This column is students at West giving their opinions on a variety of trending topics. This week, the students are taking on Climate Change.
Nov 26, 2018
In case the recent catastrophic hurricanes and sweltering summers weren’t enough to alarm people, the United Nations scientific panel on climate change announced in early October that we have a decade to try and control climate change. According to the report, if we do not control it, humans may be brought to the brink of extinction because of our own failure to take care of the planet.
“Climate change is one of the most pressing issues our world and we as a species face today,” said senior Madison Ward. “It is important to understand climate change and its causes and effects in order to find solutions for this problem with destructive, devastating, and deadly consequences.”
Despite the grim-looking future, students like senior William Walker are staying positive and are hoping that we take the measures necessary to stop climate change.
“Using renewable resources are [sic] a good start,” said Walker. “Heavier taxes on companies that manufacture nonrenewable resources could also help.”
Even with the facts laid out in front of them, many of the government officials and lawmakers in America continue to deny climate change. This denial is leaving a major gap between science and politics, which could be dangerous for the future. Junior Mason Hon feels that something must be done about this gap because even the governments whose economies run on factories that are not environmentally friendly are joining the fight against climate change.
“Our country, with the amount of people and the amount of environmentalist we have, can do something that can globally change and impact future generations with climate change policies,” said Hon.
Unlike politicians, most students at West, no matter their political view, agree that our country must do something about climate change because it is ruining our Earth.
“I think politicians are more focused on issues that they think are important, and environmental issues just seem to fall to the bottom,” said senior Elizabeth Brower. “Because of that, environmental issues are not going to be fixed or addressed unless people take a stand and really fight for it.”
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