In The New American Dream: Building a Renewable Energy Economy from George Magazine’s 29th issue, Michele Marin shows how the fight against climate change is doing more than cutting emissions—it’s changing what life looks like in towns built on coal and left behind. It’s not just about saving the planet; it’s about giving forgotten communities a second shot. Climate change might feel like this massive, untouchable thing, but the way we respond to it is either going to rebuild this country or leave it behind—because the world is on fire, and there’s no hitting pause.
While NASA claims that 97% of scientists agree that humans are causing catastrophic global warming, the U.S. Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee released a report saying this: “There is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth.” In other words, 31,478 American scientists are saying that climate change is fake.
When the topic was originally brought up in George’s June 2000 issue, Peter Keating followed Hilda Solis on her mission to turn minority-dominant areas in California, specifically San Gabriel Valley, from toxic dumping grounds and landfills to safe and clean neighborhoods suitable for families and the people living in them. When she started the passage of the bill in 1997, she was rejected by Republican Governor Pete Wilson because he didn’t want the California Environmental Quality Act to be “used as a tool for a social movement”… whatever that means. Solis’ new bill was later signed into law by Democratic Governor Gary Davis in 1999.
Solis recalled her first helicopter ride over the San Gabriel Valley, saying it looked like a “war zone.” However, this isn’t the only landfill affecting residential areas in the U.S. Welcome to America!— We have the biggest food portions, unhealthiest citizens, and landfills you can see from outer space (literally)! The Puente Hills Landfill, Frank R. Bowerman Landfill, Columbia Ridge Landfill, and the infamous Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, New York, are the largest dumping grounds on not just the continent, but the entire world.
The Fresh Kills Landfill is famous for being seen from outer space. It’s what put the borough in the spotlight over the last several years. Friends I’ve made from other areas of the country have often said things like, “Wow—I’ve never met anyone from Staten Island before…” or “Have you ever seen the Pete Davidson movie?—Is it really like that over there?” Davidson has expressed his appreciation for his hometown with remarks like, “We’re the only place New Jersey looks down on. You can see the garbage from space—this place is never going to change.”
While this may come across as unnecessary commentary, he is absolutely right. The landfill that is seen from space has been responsible for the health decline and death of multiple natives in the area. So much so that there was a nearly 30-year-long legal battle where plaintiffs sued the landfill and were granted $34 million in settlements. One-third of the plaintiffs didn’t live to see their settlements.
“I had to get half my thyroid removed,” says a Reddit user. “I’m sure it has something to do with playing baseball at Great Kills Park and hanging out there in the 90s.” Another Reddit user said, “My grandma lived right off Giffords for over 40 years—she had some serious health problems that eventually led to cancer—I wouldn’t be surprised if that (the Fresh Kills Landfill) was a factor.”
The Fresh Kills Landfill officially closed in 2001 and was approved by the City of New York for the Fresh Kills Park Plan in 2006, leading to the land restoration and revival of the (previous) landfill. While parts of the park have been opening by small sections at a time to ensure the public’s health and safety, the entirety of the 2,200-acre site is predicted to open by 2036.
While the Fresh Kills park has slowly restored itself over the last 20 years, the modern approach to landfills has converted to methods like landfill gas capture for energy production and other land restoration projects.
These restorations don’t happen overnight, though; it takes decades to make any sort of progress.
I remember as a child driving past the dump with my parents and hearing the news that the city would be turning it into a park. I asked my dad, “Will you take me to the park when they open?” He giggled and said, “That dump is so bad the park won’t be ready until you have children.” If that’s the effect a dump has had on land for only the last 77 years, imagine how toxic the earth would become if we had continued to use dumping grounds as long as humanity survives.
Aside from the obvious factor that landfills occupy space, stink, and lower the quality of life for those around them, scientists believe that the earth goes through cyclical warming and cooling trends. The last mini ice age (1400-1800) was naturally occurring.
Climate change has always happened—Earth moves through natural cycles of heating and cooling, shaped by things like volcanic eruptions, solar shifts, and orbital patterns. But somewhere along the way, that reality got politicized. Instead of acknowledging that the planet’s climate has never been static, we’re told every rise in temperature is entirely our fault. The real issue isn’t that the Earth is changing—it always has—it’s that we’ve stopped asking deeper questions. Why are natural cycles being ignored? And who benefits from pretending this time is different?
The Earth naturally goes through heating and cooling cycles—that’s nothing new. But what is new is the damage we’ve done with our waste. We literally turned a piece of land toxic. Think about that: we polluted the ground so badly that nothing can live there anymore. That’s not nature—that’s us.
So maybe the real question isn’t whether climate change is real—it’s always been real. The climate shifts, the Earth adjusts, and it’s done so for millions of years without us. What’s different now is us. Our waste, our pace, our refusal to take responsibility for what we’ve created and what we’ve ignored. Maybe it’s not about fixing the Earth but fixing the way we live on it. Because if we don’t, the planet will move on—with or without us.
Fact Boxes:
Leachate, a toxic liquid formed in landfills, can seep into soil and groundwater if not properly managed.
Landfill gas (LFG) can be captured and used to generate electricity, helping turn waste into energy.
Even “biodegradable” items like paper can take decades to break down in landfills due to lack of oxygen.
