By Clare Driscoll
In Puerto Rico, over 1,000 people died because of Hurricane Maria which raged the country leaving it in dissolution. In Oregon, the hazelnut crop is thinning out by the year because of a fungal disease that thrives when the climate is warm. In Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is 1 degree Celsius higher from demise.
Since 2000, we’ve experienced 16 of the 17 warmest years on record — including 2016, the hottest year ever recorded. As the oceans warm, we’re learning that it’s no longer a question of if the Antarctic ice sheet will melt but how fast.
Amidst the day to day news headlines about natural disasters and rising sea levels, we can see our world warming just outside of our window. We all are used to Ohio weather that changes by the day, but according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2017 was one of the hottest years of Ohio’s history while also having some of the most precipitation this century.
In a world where there are severe droughts on one side and deadly flooding on the other, there is no more room for people who deny climate change. There is more than enough evidence to show that our globe is changing and we are doing nothing about it. As politicians still have to fight those who don’t believe, our nation has continued to do little to nothing to save the world we call home.
Thankfully, nations around the world have pledged through the Paris Accord to set new goals every year to contribute to ending climate change. France plans to have all electric cars by 2030 and Iceland is moving toward completely sustainable energy.
It’s time for the USA to follow suit. Many consider us to be leaders in this dying world so it’s time for us to act like it. While there is little hope for this current administration to help, we can still fight. Just by keeping this issue in the front of everyone’s minds we can enact change.
It’s also important to remember to conditionally write to your representatives so that they know that their constituents will not stand for complacency with climate any longer.