Max Zepeda Zepeda 1

Professor Gage
ENGL 1302-224
CLIMATE CHANGE: An Issue Worth Everyone’s Attention

One of the most influential minds of the twentieth century, and maybe the greatest striver for

peace the world has ever seen, Mahatma Gandhi, once eloquently stated, “Earth provides enough

to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” This quote reflects upon the innate

sufficiency of Earth’s provisions, yet due to man’s greed, the issue of climate change remains

more critical than ever. Simply put, climate change is the human-caused phenomenon where the

emission of carbon dioxide severely impacts our atmosphere, causing our weather to rapidly

change. It is truly shocking that an issue with such a wide impact on society has been politicized

the way it has unfolded as of late. For years, this issue has been surrounded with controversy, as

people who desired to fight against it were considered “out of their mind,” while people who

ignored it and described it as a hoax were called “ignorant.” Acting against climate change is

something everyone should agree on, as it is occurring right now, it has been ignored for far too

long, its cause is obvious and can be halted, and it will impact every part of our lives in the

future.

Firstly, it is important to recognize that a main reason for everyone to now engage in the fight

against climate change is that it is already occurring as this is written. One factor that proves that

this is currently the situation is the increasing numbers of El Nino and La Nina events happening

in recent years (Tisdale 11). These events are phenomena of large amounts of warm or cold air in

the Pacific Ocean that affect all climates on earth, and while, usually, there is an even amount of
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warm and cold air each year, but recently that has not been the case (Tisdale 12). Climate

scientist, Bob Tisdale, states in his book, “Who Turned on the Heat,” that there has been a

change in what events take place each year, how many, and when. Tisdale claims, “In the last

thirty years, there has been a significant rise in stronger, longer lasting, and more frequent El

Nino events in comparison to La Nina’s than ever before,” and there is evidence to back this up.

Between 1980 and 2020, the average water temperature in the Pacific increased from being -0.1

degrees celsius below average to being 0.5 degrees celsius above average (Tisdale 22). This may

not appear to be a significant difference in temperature at first glance, but the truth is that since

this is affecting the Pacific, which leads to unfortunate consequences (Tisdale 23). Tisdale

proves this by pointing out, “The sea surface temperature anomalies for the entire globe, or about

360 million square kilometers warmed 0.6 degrees in a forty-year period.” This is incredibly

important to mention because it proves that this has been a problem that has been disguising

itself for decades. Those who disagree with these facts argue that the change in temperatures is

natural and has always occurred. Further, they claim that something as complicated as climate

change, cannot be proven. In reality, this is not a complicated issue to understand, and more

importantly, there is abundant evidence, which speaks for itself, that our climate is changing in

ways it has not in recent human history. Even though the signs of a changing climate have been

happening, little has been done to remediate it.

For years, the issue of climate change has been characterized as too lengthy and vague of an

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issue, which has led to little policy change. Back in 2015, the United States entered an agreement

known as the Paris Climate Accord, which was an agreement with 195 countries to tackle

climate change (UN Report). The goal of the accord being to prevent the average global

temperature exceeding 1.5 or 2 degrees higher than it is right now (UN Report). However, there

has been barely any progress in the U.S. in efforts to fulfill their part of the accord. According to

the Emissions Gap Report in 2019 conducted by the United Nations, the United States emitted

the second largest number of total carbon dioxide of any nation in the world, only behind China.

Meanwhile, America ranks number one on consumption of carbon dioxide in the world, a

terrifying statistic as the nation has been in the agreement for nearly four years (UN Report). The

report also states, “If no new climate policies are put into place in the near future, we can start

experiencing the effects of the temperature rise as soon as 2030.” This precisely proves the

incompetence and negligence that our leadership has had for an issue that affects the world,

which in recent years, has been the result of much partisanship. Republicans and Conservatives

have believed that by tackling climate change, they are benefiting Liberals and Democrats

politically and, therefore, should not be pursuing the issue (National Affairs). National Affairs, a

typically conservative media source, stated on the matter, “Many more Republicans are

uncomfortable making accusations of corruption and conspiracy against so much of the scientific

community, but they too have struggled to sustain an untenable position.” It is clear that this

perception is an epidemic in our leadership, and it must be eradicated. Unfortunately, the people

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behind these ideas truly believe there are more important issues to solve rather than the issue of
the environment. What issues are more important? The impact of this problem is more

widespread than any other and solving it must be a priority for every politician in every nation in

the world. It is truly a shame that this issue has been given a backseat for years, as its cause is

blatantly obvious and can be prevented.

