While U.S. politicians are bickering back and forth debating its existence, climate change continues to affect the globe in a devastating manner.
A report recently released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program illustrates the damning evidence of climate change pertaining to the nation specifically and its possible negative impact on the economy and general welfare of American citizens.
The Trump Administration, in an attempt to downplay the findings, allowed for the release a day after Thanksgiving, making it a quiet and subtle one.
However, the troublesome discoveries it contains are far from subtle.
Crop production is projected to decrease by 25 percent by the end of the century, dairy production will fall by a percent in the next 12 years, the oyster industry harvests alone will decline by 46 percent also by the end of the century, and many more industries reflect the same trend. Additionally, if climate change effects were to be as disastrous as predicted, the U.S. economy could lose billions of dollars, or more than 10 percent of its GDP, by 2100.
Moreover, extreme weather changes will exacerbate droughts and fires.
While 85 percent of fires are due to human activity, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, the rate at which the fire becomes out of control can be attributed to the drastic change in weather.
Although climate change does not directly cause a single event, the recent Camp Fire in California was especially catastrophic due to conditions that have been in the making for decades. The steady increase in temperature caused forestry and vegetation to die out, which therefore created “ample fuel to burn.”
This combined with the winds of over 70 mph was able to spread the fire about a football field per second.
Furthermore, another climate report released by the United Nations a day after the U.S. report proved to be similar.
However, the U.N. findings called for a more proactive global and urgent approach to the issue.
To keep warming levels below 2 degrees Celsius, a “tripling effort” will be needed, or else the warming will “trigger sea-level rises, droughts, floods, extreme weather events” and even a decline in general health.
While politicians aimlessly debate, the U.S. remains five steps behind the rest of the world in fulfilling its promises of climate change.
With President Donald Trump disbelieving his own administration’s findings, it is difficult to see the U.S. contributing to the much-needed global effort.
To continue to debate climate change’s existence at this point is counterintuitive.
The science is there.
This specific report was prepared by 1,000 individuals, 300 of them leading scientists.
Over half of them are outside of any government sector.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program itself is a team of 13 federal agencies combined.
The data is simply irrefutable.
Additionally, it parallels other reports released by the likes of the U.N. and other environmental agencies.
If U.S. politicians, especially Republicans, don’t dig their heads out of the dirt, there could be irreconcilable damages to the globe.
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