During this past J-term, we’ve all been experiencing weather that, while unusual for January in Minnesota, could be described as “pleasant,” “warm,” and “oh my god it’s so nice out.” I’ve seen many a Gustie walking around with only sweaters on as their extra layer of warmth, because, let’s be serious, did we need anything more? The school was loving the warm weather and rightly so after the bitterly cold weeks we had leading up to this. However, this warm and joyful weather is quite an omen of what is going on all over the world.
Typically, we’re greeted with temperatures much lower and often well below zero degrees Fahrenheit, especially with wind chill (which we get plenty of up here on the Hill). You have to wonder why we’re suddenly experiencing nearly record-breaking temperatures of warmth and spring-like weather during J-Term. It’s something everyone has debated about for years and now it’s finally rearing its ugly head: global climate change.
Climate change essentially means that the climates and weather patterns the different parts of Earth have experienced over the years are changing drastically. We’re experiencing warmer weather now due to the levels of carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions we’ve been putting out since the beginning of The Industrial Revolution. There have been attempts in the past to lower the amount of emissions put out by each country’s industries, and some policies have passed. However, most of the population still does not believe that climate change is a real problem, even if they see the signs. A common reason it appears that people do not address the issue is because it is a slow process relative to a human life. However, we’re accelerating it exponentially every year. In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama stated that 14 of the 15 warmest years on record occurred in this century. By this century, he means the years 2000-2100. That means 2000-2014 have been the warmest years ever recorded. That seems like quite a good chunk of evidence that maybe something is happening and that it needs to be stopped. China has even reached an agreement to begin lowering their emissions and trying to cut back on harmful environmental degredation.
Many people tend to wonder why this hasn’t been brought up more. To be honest, the scientific world has been trying to warn us for years, but most of the people who actually run the country refuse to listen to them, and some even still quote the Bible at scientists, which Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) did last year. He wrote the book, “The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.” He refutes the claim by simply stating, “God’s still up there” and cites Genesis 8:22 (“…while the earth remaineth seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease,”) “outrageous and arrogant for people to believe human beings are able to change what He is doing in the climate.” Others refuse to listen to scientists without any real good reason. Bill Nye was on CNN Crossfire to discuss climate change and he was repeatedly cut off and shut down by one of the talk show hosts who refuses to let him speak. She even accused him and the scientific community of using “scare tactics” and “bullying” the populace. Apparently, they were doing this by stating pure facts. Facts can be scary when you finally address them, but you cannot sugarcoat them, because that’s what makes people complacent.
Climate change is real. Climate change is happening, and it’s a threat. We have a chance to do damage control and try to stop ourselves from destroying the planet and ourselves in the process, but it’s up to us and our world leaders to do something about it.
-Cameron MacDonald