By Adonia Burciaga
Climate change is impacting our future and we need elected officials to find eco-friendly ways to source oil without damaging our planet.
Throughout the past few decades climate change has gotten progressively worse, and it has not been talked about enough.
Climate change discussions are focused on the change of temperature in a global dimension.
During President Joe Biden’s election, he always made sure to say that he would try to solve the climate crisis we are facing once his presidency begins. In Biden’s election campaign it reads, “Rally the rest of the world to meet the threat of climate change.
“Climate change is a global challenge that requires decisive action from every country around the world. Joe Biden knows how to stand with America’s allies, stand up to adversaries, and level with any world leader about what must be done.”
This past week, Biden approved the Willow Project, which is an oil project that will take place in Alaska.
This project would release immense amounts of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide is a fossil fuel that is causing our climate crisis.
Professor Stephen Koletty Ph.D, Chairperson of Geography, Geology and Anthropology shared, “We are creating a Jurassic World. There should be an eco-friendly way to get oil without making climate change worse.”
Koletty continues, “The climate change is not something only one person could fix. There has to be a change of the trajectory and changing the social value of climate change.”
The United Nations said hotter temperatures, more severe storms, increased droughts, a warming rising ocean, loss of species, not enough food, more health risks, poverty and displacement are social impacts caused by climate change.
Last summer California experienced extreme drought conditions, and over the last two months the state has experienced torrential storms.
The storms caused landslides, power outages and caused California to reach cold temperatures that have not occurred since 2005.
Professor Koletty shared that it is unlikely for 11 atmospheric rivers to happen in such a short amount of time, especially and during the springtime.
Greta Thunberg, a Swedish environmental activist, gained popularity for using her voice to speak against the climate crisis.
At 20 years old she’s been able to gain a huge audience of 14.8 million followers on Instagram.
Thunberg is very important because she is advocating for the future and setting an example for Gen Z to care more about the environment because their future depends on it.
There are ways we can reduce the climate crisis by cutting down plastic, reducing waste, limiting the amount of fuel, and raising awareness about the issue.
To learn more about what the United States Environmental Protection Agency is doing to solve the climate crisis, visit https://www.epa.gov/climate-change/what-epa-doing-about-climate-change.