But
I worry that adults will never agree on climate change. The issue has
become too political. The words “climate change” have even been scrubbed
from government websites! Our current President refers to climate
change as “
.”
Most people have no interest in discussing it. Try talking about C02
levels or climate science and see how far you get. The reality is that
climate change has become a matter of opinion, rather than a matter of
scientific fact. It has made the opinion of the ordinary person with no
scientific background equal to the findings of eminent scientists who
have devoted their lives and education to the study of the problem.
Only 27 percent of Americans surveyed in a
2016 Pew study
agreed with the statement that, “almost all” climate scientists believe
climate change is real and primarily caused by humans. Contrast this to
multiple peer-reviewed scientific studies finding that 97 percent of
climate scientists believe climate change is real and that humans are
the main contributor. In an age of alternative facts and a distrust of
science, how do we talk about climate change and the need for action
without turning people off?
Stanford Professor Rob Jackson
thinks we should stop arguing over climate change and start talking
about the shared benefits of addressing problems, like health, green
energy jobs, and safety. My experience tells me that he is right.
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Renewable Energy Jobs. theguardian.com
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Six years ago, just before I turned 10, I started a non-profit called
Kids Eco Club
to inspire kids to care for the planet, its wildlife and each other. It
starts and supports environmental clubs in K-12 schools. Over 100,000
kids now participate annually in Kids Eco Club
activities,
learning the skills necessary to lead, and to understand the issues
facing our world, including climate change. Kids Eco Club is successful
because we focus on shared values rather than C02 levels. Take a class
snorkeling, and everyone becomes interested in protecting coral reefs.
Bring local wildlife into the classroom, and kids will fight for green
energy and clean water to protect their habitat. Passion drives us.
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Porcupine classroom visit. kidsecoclub.org
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My generation does not have the luxury of addressing human-caused
climate change as callously or as passively as the generations before us
― because we are running out of time. Agriculture, deforestation, and
dependence on fossil fuels release greenhouse gasses into our
atmosphere, trapping heat, making the Earth warmer. The hottest year on
record? Last year, 2016. A warmer Earth creates major impacts
everywhere: on ecosystems, oceans, weather. Sea levels are rising
because the polar ice caps are melting, and the oceans are warming,
which causes them to expand. Severe weather events are created from
warmer oceans – warmer water, more evaporation, clouds, and rain―causing
greater storm damage, more flooding, and, ironically, larger wildfires
and more severe droughts since weather patterns are also changing.
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The morning Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. graphics.latimes.com
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Imagine three out of every four animal species you know disappearing off the face of the Earth. According to the
Center for Biological Diversity,
we are currently experiencing the worst species die-off since dinosaurs
became extinct 65 million years ago. Species are vanishing at a rate
roughly 100 times higher than normal. While things like asteroids and
volcanoes caused past extinctions, humans almost entirely cause the
current crisis. Global warming caused by climate change, habitat loss
from development and agriculture, pesticide use, poaching, unsustainable
fishing practices, pollution and disease spread by the introduction of
exotic species, are driving the crisis beyond the tipping point. Can you
picture a world without butterflies, penguins, elephants, rhinos, sea
turtles, honeybees, orangutans, salamanders, or sharks?
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Mother orangutan and baby. Getty Images
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The oceans provide 50% of the earth’s oxygen and 97% of its livable
habitat. The health of our oceans is vital to our survival and the
survival of the over one million types of plants and animals living
there. Climate change and fossil fuel reliance raise ocean temperatures,
causing extreme weather, coastal flooding, and ocean acidification.
Ocean acidification is beginning to cause the die-off of calcium-rich
species at the base of the ocean’s food chain, like coral, shellfish,
and plankton. This die-off would trigger a spiral of decline in all sea
life – from fish to seabirds to whales – and negatively impact hundreds
of millions of people who rely on the oceans for food. Other human
threats include overfishing, pollution, oil drilling and development. We
need to act now to create change in our own communities by protecting
ocean habitats, promoting conservation, and creating sustainable
solutions to nurse our oceans back to health.
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Dead sperm whales found with plastic in their stomachs. mintpressnews.com
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In
a world with over 7 billion people, we cannot continue to divide
ourselves into categories like believers and climate change deniers, or
Republicans and Democrats. The best chance we have of ensuring a world
with clean water and clean air is to engage all of us. If this takes
changing the conversation from “climate change,” to “shared benefits,”
then change the conversation. Together all things are possible.
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