Climate Change: An Education Issue

       The debate over climate change has been raging for decades.  Beginning in the 1960s, scientists began to warn of the potential for pollution to warm the globe, threatening life as we know it.  By the 1990s, they were sure: human-caused emissions were bringing about discernible global warming (“History of Climate Change Science”).  Today, scientists warn that 3 out of every 4 people all over the world will “face the threat of dying from heat by 2100” if there aren’t major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (Leahy). However, this threat to our world was not (and still is not) taken seriously.  Despite continued research proving the existence of climate change some say it is a ‘hoax’, and some go as far as to suggest that God is responsible for increasing natural disasters.  Unfortunately, some of these non-believers are high up in the United States government, and blocking the way to any progressive policy.  However, any hope for implementing policies that support climate change relief doesn’t require replacing these people.  Instead of replacing them, requiring them to be educated on climate change literature before assuming a position of power that could potentially derail climate change progress should be implemented.

       Opposition to climate change is largely born out of ignorance.  The people who choose to ignore climate change or pretend it isn’t happening are simply not aware of how drastic the situation is.  Any information they are presented with they simply brush off or attempt to refute by saying it is a trick or a hoax.  What’s worse than this lack of knowledge is the refusal to improve it.  Even though they have access to the means to find this information, they refuse to seek it out and educate themselves on this matter.  If this education isn’t happening on its own, it must be mandated.  

       Unfortunately, this issue is very polarized based on party.  Largely, democrats are more likely to support climate change than republicans, who have a bad reputation for disregarding the fact of climate change.  Issues such as climate change have become more about sticking with party platforms than supporting what representatives actually believe in.  Even if a certain republican may individually believe in climate change, they are required to represent both their constituency and their party’s beliefs, which compromises legislation that could have a very positive impact.

       For this education program to be put into action, it would require both parties’ support, which might be an unrealistic expectation.  However, mandating some sort of education on climate change for both parties would help to educate those who are unaware, either by accident or on purpose, about the dangers of climate change.

Works Cited

“History of Climate Change Science.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Nov. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_climate_change_science.

Leahy, Stephen. “By 2100, Deadly Heat May Threaten Majority of Humankind.” NationalGeographic, National Geographic Society, 19 June 2017, news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/heatwaves-climate-change-global-warming/.

Diamonds From Sierra Leone

Diamonds may be forever, but they are not priceless. Due to the resource curse in Sierra Leone, the country has been taken over by a rebel army called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The RUF has been at war with Sierra Leone since 1991 and had been actively fighting until as late as 2002. The RUF was notorious for brainwashing children into becoming child soldiers. These children were taken from their villages against their will and forced to kill. This would not have happened if Sierra Leone did not randomly fall victim to a resource curse. A resource curse is when a small, underdeveloped country has an indigenous item that is very rare, lucrative and worth a lot of money. An example of a resource curse in the Middle East would be oil, for that is the motive for many of the international conflicts to have occurred there. In Sierra Leone, their resource curse is diamonds.

Ironically enough, the discovery of diamonds was the worst thing to ever to the beautiful nation of Sierra Leone. It is less the resource itself that is the problem, but more the artificial value that has been created for diamonds over the last century. Buying a diamond engagement ring was not always the social norm for couples. This was not a trend until the De Beers Mining Company created the slogan for the diamond company’s ad campaign: diamonds are forever. The diamond was to be a symbol of the eternity of love and marriage. Fast forward to 2017 and you can tell yourself, wow did that ad campaign start a financial and economic revolution. The average engagement ring now costs $4,000. This is due to the “rareness” of diamonds. Rareness was used in quotations for good reason, however.

Diamonds are a lot less rare than the public assumes to believe. As a matter of fact, diamond miners are notoriously known to have held onto diamonds in secret reserves. This was done to make the supply appear to be less prevalent than what it actually was, thus making the demand skyrocket. And since the diamond industry was practically monopolized by the De Beers Mining Company, they had full market control over the fluctuation of pricing. This gives them the ability to raise diamond prices around holiday seasons, such as Christmas or Valentine’s Day.

The resource curse can be handled much better than it historically is. For example, I propose that there should be some sort of national agreement made on any hot commodity discovered in a nation in which the GDP falls under a certain percentage. This would look out for the smaller, more vulnerable areas who have no control over what has naturally developed in their land. It is not fair that Sierra Leone had to endure the resource curse that they did. It could have been any country. If it were a much more developed country, this would not be an issue. I would be typing this on my diamond Macbook, and we would think absolutely nothing of it. The point I am making is that because diamonds were mined in such a corrupt environment, the way that their production and distribution has entailed has left the resource to be marked up at incredibly overpriced rates. Diamonds may be forever, but the resource curse does NOT have to be.    

