Recently, we have seen an increase in the number of violent storms and hurricanes in the US and all over the world. The question is what is the cause of this increase. Many researchers argue that the main cause is the rise in water and air temperatures caused by climate change. We then wonder what is causing this climate change. There is a good amount of evidence leading us to believe that humans are major contributors to the rise in temperatures. Countries have implemented plans to reverse the effects of climate change.  However the United States is one country that lacks policies to limit emissions. This is hard to believe considering the United States has one of the higher emission levels in the world. Supporters of the environmental movement have been growing in strength but many people still need to be convinced if there is to be any improvements made to the concerning trends in our environment.

How do we know for sure that the rising temperatures are directly related to the increased number of storms? According to an article from the Washington Post , “Over the past two years, we have witnessed the most intense hurricanes on record for the globe, both hemispheres, the Pacific and now, with Irma, the Atlantic.” The article goes on to explain how, “Warmer air holds more moisture, and the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere has increased because of human-induced global warming. We’ve measured this increase, and it has been unequivocally attributed to human-caused warming.” This article is meant to inform readers of the horrifying facts about what’s going on in our world and a possible cause for why it’s happening. The author does not include any speculations or personal opinions which clears it from any doubt of bias. The article comes from a very reliable source, (Washington Post) which publishes articles on just about anything. The website includes links to other articles and videos related to the topic so the information in one article can be referenced to another. In another article published by NASA the ideas brought up in the Washington Post Articles are backed up. They go a bit more in depth into scientific back up stating, “Global warming could affect storm formation by decreasing the temperature difference between the poles and the equator”. The article includes explanations from NASA scientist including one from George Tselioudis. He states, “If we are creating an atmosphere more loaded with humidity, any storm that does develop has greater potential to develop into an intense storm”. This article uses the quotes of respected scientist and their research on the topic to establish its credibility. It also includes an extensive list of citations and links to where the information is coming from. The article is intended to inform the people on the facts about climate change. The author has no personal agenda to convince the reader one way or another and acknowledges the fact that it is possible there are other causes of the increase in natural disasters. However, the facts are presented in a way to strongly suggest that climate change is indeed the cause of the increase in natural disasters. 

After seeing extensive evidence on how climate change is causing an increase in natural disasters, it is important to understand how humans are having such a negative impact on this process. Many people argue that climate change is natural and not something to be worried about. Some of these people include people of power in our government who are decreasing funding towards programs intended to lower the effects of human caused climate change. This could have some very damaging impacts on our environment on the future if something is not done. An article from procon.org provides a long list of evidence explaining how humans are causing climate change. The article lists a few arguments in defense of human caused global warming including, “The rise in atmospheric CO2 over the last century was clearly caused by human activity, as it occurred at a rate much faster than natural climate changes could produce.”, “Global warming caused by human-produced greenhouse gases is causing the Arctic ice cap to melt at an increasing rate.” And, “Sea levels are rising at an unprecedented rate due to global warming”. All of these statements are followed by a detailed explanation including stats and citations proving them credible. 

After doing online research and by just looking outside at the massive storms we are experiencing, it is clear that climate change is having a direct impact on these natural disasters. There is direct evidence linking the rise in ocean temperatures to a rise in heavy rainfall. We then have to link the increased temperatures/climate change to human activity. By looking at facts and data we can conclude that while yes, there may be some natural causes of climate change, the changes we are seeing today are too drastic to be blamed solely on nature. We are now faced with the question, what will the future hold? Will the number of storms continually rise, and if so what can humans do to reverse or slow the change in the climate?

