By Julia Conforti, staff writer
Climate change has been a hot button issue which, if the phenomenon is true, has been affecting our planet for many years. Initially, this alleged slow poisoning of our planet via our own pollution was called global warming. However, climate change is not as simple as the term ‘global warming’. Unforeseen weather extremes have been plaguing the whole planet for years and it is believed to be a direct result of pollution and greenhouse gases.
Overwhelming scientific evidence hints that greenhouse gases have been causing the extreme weather conditions we have been experiencing, though others argue that our Earth has always gone through changes. Scientists say that the Earth is going through some sort of change, but the greenhouse gases our pollution is giving off are having very adverse effects on what should be a normal transition. Additionally, scientists say a lot of the changes happening cannot be caused by natural factors.
“Natural factors haven’t caused a hole in the ozone layer before,” said Mariana Diaz, a General Studies senior. “This isn’t normal. Scientists have actually noticed correlations between pollution and the changes.”
But what is climate change doing, really?
Due to the ice caps melting up north, sea levels are rising which can lead to disastrous floods and tsunamis. The ocean has also been becoming warmer and more acidic, scientists say that is more evidence that the climate is drastically changing. Also, the carbon dioxide radiating from the sun has increased a considerable amount. Carbon dioxide is in no way a bad thing, however scientists say that you can have too much of a good thing. In excess, it is possible that carbon dioxide could harm plants, animals, and even humans.
Some people are welcoming the idea of warmer temperature, though it is not as utopian as people would like to believe. For every 2-degree increase in temperature, we can expect to see a 15 percent decrease in crops, a 10 percent increase in participation, 10 percent decrease in flow in rivers, and as much as 400 percent increase in forest fires.
However, at the local level, we have seen colder winters unlike anything Wisconsin has ever seen. This does not mean that climate change just ‘passed us,’ it means the rising heat is causing more water vapor to be held in the atmosphere and is causing more heavy participation. So climate change will not stop winters, it will worsen them.
Though what can we the people do to help with climate change? The most obvious answer given to the public is simply to work together to reduce the amount of pollution and greenhouse gases that we are pumping into the air. Easy solutions are to carpool, take a bus, or even walk when the weather allows it.
“I think we need to do something to stop it,” said Jackie Sven, a Biotech freshman, “The government needs to take time to talk about it and pass laws, we need to stop it.”
Most students argue the changes going on here are not natural, pointing to scientific evidence that proves climate change to be real.
“There have been science experiments to prove it, but I do think that the Earth is going through natural changes at the same time,” said Sevinch Atambaeva, Biotech freshman.
However there are a few who disagree, bringing up all of the different climates our Earth has seen in the past.
“We had the Ice Age and everything else, this is just the Earth doing what it does,” said nonbeliever Bethany Simo, Biotech freshman.
Fiction or not, something unusual is happening to our planet. We can not ignore it any longer, and leaders have met multiple times in the past year to discuss climate change and possible solutions. The people have been told that a plan has been laid out, but nothing more than that has been said.