The true cause of climate change has always been clear, but for some, it is hard to admit. The

cause, of course, is the constant emission of carbon dioxide or CO2 gases into the air and the

pollution of our atmosphere. To put it plainly, when carbon dioxide gases are released into the air

at an abundant rate, the gas absorbs heat from the earth that would normally release into space

(Tisdale 52). What happens instead, Bob Tisdale explains, “the gas re-emits that heat back to the

earth, leading to the warming of the planet.” Everyone must be aware of this because it is a

problem that impacts everyone, but there is hope that it can be solved. There are strategies that

can prevent these chemicals from entering our atmosphere in the foreseeable future, which other

nations have adhered to and acted on. As the Earth Island Journal states, “the nation of New

Zealand has already committed to removing all fossil fuels by 2050.” New Zealand’s example of

progress showcases the kind of action that must be done in every nation around the world in

order to combat this challenge. A contrary belief to this may be the idea that while its cause is

simple, it will take years to solve and therefore should not be made a priority. This is an opinion

void of facts, as in actuality it can be accomplished, and while it may be a long process, when

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solved it will result in the preservation of our Earth for the next generation.
 If there is one thing that should convince anyone living to fight against climate change, it is

the possible future it holds for us if no action continues to take place. One fact that has been

proven is that without action, temperatures will continue to rise in abnormal ways, and severe

storms, costing billions of dollars, will become more frequent (Rowe 23). Environmental

journalist, Mark Rowe, reported recently, “More than 50 million homes in the United States are

now in an area at risk of wildfires, a number that increases by one million every three years.” He

continued by saying that the damage caused by these fires could exceed one trillion in the near

future if no immediate action takes place (Rowe 23). Rowe also warned about the significant

changes coming in the number of hurricanes that will form if nothing is done (Rowe 23). He

recounts that in 2020, “We had 30 hurricanes, 12 inland storms; we ran out of alphabetical letters

to name them all and had to move to the Greek alphabet. This is not some distant, abstract,

projected future – this is the here and now, and it will get much worse.” While unusual weather

patterns are the primary effect of climate change, it presents massive consequences for

agriculture and how their practices could be impacted. Agriculture professor, Zaid Chalabi,

accurately points out, “Climate change’s effects will determine how poorly nourished the

quantity and quality of food can be when accessed, as well as whether they are affected by

infectious diseases that could compromise nutrient absorption.” This impact will radically

change the way crops are grown and replenished if our climate continues to worsen. This may be

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viewed by the opposing side as a falsehood for many reasons. One opinion might state that it will

not impact our future, but rather, it will be the problem of future generations to solve. It is this
type of arrogance that has led scientists and activists to where they are in the fight against

climate change. It is previous generations and now our own who believe that passing the buck is

the best thing to do. Our future and the future set forth for generations to come will be impacted

by our own actions today unless all take immediate action.

Acting for efforts to mitigate climate change are critical given that the effects are occurring

right now, that it has been ignored for far too long, its cause is obvious and can be halted, and it

will impact every part of our lives in the future. For too long, this issue of the safety of our planet

has been disregarded as a partisan issue that only benefits one side or belief system. It should be

made clear that this situation affects everyone, not just Americans, regardless of who they are or

where they’re from. Anyone living today should have the desire to preserve this planet for the

future of humankind. Climate change is a problem with many possible solutions, one of which

being, the removal of nearly all carbon dioxide emissions, as well as fully shifting to natural gas.

As a part of this, all nations should look to move from gas powered cars to EV or electronic

ones, which produce no emissions.

WORKS CITED

Tisdale, Bob. Who Turned On the Heat. Bob Tisdale, 2012.

Manzi, Jim, and Peter Whener. “Conservatives and Climate Change.” National Affairs , Summer
2015, https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/conservatives-and-climate-change.

“The Beacons Are Lit .” Earth Island Journal, vol. 361, no. 1, Spring 2021, p. 5. San Jacinto
College Database.

Rowe, Mark. “Set Back.” Geographical Magazine, vol. 93, no. 3, Mar. 2021, pp. 21–28.

J. Lloyd, Simon, and Zaid Chalabi. “Climate Change, Hunger and Rural Health through the Lens
of Farming Styles: An Agent-Based Model to Assess the Potential Role of Peasant Farming.”
PLoS, vol. 16, no. 2, Feb. 2021. Gale Academic Onefile,
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246788.