Winter is a time of cooling temperatures and winding down in anticipation for the year’s end. However, in contrast with this picturesque perception of winter, many south Florida residents are seeing the exact opposite. Temperatures have remained relatively high in between the 70s and 80s. On top of this, the weather has remained unpredictable, with it raining heavily in the past couple of days. With this especially warm winter, a question arises: why?
The answer is climate change. Generally, when people refer to climate change/global warming, they mean the trapping of heat in Earth’s atmosphere due to the increase of greenhouse gases. This results in severe shifts to global temperatures, worse changes to weather conditions, and the disruption of local ecosystems. This not only results in our winters being warmer, but also results in the destruction of wildlife, extinction in extreme cases.
However, things are bound to get worse in the foreseeable future. Carbon dioxide, the most prominent form of greenhouse gas, is a byproduct of many of our industrial processes and everyday activities. Factories emitting smoke, cars burning gasoline, outdated energy stations utilizing coal, make use of fossil fuels, which release harmful chemicals along with the greenhouse gases. Donald J. Trump, the president-elect of the United States, has made promises to reverse many environmental regulations and limitations on carbon emissions put in place under the Biden administration. These include an infrastructure and budget reconciliation bill which would reduce US carbon emissions by 45% by 2030.
This will not just affect America, but the world. This is because the rolling back of many critical climate bills and policies will mean a decrease in environmental regulations, a correlative increase in carbon emissions, and a fall in living conditions. On top of promises to increase oil extraction in the United States, even going as far as to coin the term “drill baby drill”, the environmental future looks bleak.
Despite this, there are a number of things one can do to support environmentalism and a green way of life. Joining green protest and lobbying organizations is a start, alongside canvasing to garner the support and appeal of the masses. You can promote environmentalism through their personal life, adhering to the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle principle to limit waste wherever possible. No matter what you decide to do, it will go a long way toward changing the world for the better.
