By Beatriz Garay
Burning wildfires and extreme weather are getting more dangerous all over the world.
It is imperative for countries to tackle climate change and California should be the one leading the change.
As one of the most progressive states in the U.S., California is a prime example in which common sense is vital to understanding and constructing solutions for problems that affect our daily lives.
One such issue is the ongoing climate crisis that has resulted in a number of disasters such as devastating wildfires, large-scale floods, and record-breaking brutal heat waves.
Very few people are coming to terms with accepting this reality as it becomes more apparent every single day. The climate crisis could be attributed to the long standing denial from individuals in both our government and the oil industry.
Both use extreme actions to ensure that the mere topic of climate change is not even discussed. This just shows the cruel nature of individuals who both destroy the planet and themselves to protect their wealth.
To fight this, the California State Legislature passed a measure providing over $54 billion in climate spending.
This money will be used to address the crisis in the forms of updating the power grid, phasing out gas-powered vehicles and updating water conservation programs.
Passing this measure can be seen as an ambitious yet plausible action for California to take on as a number of other states are still lagging behind on working to combat it as well.
To support this, an article by the New York Times, titled “California Approves a Wave of Aggressive New Climate Measures” gives a detailed idea on how California is leading the way in changing its lifestyle. The article explains how it is going in a different direction that is more productive than the old method was.
For example,“Putting too much faith in a cap-and-trade program that imposes a ceiling on emissions from large polluters” (Plumer, 2022).
It is crucial for us to realize that some old methods may not be as effective now as ideals are more complex than they were back then. It is a difficult time for people who are trying to figure out what they stand for and whether they support the efforts to combat climate change.
The inactions of governmental bodies from either the U.S. or abroad is, in a way, contributing to the growing death toll from wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes and unpredictable rainfall. Each of these disasters can be managed to an extent and the number of fatalities can be reduced if governments were to give the right amount of resources that can enable us to better track and defend against them.
It is human nature to continue on doing what we normally do every day but it is also our responsibility to ensure that we hold ourselves accountable for destroying the only place we call home.
If we want to leave a habitable world for our children and grandchildren to thrive in, we must do whatever it takes to ensure that they still have clean air to breathe and fresh water to drink.
If we don’t, then we are no better than the monsters we often tell them about in the bedtime stories.
Hopefully, we leave something for them to call home.