A question that remains is how should we fight climate change? We can look at the numbers and see the trends to understand something bad is happening but it’s important to know how we should go about fighting this problem. One answer to this question that has been proposed is the Paris Climate Agreement. This agreement proposed in 2015 is intended to get all countries to agree to record and submit their submission levels. The goal is get each country to agree to cut back on emissions and provide proof for doing so to and international committee.  As of November 8th this year the United States became the only country in the entire world that has not signed this agreement.  The U.S., the world’s second largest emitter of carbon, would be required to reduce fossil fuel emissions nearly 30 percent by 2025. In June 2017 Donald Trump announced that he would not sign the plan previously agreed to by the Obama administration. CNN did a report on the speech Trump gave announcing the withdrawal from the agreement where he showed little to no care for the state of the environment. In his speech he announces, “were getting out… we will start to renegotiate and well see if there’s a better deal if we can, great. If we can’t that’s fine.” This quote just shows our presidents disregard our president has for our environment. Many political leaders have come out and criticized this decision. Senator Bernie Sanders called the decision, “an abdication of American leadership and an international disgrace”. According to a Fox report Trump claims, “The Paris Accord will undermine our economy”. There is also a concern that cutting emissions would result in many working class citizens working in factories would lose their jobs. However the agreement implements plans to offer new jobs and the plan does not include and mechanism to force countries to reach the specific emission levels.  President Trump has yet to provide concrete legitimate reasoning for backing out of this agreement besides for “it will hurt our economy”. One other country that was hesitant in joining the pact was Nicaragua as leaders argued, “the deal did not go far enough toward keeping carbon emissions at safe levels and helping vulnerable countries protect themselves from the effects of climate change.”  However last month they decided to sign the agreement anyways agreeing that, “The Paris agreement, despite not being the ideal agreement, is the only instrument that currently allows this unity of intentions and efforts”. Other reasons included countries in civil war not being able to get representatives to negotiate or sign the pact. This leaves us wondering why our country has yet to sign the pact. The fact that we are the only country that has not agreed to the deal is concerning. Being the isolated party in this issue could not only pose threats to our environment it also damages our relationships with our allies. Miguel Canete one of the European Unions top climate change officials predicted that the EU would seek new alliances to support the agreement deeming the US’s decision to pull out, “a sad day for the global community”. While Trump pulled out of the deal the table is still open to negotiations. Former president Barak Obama ensuing the decision to pull out of the agreement acknowledged there is still hope for the future stating, “Even in the absence of American leadership; even as this Administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future, I’m confident that our states, cities, and businesses will step up and do even more to lead the way, and help protect for future generations the one planet we’ve got.” Now is the time for people to step up and show their support for the movement to encourage a change. 

After this plan is implemented the next question is what will countries do to lower their emissions. Its one thing to have the goal of lowering emissions but its to achieve the goal.  France for one has implemented plans to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles and to no longer use coal to produce electricity. Now obviously these plans are long term and don’t happen over night but we need to get these plans in place now if we want them to be effective in the future. 

Many people think they have no impact on the issue and that only government officials have power to stop the issue. This is the cancerous bystander effect that holds us back as a society in many ways. While no average member has the power to sign a bill or promote a policy there are various other things people can do to help the cause. Simple things like conserving energy and water and recycling may not have a huge impact amongst individuals, every person doing the little things can go a long way. Some other things include investing in renewable energy by using fuel efficient/electric cars and using solar energy and wind power in their homes/businesses. Many people think using renewable energy can be more expensive.  However, there are programs in place to pay back individuals for the energy they save using solar power which makes it much more economically sensible.  Additionally car companies like Tesla and Ford have recently been developing cheaper models of cars that run off electricity. So one of the best ways to combat climate change is informing peers of these programs. Its especially important for members of the younger generation to become more involved on the subject because we are the future leaders of our country and are the ones who are going to have to live in the world that is at risk because of the way things have been happening in society.

Its obvious the climate change is a growing issue that needs to be stopped. There have been increasing amounts of incidents in the past year and it is clear that other countries are recognizing and responding to this pressing issue. There is a growing presence of people in our country who recognize this issue but there is a lack of this representation in our government. The only way we can fix the issue is by increase awareness in our communities about little things everyone can do to help the environment. Its important for people especially the younger generation to pay attention to what’s going on with our environment so they can make educated votes to elect officials that support the environmental movement. 
