade - Art Piece
An Ashen Nightmare
Jaronte C.
7th grade - Oakland Airport Rap
Verse 1: Listen up, let me tell you 'bout Oakland airport A big expansion plan, but it's not a good resort It'll harm people, animals, and the climate too A disaster waiting to happen, let me give you a clue Chorus: Expanding the Oakland airport is a wrong move It's gonna hurt the planet, that much is true From the noise pollution to the trees they'll cut This decision will cause a lot of pain, no ifs or buts Verse 2: Let's start with the people, they'll suffer the most The noise from the planes, louder than a ghost It'll disturb their lives, disrupt their sleep And for what? More profits for the airport to reap? Chorus: Expanding the Oakland airport is a wrong move It's gonna hurt the planet, that much is true From the noise pollution to the trees they'll cut This decision will cause a lot of pain, no ifs or buts Verse 3: Let's talk about the animals, they'll be in despair The planes will fly over them, without a care Their homes will be destroyed, nowhere to go A tragedy that will hurt the planet, don't you know? Chorus: Expanding the Oakland airport is a wrong move It's gonna hurt the planet, that much is true From the noise pollution to the trees they'll cut This decision will cause a lot of pain, no ifs or buts Verse 4: And let's not forget the climate, it's in trouble too The planes will emit more carbon, what can we do? Global warming is real, we can't deny it Expanding the airport is like throwing fuel in a fire pit Chorus: Expanding the Oakland airport is a wrong move It's gonna hurt the planet, that much is true From the noise pollution to the trees they'll cut This decision will cause a lot of pain, no ifs or buts Outro: So, let's unite and say no to this plan Protect the planet, and all living things under the sun Let's find better solutions, that don't harm the environment Say no to expanding the Oakland airport, let's make a better investment.
Sierra M.
7th grade- Speech
The Oakland airport plans to add 17 new gates which will expand the airport by 50%. This will result in more planes coming and going from the airport, which will create more pollution. This pollution will heat up the planet by trapping the heat in the atmosphere and acting like a greenhouse. Airplanes emit more pounds of CO2 per passenger per mile than any other mode of transport. If 1 person flies from Oakland to New York, it overloads the atmosphere with another 1.5 metric ton of C02. The emissions will cause warming that melts 48.5 square feet or 4.5 square meters of Arctic sea ice. If 1,000 people fly roundtrip from Oakland to New York, 1,500 metric tons of CO2 will pollute the air and 4,500 square meters of Arctic sea ice will melt. When the sea ice melts, the ice disconnects from other blocks of ice which no longer connects to shore. It means that this separates the polar bears from their hunting grounds so they often wind up hungry. When the ice on the poles melts, it causes more water in the ocean which also makes the sea level rise which then floods towns and cities on the coast. When the planet heats up from the increased emissions it causes wildfires, and tornadoes and shortages of drinking water. Droughts kill off plants and crops which means people cannot eat and they die. In conclusion, if you expand the airport it will cause a wide variety of damage to our planet. To create a more stable environment for our generation and generations to come, stop the expansion, so the world and environment might thrive more abundantly.
Noah L.
7th grade- Essay
We should STOP the Oakland airport expansion because it will hurt the environment and people. One round trip flight from the Oakland airport to the Honolulu airport releases enough CO2 to melt 14.2 meters of Arctic ice. Then the sea level rises and that will cause floods in coastal regions and threaten cities like Alameda. In 77 years in Alameda there will be 1 yard rise in sea level, according to the city’s Climate and Resiliency Plan. This will mean that more than half of Bay Farm Island will be covered in water. Some people will lose their home and maybe their job. Alameda and Oakland are connected by the Posey Tube which will be flooded and cut off the entrance to Oakland. If we don’t want flooding and sea level rise we should stop the Oakland airport expansion.
Neel B.
10th grade- Graphic Design
Shaafiyah F.
11th grade - Speech
Do you ever wonder why we are facing strong winds and unprecedented multiple storms in April in California? People worldwide know that we face storms, heavy flooding, droughts, and wildfires in several parts of the world because of climate change. Now, you may ask, what can you do to reduce the effects of Climate change? The answer to that is simple, stop burning fossil fuels. “Flying harms the climate more than any other form of travel per passenger mile.” This project of constructing 17 new gates to expand the Oakland Airport harms the climate. The more gates there are, the more flights people take, and the more pollution and global warming. In a round-trip flight from Oakland to New York City, we produce 1.5 metric tons of CO2 per passenger. Isn’t that a lot for just a single passenger? Now, imagine how many people travel to New York City on a Boeing 737, which has approx. 143 seats. Now multiply 143 passengers by 1.5 metric tons of CO2. The number is 215 metric tons of CO2 per round-trip flight. And then we are talking about adding 17 more gates at the Oakland Airport. Think about it; we are producing 1.5 metric tons of CO2 without the additional 17 gates; what would happen if we added the 17 gates? This is a severe climate emergency, and we need to take action. Every person, including you, can start taking small steps to stop global warming. Our goal is to limit global warming to 1.5C by 2030, which can only be done by drastically cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
