Climate

Managing Editor/ Layout

Sarah Mies

Section Editors

Kevin Kazokas

Aleksandra Kolenikova

Yesenia Maldonado

Sarah Mies

Cole Schlappich

Contributing Writers

Dareen Alanazi

Michkeel Allen

Samantha August

Taralle Hayden

Kevin Kazokas

Aleksandra Kolesnikova

Yesenia Maldonado

Sarah Mies

Tony Mongeluzi

Steven Pierce

Melanie SanchezGonzalez

Cole Schlappich

Peter Smith

Sherrin Smith

Atticus Wickert

Faculty Adviser

Ryan Lange

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Continued from page 1 rapidly, as they have since 2000, models project that by the end of this century, global temperature will be at least 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1901-1960 average, and possibly as much as 10.2 degrees warmer.”

Even if we did make some changes to our carbon emission footprint and we were able to lower it slowly by the year 2050, the temperature still would not recover to how it was in the first half of the 20th century. We would still be 2.4 to 5.9 degrees hotter than that in the early 20th century.

When questioning Professor Becker about the effects of our carbon footprint if it doesn’t lessen, he gave an answer from a whole new perspective. Professor Beck answered by saying that it is a “complex question.” The thing he said that he thinks will be the first major impact of climate change is conflicts. Becker said that “They will primarily be caused by two factors. One, certain parts of our planet will be uninhabitable because it is going to be too hot for humans to live without serious health effects of being outside.” With this unsafe area to live in will come migration which means immigrants will have to move somewhere else. This will eventually lead to conflicts. The second reason Professor Becker gives is famine. He says that as fewer areas of our planet are inhabitable, “Places where we used to be able to cultivate certain foods, are not going to be able to be grown anymore in those areas. Then we are going to have people going through food insecurities in those areas.” Whenever food insecurities occur, usually conflicts will rise from them. This was extremely insightful as it opened a whole new way of thinking about the issue. This goes to show that this problem is much deeper and more critical than us getting less snow in the winter. There is no way we can stop carbon emissions because without them society would not be able to thrive. It is up to us though to find ways to at least limit our carbon footprint. Some ways to lower our carbon footprint we can do things like limiting how much you drive your car, unplugging things when you are not using them, and only turning air conditioning and heat on when you truly need it. Other things we can do that you would not even think would help the environment are, for example, taking the elevator. Make sure that when you do laundry make sure that you have a full load. By doing this, it will limit the power used, which directly affects the number of carbon emissions produced.

If you believe that what you are doing is not having an impact, you have to realize something is better than nothing. Too many people are not critical about how important limiting the use of electric things really helps towards the environmental crisis that we are currently going through. People do not always understand this because we do not immediately see the effects of our excessive power usage. The immediate things we see are factories pumping out excessive amounts of carbon daily are things like factories and electric power.

According to studies of 2020 Total Greenhouse Gasses Emissions in the U.S. by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, commercial and residential only account for 13% of the problem, agriculture accounts for 11%, transportation accounts for 27%, and industrial and electric power both combine for 49% of greenhouse gas emissions. If we want to get anywhere in lowering carbon emissions, it starts with the up top. We must voice our opinions more through peaceful protests and by appointing the right politicians that we know will help with this issue. Global warming may not seem that bad now, but it will get much worse in our lifetime. It is our job to make sure we do our best to help with the lessening of global warming to preserve a climate that would be recognizable to our ancestors.

With spring cleaning in full swing, remember to also take the chance to clean out your mind of bad habits. James Clear helps his readers rid their lives of bad habits and start new productive ones. If you need help reaching your goals, this book is for you.

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