Over the past month, numerous areas all over California are being destroyed by the massive wildfires that continue to burn and wipe everything in its path. I believe this has a direct correlation to global climate change and has become a major issue in our country that we should be focusing on. Unfortunately, climate change has not been taken seriously since President Trump’s position in office, since he claims climate change is a myth.
Most recently, President Trump took a trip to California to observe the damage caused by the fires and used his social media platform to publicly mock the science of global warming, tweeting, “Whatever happened to Global Warming?” and blamed forest management for the deadly fires. However, NASA provided statistical evidence regarding climate change on their website, mentioning that the atmospheric carbon dioxide level has not been this high in centuries. This causes Earth’s temperatures to be significantly higher than the usual, which can play a significant role when it comes to the cause of wildfires.
Not only has climate change had a drastic impact on our environment, it also has a huge impact on our economy, which gives us more of a reason to draw our attention to the honest reality of the subject. A recent CNN study shows this by explaining how our economy could lose billions of dollars, but more specifically, 10% of its GDP by the end of the century due to the impacts of climate change. This will have a serious impact on the production of food; the quality and quantity of crops will decrease because of high temperatures and drought, while also decreasing the production of dairy due to heat stress.
In conclusion, I believe that climate change in our country is a serious issue we should not be ignoring. It is crucial for American citizens to realize the devastating economic and environmental impacts climate change has on our country today and will have in the future. If we do not come together to fight for this issue, millions of people and the beautiful planet we live on will be at stake.
Auburn, I agree a hundred-fold with your commentary about climate change. It is an incredibly vital conversation to be having but it is seemingly one-sided.
ReplyDeleteOne quote I heard recently by Ohio nurse and environmentalist Terri Swearingen really resonated with me: “We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to.” And, it is true - climate change is real and we are losing our planet as we take this class.
Your two talking points are strong and valiant:
1: Climate change is happening now, is irreparable and having a drastic impact on our environment and lives;
2: Climate change needs to be acted upon and not ignored;
Unfortunately, for both of these talking points, it is impossible to communicate or have change when only one side is participating, just like you said. That’s just the way communication works - it’s got to be a two way street.
On the subject wildfires, I agree that the handling was atrocious. It is a serious shame the way the President handled the massive wildfires in California and communication around the subject calling the fires as a result of “gross mismanagement of the forests.” He ended this Tweet with, ”Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!" These comments are reckless, cold and insulting...and they don’t help.
The leader of our country should be better advised and more empathetic to the men and women losing their lives, property and who are at the front lines of the fires. The leader of our country should be humble, patient and situationally aware. In my opinion having a President who doesn’t believe in climate change is like having a flat-earther in office.
I especially liked your citation of NASA and CNN studies regarding the economy and the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
Finally, the idea that you mention and that I agree with wholeheartedly is that we must all come together before the beautiful planet we love is gone. And, if we can’t catch Trump’s attention with the melting ice caps, ridiculous changing of seasons and endangerment of flora and fauna, perhaps the Climate Change Report released during Thanksgiving will catch Trump’s attention in the only place things seem to hurt him - his pocket book. He doesn't seem to care about anything beyond dollars, so why would he care about the planet and humanity? The report and CNN, as you mention, predict that climate change could kill thousands and cost the economy hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars by the end of the century! Perhaps this will catch his attention...Or does Trump not care about anything beyond his lifespan? Does he not care about planet and it’s progeny beyond his selfish life?