Why accurate information is so important

When we look at the climate change situation in the news it can be easy to get lost in the haze. In lieu of the United Nations Climate Action Summit having recently wrapped up on Sept. 23, I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss some dangers of climate change denial and give a brief overview of the facts behind climate change.

According to NASA, throughout the past 800,000 years, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have not exceeded 300 parts per million in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Then, in the 1950s, we surpassed that number for the first time. Now, in 2019, we are above 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), reported on Feb. 6 of this year that 2018 was the fourth hottest year on record. Turns out, the past four years are also the top four hottest years on record.

However, some parts of the globe need to stay cool. The melting of land based ice sheets across the globe has lead to global average sea levels rising by eight inches in the last century. Scarily, recent data suggests that rises in sea level are only accelerating.

The public is trending towards more climate concern, with Pew Research finding this year that 44% of U.S. adults believe dealing with global climate change should be a top priority for the president and Congress. 

Our president, for one, agrees with the apathetic minority. He has previously called climate change a hoax, before walking his statement back on “60 Minutes” in 2018, saying, “I don’t think there’s a hoax. I do think there’s probably a difference. But I don’t know that it’s man-made.”

That’s also not true. Climate change is definitely man made and we humans should do something about it.

Trump of all people should know this. His White House released the Fourth National Climate Assessment in November of 2018.

With names like NASA, NOAA, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the cover, it’s a wonder why Trump didn’t give it a closer read. In fact, it’s mandated by law by the Global Change Research Act of 1990, that the President is informed on climate issues by this very report.

Trump would not need to read for very long to find out what the report says. It opens with, “Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities.”

It seems like even the Trump administration — or at least the federal agencies under his administration —don’t deny the reality of anthropogenic climate change until it is politically convenient.

[mks_pullquote align=”left” width=”300″ size=”24″ bg_color=”#cecece” txt_color=”#000000″]“Climate change won’t disappear if we don’t acknowledge that it happens. That’s why it’s so important that we all stay informed and inform others about the science behind climate change.”[/mks_pullquote]

Climate change shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but it still becomes one. Yet you can’t really blame Trump for being politically charged when his opponent, Hillary Clinton, said things like this on the campaign trail: “I’m the only candidate which has a policy about how to bring economic opportunity using clean renewable energy as the key into coal country, because we’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.”

While these soundbites from Clinton might have helped Trump’s campaign ForeignPolicy.com reported on the consequences of treating climate change as a partisan issue on July 31, 2019, and the website explains, “Rod Schoonover, an analyst with the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, resigned in protest this month [July 2019] after the White House blocked his prepared testimony before a congressional intelligence panel on the national security implications of climate change.”

This rejection of science and censorship of the truth should not be happening. We, the youngest generation, have the most to lose when it comes to climate change. That’s why I want to address my peers with actual knowledge around climate change instead of just political talking points.

Climate change won’t disappear if we don’t acknowledge that it happens. That’s why it’s so important that we all stay informed and inform others about the science behind climate change.

We can all disagree on details, but denying the evidence of global climate change is not productive for anyone. Trump has every right to be a climate change skeptic if he wants to be, but he can’t be a denier.

If the president wants to argue for the merits of putting the economy before the climate or balancing the two together, he should do that and only that.

If we are all going to tackle the massive global issue that is climate change, we first need to be approaching it with the same common understanding of facts.

We cannot have a real debate in this country by denying reality. People can certainly argue that we cannot or should not do anything to stop climate change, but denying scientific reality accomplishes nothing.