One of the things about politics today that hurts my heart the most is the fact that the welfare of our planet is actually up for debate.
It is astounding that some people view climate change as a conservative versus liberal issue, when at the end of the day, the destruction of our environment will be catastrophic for everybody.
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Climate change is not up for debate. It is a scientific fact. The crazy thing about climate change is that no matter how much you want to deny it, it’s still happening. You will still feel and be affected by the environment that is abused by human ignorance.
I cannot understand why anybody would deny climate change, but I never would imagine that one of those people would end up leading our country. Yes, our president believes that climate change is a hoax invented by the Chinese.
Immediately after he took office, all mentions of climate change were erased off of the country’s EPA website. His disregard for our environment (and the humanity of Native Americans) is what caused him to approve the previously canceled Dakota Access Pipeline, which puts the Missouri River at risk for contamination. He is looking to cut the EPA budget almost entirely, in order to give corporations the ability to regulate more freely. To make matters worse, our president’s pick for EPA administrator is Scott Pruitt, a notorious climate change denier.
Environmental welfare is not a political agenda. It is an issue that deserves to be treated with care by everybody. It is not something made up by “crazy tree-hugging liberals,” and I truly believe that one of the reasons why conservatives deny climate change so much is because they don’t want to be on the side where most liberals are.
If you don’t believe that human activity is hurting our environment, or you just don’t think prioritizing our planet is important, I encourage you to go outside. Go take a hike at one of our national parks. Look at the staggering trees that have been on this planet much longer than we have. Swim in a river or lake and appreciate the ecosystem living beneath the waters. If you walk on some trails, you might be lucky enough to spot a few deer.
All of this and more will continue to be affected detrimentally if we keep abusing the environment. Littering and contaminating bodies of water will kill the flourishing ecosystems they maintain, such as the Great Barrier Reef. Chopping down trees for urban development will deplete our oxygen levels, exchanging the leafy giants for a concrete jungle. Precious species will go extinct as their habitats are destroyed and the air is polluted.
We cannot ignore the polar ice caps that are melting and increasing our sea levels, and the hole in our ozone layer. In the words of Bill Nye the Science Guy, we can’t just find a way to live on Mars or the moon. This is it. We only have one home. And if for some wild reason climate change isn’t real, what is the harm in trying to improve our environment? We’ll be left with clean air and water, flourishing wildlife, and preserved forests. As someone who looks at our planet in reverence, that doesn’t seem so bad to me.
