New climate report predicts devastating effects by 2020
November 16, 2018
Leading world climate scientists warn the UN about our changing climate and the potential disasters down the road. These scientists claim that we have about 12 years to restrict our production and output to the environment before it’s too late. Increasing global temperatures can cause a variety of environmental problems including flooding, drought, rising sea level, poverty, etc. The possibilities are endless once the climate is thrown too far off its balance.
The Paris Agreement is an act to keep global temperatures from rising between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius, however considering our climate and emission output, these temperatures could easily rise too high and cause irreversible problems. 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius may sound insignificant, but this change would greatly affect average global temperature if we don’t change our behavior quickly.
It is no secret that Mother Nature is no one to mess with. There’s a reason we’re facing such disastrous consequences: humans take the Earth for granted. The rate of pollutants and emissions given off by the United States and other leading countries plays a major role. Some of these harmful emissions or wasteful usage or resources are the result of everyday activities: showers, eating, drinking, travelling, etc.
The world will never be completely healthy, but we as humans can go a long way in keeping it as clean as possible, even if it is just by walking to school instead of driving a car. When asked about how PPBHS as a community can save the Earth, environmental and AP biology teacher Dr. Kostenko stated, “I believe the best place to start is educating the general public on how to cut down on resource use and how to be more environmentally friendly.”
Adding to the problem, President Donald Trump resigned from the Paris Agreement. The U.S. could go either way: either reduce emissions and fall below the Paris Agreement standard, or increase emissions, which could raise global temperatures causing humanity to meet its demise in the near future, all for a better economy. Although monumental, climate change is very controversial, and we could easily reach the point of no return if people don’t step back and realize what they’re doing.
As humans, we have an excessive amount of power over the Earth’s health. The rate at which certain countries use resources is tremendous and is a leading factor to environmental problems. Even though some places in the world are progressive in environmental protection standards, they endure the dire consequences that more developed countries are causing. Leading powers need to cut back on pollution and limit resource usage. There is one cause for these problems: humans. So, who else would be responsible to fix these issues?