In Melissa Spigutz’s Environmental Science classes, students are currently learning about climate change.

Spigutz is showing her class a narrative documentary called “Before the Flood” featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and his journey to discuss the effects of climate change. Spigutz said, “Visuals are really powerful and I think talking about climate change in class is good but when you’re actually seeing it, it brings another layer of understanding.”

Senior Katelyn Kinczel is in Spigutz’s third period class and has been greatly influenced by the documentary. Kinczel said, “Learning about climate change has really showed me the impact that humans have on the planet. It also makes me scared for the future if we don’t start changing our lifestyles very soon.”

Spigutz doesn’t just want her students to learn information on climate change. She wants them to use it. She said, “I want them to get data and facts to arm themselves with because today there is so much talk and no facts to support it and I’m hoping that they could take what they’ve heard and seen.”

Kinczel believes that learning about topics like climate change is important to take away. She said, “I mainly want to learn how I can change certain things in my life so that I have a positive effect on the environment. Some things I do in my life right now might not be having the best effect on the environment so by learning about climate change I can turn those negatives into positives.”

Spigutz believes that acknowledging climate change is important. She said, “Climate change has implications on the entire world and we keep forgetting that we rely upon the entire world to survive, and we should care about people being negatively affected on the other side of the planet also and other species, try to be ecocentric.”

Kinczel found shocking information about climate change while watching “Before the Flood” in class, including that “in Greenland, 30 feet of ice has melted in only a total of five years.”

The film focuses on many different topic realms of climate change from the effects human impact has such as the combustion of fossil fuels, the deforestation of forests and oil drilling, to the results that occur due to climate change such as sea levels rising and loss of crops and land.

“Before the Flood” is available on Netflix and if students are interested in learning more about climate change, they can take Environmental Science in the future or join the school’s Environmental Club.