This year, climatologists expect an increase of 1.96 degrees Fahrenheit over pre-industrial averages. This will be Earth’s hottest year yet. Deserts are already dry as it is, but forests are being affected with climate change as the land becomes bone dry. Coral reefs are turning white because they are struggling to sustain warmer temperatures in the ocean. Media and scientists have provided so many ways to slow the world from heating up, yet why aren’t we doing anything about it?
One of the things that people struggle with is adaptation. With climate change being such a huge problem, people find it impossible to actually simmer down the problem. Burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other activities are just some things that invigorate the high temperatures. Scientists believe the problem is that people are resistant to change. You may have heard of people denying that climate change exists. Another issue at hand is that people face rationalization, which is when people counter-argue what is actually happening at hand. They think that if climate change is a real issue, someone else would have done something about it.
In 2021, there were 129 elected officials who denied the existence of climate change even though there were scientific reports that show the impact of human actions upon the environment. There had been 22 drastic weather events in 2020 that came from climate change and caused over $1 billion in damage each. Americans had to flee from uncontrollable wildfires and hurricanes.
People may think it is the government’s fault that the problem persists, but really we are all involved in the heating of this world. A lot of businesses permit the exhausting of carbon emissions, making it difficult to reduce the temperature. In addition to this, there has been little investment in renewable green energy because it is not as cost effective compared to carbon-based energy. Even though climate change seems like a huge problem that is unavoidable, there are some actions that can be taken to slow the heat.
Some ways that people can support the reduction of carbon emissions are going through public transportation instead of cars, using LED light bulbs, eating plant-based foods, buying only what you need rather than what you want, and changing your home’s source of energy to wind and solar panels. It is important to educate yourself on the sources of carbon emissions so that when the energy source changes in your household, you are one step closer to slowing down the warming of the planet.
