The day was January 8th, exactly 24 hours after wildfires began to ravage Los Angeles, when AP Environmental Science teacher Cynthia Kube addressed her students about the situation in southern California. Kube’s tone, somewhat somber and heartbroken, was different from what her students are accustomed to. Well, that’s because Kube’s connection to the fires is personal.
Kube’s daughter, Kirsten Kube, is a student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego working to get her master’s degree in Climate Science and Policy. A graduate of George Washington University Law School, K. Kube practiced commercial law in Colorado before relocating to California to pursue her true passion of environmental law and conservation policy.
“I always wanted to do something in the environmental sphere, like my mom,” said K. Kube. “So, I decided to go back to school to get my masters. To be a student and be looking at this crisis while also studying climate change is a little surreal.”
Living in La Jolla, K. Kube is not directly affected by the wildfires, but she explained that there is certainly a lingering feeling of guilt. She sees the smoke when walking on the beach and knows people who have lost their homes, which triggers a sense of sadness.
“It is a surreal feeling to walk my dogs and see the evidence of what is happening in southern California,” said K. Kube. “I feel guilty for what is happening just a couple of hours north of me. I have friends in the neighborhood who were renting an AirBnb who lost their home in the Pacific Palisades fire. Talking to them was heartbreaking.”
While there is little that Salem students can do other than donating to aid wildfire recovery efforts, C. Kube began to work with her daughter to transform the situation into something that APES students could analyze. On January 15th, C. Kube presented her students with the idea of a fishbowl.
A fishbowl discussion, according to the University of Illinois Springfield, is centered around “a given topic.” Half of the students actively participate in the discussion, while the other half silently takes notes. Then, the roles are reserved.
For C. Kube’s fishbowl, the given topic was to “Identify and discuss the environmental, social, political, and economic consequences of catastrophic wildfires.” Students were required to read prerequisite material prior to the discussion, as well as conduct additional research on their own time.
“If I was a student participating in the fishbowl, I would have brought an article on the topic of water shortages, specifically the contamination of water,” said C. Kube, explaining that students were required to classify their findings.
“My favorite part of the fishbowl was getting to hear other people’s opinions about the Los Angeles wildfires,” said junior Alexis Middler. “I enjoyed sharing my own insights and being able to discuss the problems going on in Los Angeles right now.”
The majority of the discussion, however, was centered around economic consequences, as the insurance industry is seeing a record amount of claims in such a small time frame.
“I think we’re on the edge of a major financial crisis for the insurance industry,” said Northeastern professor Daniel Aldirch in an interview with Northeastern Global News. “Out of the 12 major insurers in the state, at least five have pulled out completely or stopped writing new policies across the state.”
“The economic consequences of the wildfires are terrible,” said Middler. “Insurance is being raised, and people are losing their money, homes, and assets. It is not fair to people affected by the wildfires. It is not their fault that their houses got burnt down.”
While the majority of the southern California wildfires have been contained and recovery efforts are now underway, C. Kube still urges her students to stay informed, explaining that “being part of the cause means being part of the solution.” To learn more about how to assist wildfire disaster relief, visit California Fire Foundation and 211LA.
