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If 97% of engineers said that the airplane you were going to take off in was going to crash, would you fly in it? If you said “no,” “hell no,” or something of that variety, then you possess a wisdom and clarity that the Trump Administration lacks. In 2017, Donald Trump steered the United States into being the only country to reject the Paris Climate Accords. This was an agreement formed within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, starting in the year 2020. 196 representatives from all around the world negotiated this treaty. 195 countries signed the treaty which is aimed at attempting to reduce the rise in global temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Whether or not this will be effective remains to be seen. That, however, is not the most concerning notion. The most concerning notion is that the protection of the planet on which we live has been made a partisan issue. The Trump administration has made a move away from recognizing the truth. That truth is that mankind has had an effect on the planet. That effect has thrown off the delicate balance of the global ecosystems and climate. 97% of scientists agree on this. We have seen the warning signs for years. We need to start being responsible. This is the defining issue of our era. It may not sound epic or grand, a solution may sound too difficult to even pursue, but it is the defining issue because it determines whether or not humans are going to concern themselves with ensuring that their home remains capable of sustaining life. This is the fight that will ensure those that come after us will have a home to live on. Protecting our homeworld cannot be a fight on the side of the right or the left. This affects all the people of the Earth. Politicians who cast doubt on the science of climate change or curtail efforts at environmental protections on the promise of promoting “liberties” or jobs in industries that can no longer be propped up are not looking out for the best interests of the people. They are putting smaller short term gains over long term severe losses.
Often a correlation can be found between the energy companies that front their campaigns and the restrictions they remove on pollution. This may produce profits for some companies now, but the cost is too great. Our resources are finite and the world cannot take damage for ever. Every year we are seeing the results of careless industrialization with the loss of ecosystem diversity. We all must do our part. We must recycle and reuse. We must repair instead of throw away. We must be careful when picking our purchases to minimize future waste. Perhaps most importantly, we must make acknowledgement of climate change a decisive factor in how we decide to support candidates. Our way of life is heavily intertwined with the usage of fossil fuels and nonrenewable assets. Divorcing ourselves from these and creating a national community in which people can live greener lives is going to take all the power of government behind it with strong and disciplined leaders who acknowledge the crisis and are prepared to take some flack and make the tough calls that can reduce the damage. We can start there.
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| Frank Bencomo-Suarez - Class of 2018 |
Whether or not this will be effective remains to be seen. That, however, is not the most concerning notion. The most concerning notion is that the protection of the planet on which we live has been made a partisan issue. The Trump administration has made a move away from recognizing the truth. That truth is that mankind has had an effect on the planet. That effect has thrown off the delicate balance of the global ecosystems and climate. 97% of scientists agree on this. We have seen the warning signs for years. We need to start being responsible. This is the defining issue of our era. It may not sound epic or grand, a solution may sound too difficult to even pursue, but it is the defining issue because it determines whether or not humans are going to concern themselves with ensuring that their home remains capable of sustaining life. This is the fight that will ensure those that come after us will have a home to live on. Protecting our homeworld cannot be a fight on the side of the right or the left. This affects all the people of the Earth. Politicians who cast doubt on the science of climate change or curtail efforts at environmental protections on the promise of promoting “liberties” or jobs in industries that can no longer be propped up are not looking out for the best interests of the people. They are putting smaller short term gains over long term severe losses.
Often a correlation can be found between the energy companies that front their campaigns and the restrictions they remove on pollution. This may produce profits for some companies now, but the cost is too great. Our resources are finite and the world cannot take damage for ever. Every year we are seeing the results of careless industrialization with the loss of ecosystem diversity. We all must do our part. We must recycle and reuse. We must repair instead of throw away. We must be careful when picking our purchases to minimize future waste. Perhaps most importantly, we must make acknowledgement of climate change a decisive factor in how we decide to support candidates. Our way of life is heavily intertwined with the usage of fossil fuels and nonrenewable assets. Divorcing ourselves from these and creating a national community in which people can live greener lives is going to take all the power of government behind it with strong and disciplined leaders who acknowledge the crisis and are prepared to take some flack and make the tough calls that can reduce the damage. We can start there.
Frank Bencomo-Suarez, of Louisville, Ky., is a senior McConnell Scholar studying political science.