Written & Produced By: Jasmine Ramos, Staff Writer
WARNING: Climate change is affecting our way of life and causing irreversible damage.
What is climate change? According to the United Nations, climate change refers to, ¨long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.¨ These weather shifts can be natural; it could be due to the sun´s activity or because of large volcanic eruptions. However, climate change can also be a result of human activities. In fact, according to scientists, it is the main driver of climate change in the modern epoch.
The issue of climate change started to take on momentum in the late 19th century. After the Industrial Revolution that took place in the United States from around 1760 to about 1840 and the Second Industrial Revolution that lasted from the mid-19th century until the early 20th century, which took place in Britain, continental Europe, Japan, and North America, human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, coal, and oil, have increased the greenhouse gas concentrations in our atmosphere. According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, ¨almost a quarter (23 percent) of U.S greenhouse gas emissions come directly from industrial sources.¨ We continue to see this trend ascend as time goes by and we emit even more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, causing our summers to be hotter year by year.
One example of climate change is currently happening in Southern California. The fires in the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst communities. These fires are due to the climate shift in the areas. According to BBC.com, in an article about the wildfires and how they began, it is reported that, “the huge growth of vegetation, which dried out in the drought last year, [has left] abundant kindling”. This is due to the dry period that LA went through since October of this year. As you can see, referencing the images below, it is only expected to get more droughts. Along with that, we can expect extremely high temperatures and extreme precipitation.
A concerning aspect of the climate issue is the fact that so many people are quick to deny its existence. A large part of why legislation and progress hasn’t been passed to fix the rising temperatures is because of the mass denial of the issue. The following is a video that shows, thankfully, how informed our Poly community is on climate change:
Though many people think that the damage we do to our environment is irreversible, there is still hope to fix this issue. Based on the information from The United Nations, some of the ways we can all contribute to stopping or at least slowing down climate change is by eating more vegetables, saving energy at home, walking, biking, or taking public transportation. Other ways are to throw away less food, learn to reuse, reduce, recycle, and even do things like research. Do more research on how your local area can be affected and how you can help. Even signing petitions, to take on action against climate change and prevent big companies from polluting our environment even more.
It is important to acknowledge that this is a serious issue that requires our immediate attention and action to prevent the worst from happening. Let’s work together to build a prosperous future.