During Thanksgiving, a group of scientists from the U.S. released their latest report on the issue of climate change. According to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, found under globalchange.gov, “fire exclusion policies” along with “[W]armer and drier conditions” resulted in large forest fires, such as the case in Paradise, California. The report states that due to significant changes to the Earth’s climate, this “present[s] growing challenges to human health and safety, quality of life and the rate of economic growth.”
The response to the latest U.S. report has been marked with deep skepticism and doubt from President Donald J. Trump and his administration. In a report made by BBC News, President Trump states the following to news reporters: “Right now, we’re at the cleanest we’ve ever been and that’s very important to me.”
In the face of this current U.S. report, should we as WCU students be concerned over climate change? If so, what proper measures are necessary to remediate the ongoing threat of climate change?
Dr. Lutz, an environmental geology professor at WCU, states, “we are not doomed” in regard to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report brought out. Dr. Lutz adds regarding the report that in “northeastern US, we are not [under] increased risk.”
The response to the latest U.S. report has been marked with deep skepticism and doubt from President Donald J. Trump.
Benjamin Gammon, a WCU student majoring in urban environmental planning, believes the opposite and stated that “we are on track [towards catastrophe].” Regarding the United States report on the GDP, “climate change absolutely impacts the GDP.”
Before the U.S. report came out, there was already a discussion on the severity of climate change. Reported on Oct. 8, 2018 from The Guardian, Jonathan Watts stated that the IPCC report suggested “urgent and unprecedented changes are needed” regarding climate temperatures. This comes during a time where doubts on the Paris Agreement are coming into focus.
Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website, the Paris Agreement was signed “on 22 April 2016 […] by 55 countries,” in an effort to reduce greenhouse emissions. President Trump eventually wanted out of the Paris Agreement on June 1, 2017 due to doubts of its importance His reasons, according to an article by Dana Varinsky, Dave Mosher and Ariel Schwartz from Business Insider, were “based on questionable data.” The article goes on to list a few points that Trump makes during his press interview with one being that the Paris Agreement would have done “a miniscule reduction in global temperature.”
Regarding the factuality on climate change reports, Dr. Lutz agrees that “both reports are based on analysis.” Despite the facts and data presented, Trump’s administration does little to combat climate change.
The problem with Trump’s assertion on the Paris Agreement is that it does not help the issues that are taking hold of the environment. This year alone, according to Josh Gabbatiss’ article from the Independent, “2018 is set to be the fourth hottest year on record, according to the UN’s specialist weather agency.”
Based on Trump’s reaction to both the Paris Agreement and the latest U.S. report, there is no current involvement at the moment to quell the issue of climate change. Mentioned by Dr. Lutz, “[B]ased from a film that my students saw, in the U.S., 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation, while an equal percentage comes from agricultural activities.” One solution that Dr. Lutz implies is the reduction of greenhouse gasses.
The other solution to combat climate change is public awareness. “We need to put incredible political pressure on climate change,” says Gammon. “More greenhouse gases have been released this year than last year.”
Overall, based from the findings of scientists, it is reasonable to confirm that climate change is not a myth, but rather based on scientific fact. It is up to individuals like us to decide what needs to be achieved in the face of climate change. If you have concerns about the environment and the desire to initiate change, go to the office of sustainability or go to wcupa.edu for further information on what projects are offered. As stated by Dr. Lutz, “as long as people see impossibilities, we can change direction.”
Nicholas Bartelmo is a third-year student majoring in History. NB790429@wcupa.edu