Can we solve the climate crisis without confronting global inequities?
A recent study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA found that white residents in the USA produce more climate pollution than black or hispanic residents, but black and hispanic people are exposed to more air pollution.
And that is just the USA! Think about the global inequities in the "haves" and the "have nots".
And how are we going to lift people out of poverty without making the climate crisis even worse?
If you are a resident in a wealthy country, is it your responsibility to address both problems at once? And what would that look like in terms of national and international policy?
Environmental Justice >
Global warming
What really is the solution to global warming? And I wonder if there will be state requirements or something so that everyone can contribute positively to this issue. Right now the world is basically ending, and I think a lot of people are just okay with that fact which isn't helping anybody.
Great Question! Well, although there is not one solution to global warming, there are numerous things we can do to slow its effects. For example, according to the NRDC, some solutions to global warming include speaking up, powering your home with renewable energy, buying energy efficient products, driving a fuel efficient car (Tesla), walking and biking around, and reducing clothing purchases. However, it is not enough for just one person to reduce their carbon footprint. Instead, everyone nationwide must make an attempt to lower their carbon emissions. Moreover, similar to what you said, there have already been some state/country wide requirements enforced to solve the climate change problem. For instance, The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agencies to work with the states in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the Department of Energy is required to research new and improved methods of clean energy. With all of these Acts in-forced, you would think that climate change is being solved, however, many big oil and production companies continue to harm the environments. Like you said, a lot of the climate problem stems from people's unwillingness to create change. They assume climate change won't affect their generation and leave it to future generations to solve the problem. If these big organizations continue to destroy the earth, the world may very well get out of control. Nonetheless, if each person contributes to helping the environment, we can slowly reduce the effects of climate change.
Important Websites:
https://www.c2es.org/content/federal-ac … %20methane.
Good Question! Climate change includes the rising average of temperatures around the world and the likeliness of devastating weather events. In 2015, The Paris Agreement acknowledged that climate change needed to be acted upon. In recent times, methods of improving carbon emissions have improved. There are many solutions to global warming yet, one will not magically solve the issue. Ways we can help reduce carbon emissions are using wind and solar energy, not using single-use batteries, and switching your vehicles from using fossil fuels to solar power. One way to help restore the Earth is to plant trees and recycle them correctly. As we feel that the government is restoring the Earth, they are helping in many ways that can change the future of the world. The state passed a bill to reduce carbon emissions by fifteen percent in the last twenty years. They have also passed a bill named AB 32 which requires companies to make the most cost-effective technology to slow climate change. At this time, there are no requirements for civilians to reduce their carbon emissions but companies are making new technologies to combat the drastic increase in carbon over the last fifty-some years. I agree with the fact that not many are helping in the chase to reduce carbon emissions however much progress has been made with the reduction of carbon emissions. Don’t lose hope!
Research Websites:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/envi … -solutions
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-s … reductions.
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101
Great Question, to answer this we need to first go back to what is causing climate change. Climate change is mainly caused by deforestation, and fossil fuel emissions both from individuals, and larger companies. Human fossil fuel burning has increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by 12% since 2000, according to NASA. This is a record high that has never been accomplished, and is causing an increase in temperature, forest fires, glacier melting, flooding, droughts, etc. This situation will continue unless we cut down on our carbon emissions. So how can we do this? According to climate.gov, there are several approaches we can take. First, switching to renewable energy sources, such as solar paneling our houses and other buildings. Next, the government can enforce certain laws restricting the carbon footprint of the population to a certain number. A big percentage of our carbon emissions come from cars, so switching to electric cars would make a huge difference. These may not sound like things that directly impact you, or you have the ability to change right? There are also some things that each household can do to help stop global warming. Beginning with turning the lights off when you leave the house, you could also reduce the amount of heating, or cooling in extreme temperatures, and carpool or use public transportation. On top of that, you could use reusable grocery shopping bags, and buy products with minimal plastic packaging that are eco-friendly. There are many things that we do that are just not necessary and are harmful to the environment, and the first step to solving this issue is to be honest with ourselves, and figure out a way to cut down on what we can.
Sources:
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/c … al-warming
https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/