Do you think climate change directly affects you? While a myth in some people’s eyes, recent natural disasters have struck many parts of the world and now more than ever people need to realize the catastrophic consequences of living a resource-draining lifestyle.
From hurricanes Harvey and Irma to Katia and Jose to the 8.2-earthquake that shook Mexico, the amount of natural disasters seems never ending.
Not only that, according to the San Diego Tribune, forest fires have spread rapidly nearly 24,000 acres throughout California and volcanoes located in Italy and Russia are awakening from a dormant period with violent explosions, according to the National Geographic News.
Enough is enough.
I know everyone believes they are helping the Earth by simply recycling more and switching to solar panels on their roofs but it’s without a doubt time to take more drastic measures.
“As people we pollute and we take the Earth for granted so of course the Earth will react to it. Humans need to be more conscious of what we’re doing,” said Delta student, Gina Abarca.
Every country, especially the U.S., needs to begin implementing policies that drive solutions to reduce and end climate change.
Our government needs to start requiring companies to invest more money into renewable energies and offer incentives and refunds for civilians who purchase renewables.
On top of that, higher taxes should be placed on gas and oil and a carbon tax should be enacted based on how much people pollute.
It’s not enough to just start using reusable bags every time you shop at Trader Joe’s, Martha.
And I know what you’re all thinking: we’ll all die before the Earth does and let’s leave this problem for our children and their children to figure out, but Mother Nature is finally keeping us all on the hook for our excessive lifestyles.
How many more lives need to be lost before we start changing? Many of us may scoff at our next door neighbor who drives a Prius but no one was joking when 70,000 people were left homeless and 70 were killed in Texas at the hands of Hurricane Harvey.
Even with all of the chaos that has been unleashed on the Earth, many people still doubt if climate change is real or they’ll argue that it’s simply too late to make a change.
Many will say that the evidence backing climate change isn’t substantial enough.
Trump has argued that the U.S. should withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord because we aren’t getting any benefits from it.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I know Trump sees it in a business way, but we shouldn’t see earth in a money perspective,” added Abarca.
However, the atmosphere and oceans have warmed up in a way that makes us find anything below 75 degrees chilly.
The rising sea levels and the negative impacts on the Arctic are head turning.
Others will also argue that we need to focus on more pressing issues like improving the economy and keeping the unemployment rate down but wind turbine technician is actually currently the fastest growing job in America according to Forbes, so what reason do we have to not start integrating these solutions into our government and lifestyles?
We can and will stop the heightened death of our generous planet Earth if we wake up and stop ignoring Mother Nature’s cries for help.
