The Sky is Falling and We Need to Save It
By Alejandra Montes de Oca
The world is going to end. This is inevitable, but there is a problem that the human race is encountering: Climate Change. It is predicted that the Earth’s temperature will rise by 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next hundred years. The biggest problem is that leaders are not taking this threat seriously.
The Trump administration refuses to acknowledge the truths about climate change. Some of the things they have done to harm the environment include destroying the Clean Power Plan, stopping the rule to cancel the selling and use of inefficient light bulbs, not supporting legislation about pollutants from refrigerators, cutting rules that limit methane pollution, becoming more lenient on emission standards for cars and trucks, withdrawing from the Paris agreement on climate change, and most importantly- they disregarded the risk of climate change that is backed by scientific data.
What is Climate Change?
In short, climate change refers to the shift in average conditions. Usually, this is referring to things like temperature, rainfall, and sea levels. Global warming, on the other hand, is the concept of the Earth getting warmer which is included within the idea of climate change. However, they are not necessarily interchangeable ideas. Over the past hundred years, the global temperature has increased by 2 degrees fahrenheit- this is faster than ever. These past five years have been the warmest years in recorded history.
Thousands of years ago, most of the United States was covered in glaciers. Now, this is not the case since the United States has many types of climates like deserts, tropical, mountains, and forest. The glaciers are still melting which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. The bad thing is the rate at which they are melting. As a result, the melted ice from the glaciers turns into water causing the sea level to rise. In a matter of a century, all of the glaciers could melt.
Additionally, this can cause many animals to go extinct. Contrary to popular belief, the arctic animals are not the only animals affected by climate change. The top 10 endangered animals due to climate change include the Staghorn Coral, the American Pika, the Koala, Monarch Butterfly, the Polar Bears, Ringed Seal, Adélie Penguin, the Columbia Spotted Frog, the Leatherback Sea Turtle, and the Atlantic Cod.
What contributes to climate change?
One of the biggest factors to climate change is known as the greenhouse effect. Gases that are in the Earth’s atmosphere are unable to escape. The sunlight enters the atmosphere while some of it is reflected back into space, some of the energy is absorbed as heat. Then, the heat is radiated to different parts of the Earth. This is similar to the process of a greenhouse for plants which is why the effect is named after it.
A lot of things that humans are doing on earth that are harming the environment. Things like transportation, burning fossil fuels, manufacturing, construction, agriculture emission, chopping down trees, fires, and landfills producing methane. Either the humans do not realize or do not care enough about their impact.
Additionally, industrial agriculture is perhaps one of the reasons all these other contributors are happening. Essentially, these “farms” are creating food at a larger and quickier rate than ever before. How is that done? The foods are modified. For example, grapes are not meant to be seedless and chickens are not supposed to be gigantic. While the way food that is currently grown is not healthy for humans, it is also damaging the environment. This industry is responsible for 25 to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Government impacts
The government is responsible for long-term reductions of The United States greenhouse gases.
Congress is responsible for creating laws that are about climate change and ensure proper funds are allocated to those programs. They are also involved in overseeing that the Executive branch is implementing the laws and ensuring that the administration is held accountable. The Judicial branch is responsible for ensuring laws and regulations are constitutional and the people are being heard over the climate change measures.
The Trump Administration has changed environmental policies over the past four years. These changes have not been beneficial. The biggest thing is Trump pulls out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Apparently, this decision was made to boost the American industry. If this does go through on November 4, 2020, the day after the election, the US will be one of three countries that are not a part of the Paris Climate Agreement. One of the countries is Syria. Syria did not sign because of their civil war and difficulties they are enduring. Nicaragua, the other country, states the Paris Agreement is not enough.
What can you do?
Stop using plastic- specifically non-reusable plastic. Reduce the amount of plastic water bottles, plastic straws, plastic cups, plastic bags, etc. It takes 450 years for a single plastic water bottle to decompose. Use biodegradable or reusable alternatives.
Know where your food is coming from. Not only is Industrial farming bad for the environment, it is also negatively affecting you. There are pesticides, gmos, and so many things that people don’t even consider inside of all the good.
Check your electronics. Looks for appliances that have an Energy Star label. Buy LED light bulbs. Unplug your devices when you are not using them.
Rethink some of your transportation. Try carpooling to eliminate carbon emissions. Drive vehicles that are fuel-efficient. Public transportation can help reduce the amount of pollution in the air. Additionally, if you can take a train, do it. It is better than flying in an airplane.
Vote. Look into the stance of the people you vote for. This includes voting in a local and federal election. Please vote.
