A troubling new study found that natural disasters resulting from our warming planet impact college students long after the weather event occurs, even if they're not directly affected.
What happened?
Research by finance professors at the University of Texas at Dallas and Pennsylvania State University found that students whose families are impacted by extreme weather earn lower grades than their peers, have a greater risk of withdrawing from school, and are more likely to default on their loans post-graduation, as NPR reported.
Moreover, researchers found that even if students lived halfway across the country from where a disaster struck that affected their families — for example, if a flood destroyed their parents' home — they still struggled to keep up with classes.
Han Xia, a UT Dallas associate finance professor and one of the study's authors, told NPR that underperforming in school and stressing over paying off student loans can have lasting impacts on students.
"[It] can have a spillover effect on pretty much every aspect of the person's life going forward, including their potential income, their employment opportunities, their opportunities for job advancement, and eventually their finances," he said.
Why is this concerning?
College is increasingly out of reach for many people because of rising tuition costs.
As extreme weather events become more common and severe because of human-induced warming, it will only make it more difficult for young people to afford school if their finances are going toward helping their families recover from natural disasters, as is the case for many college-aged adults.
Extreme weather may also prevent or discourage students from enrolling in college, according to a separate study cited by NPR. The research centered around students in the Houston area who were impacted by flooding from Hurricane Harvey. It found that young people who lived in blue-collar neighborhoods were most likely to pass on college following the storm.
"That really indicates to me that these are first-generation prospective students who are most affected, in terms of whether or not they decide to go on to college," Emily Gallagher, an assistant finance professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, and an author of the study, told NPR.
Even if students want to keep attending college after a disaster hits, tuition support or other forms of financial assistance are usually not available. So, young people who don't have the resources to pay for classes upfront have to face the difficult choice of taking out more loans or putting their dreams on the back burner.
What's being done to help?
Vincent Carales, who studies higher education at the University of Houston, told NPR that several universities have made it easier for students to access financial aid and emergency funds earlier than usual following hurricanes.
Carales said getting funds into students' hands as quickly as possible after natural disasters can improve their chances of staying enrolled in college.
On a larger scale, scientists are devising creative solutions to slash pollution. For example, a biotech company is testing a bacteria-based technology to transform carbon pollution into products. The Biden administration is also rapidly expanding clean energy projects.
We can make a difference at home by switching to electric appliances, reducing our reliance on plastic products, and supporting sustainable companies. By working together, we can help ensure everyone, including college students, has a bright future.
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