Environmental Security: Drowning in Responsibility

          Climate change: a phrase that is all too common yet too infrequently acted upon. For decades scientists have produced hard evidence showing the disastrous effects of climate change and the potential global threat it could become if continuing on the same path. However, nations are too concerned with sacrificing tried and true policies which hurt the economy due to fear for losing in the global market because of newer environmentally safe practices. Though more and more nations are coming forward and declaring a new commitment to clean and renewable energy, questions arise as to what it would take for every nation to confidently step forward and declare full commitment to clean practices. Does it take every nation stepping forward promising to adapt these promises? Does it require a more immediate and dire consequence for not taking steps to fix this global threat? An unfortunate reality is that though we are not under immediate threat of annihilation by environmental forces, the lives of many already are.

             The citizens of Tuvalu are already facing the reality that their homeland may not be habitable within a few decades if the rising water levels do not cease. For being a consequence that is widely known, the melting ice caps pose a threat greater than just polar bears (not that I don't care about polar bears) by threatening many island nations and shorelines with an ever approaching threat. Unfortunately, a common attitude held by people living inland treat rising sea levels as a joke. "More beach front property" is not the reality, less habitable land and a displacement of a living population is. Environmental security is in line with all other forms of security as well, because the displacement of populations means not only the abandonment of national security as the nation will no longer exist as a habitable location, but the ignoring of ontological implications for both the displaced population and the accepting population. The transitioning of culture, language, and traditions is one that cannot be ignored, as undoubtedly history is lost in such a drastic change. Thus, the priority of climate change prevention is to minimize or reduce the effects of global warming if possible.

           International policies and agreements such as the Paris Agreement have attempted to take steps in unifying the globe against the dangers of global warming, but as it stands even with nations standing together, many of the citizens do not. Until the public attitude on energy conservation and aim for renewable energy resources becomes popular, there will be a consistent problem. As it currently stands, lobbying to change reforms originally meant to change energy policy for the bettering of the environment to still aid traditional non-renewable resources is a common occurrence. The only way to truly make a 180 degree turn to change the destiny of our planet is for a large-scale attitude shift towards renewable energy; this shift is necessary for both citizens and corporations. For the safety of the planet, climate change is a threat that needs to be addressed by all, as it is a threat that is for all.

Climate Change and Procrastination

Climate Change is the procrastinators worst nightmare

Climate Change has been in the headlines seemingly every day for the past 10 years. Whether it has been through Kyoto protocol, the melting of the polar ice caps, or merely the ban on some hair products whose chemicals destroy the O-zone layer, Climate Change is painted as a significant threat to the globe and should not be taken lightly. Yet, people still refuse to believe global warming is a true threat, and merely brush it off as a problem for future generations. However, as these people sit and wait the issue is merely expanding like a forest fire left unchecked. Governments need to stop “passing the buck” onto future generations, take responsibility and begin to fix this pressing issue.

         A multitude of studies have been completed by highly prestigious and trusted organizations such as the EPA, The United Nations, and even NASA. These studies have conclusively shown that “The concentration of GHGs in the earth’s atmosphere is directly linked to the average global temperature on Earth”, (GHGs being greenhouse gases) and the concentration of these GHGs have been steadily rising since the Industrial revolution, when nations began to burn off fossil fuels for energy. Furthermore, the average temperature has increased by a degree since the early 1900s and the oceans have risen by 19cm while the polar ice caps have shrunk from increasing temperatures every decade since 1970.  According to the United Nations “Given current concentrations and ongoing emissions of greenhouse gases, it is likely that the end of this century will see a 1–2° C increase in global mean temperature above the 1990 level (about 1.5–2.5° C above the pre-industrial level). The world’s oceans will warm and ice melt will continue. Average sea level rise is predicted to be 24–30 cm by 2065 and 40–63 cm by 2100 relative to the reference period of 1986–2005. Most aspects of climate change will persist for many centuries, even if emissions are stopped.” This poses a serious threat to island nations such as Tuvalu and even areas in the United States such as Miami and Manhattan which will be completely underwater if these emissions are not reduced however, governmental leaders still refuse to acknowledge the facts. While agreements such as Kyoto, and Paris are important, as they structure emission reduction goals for all countries there is truly no way to assure or enforce these goals unless leaders within these countries decide to act. 

Climate Change therefore is the “essay that keeps getting postponed.” Akin to the essay in a college course that keeps getting pushed back by the professor in hopes students will spend more time on it, students merely see it as a problem in the far-off future that will eventually get solved. While Climate Change is a looming death sentence on many nations however, developed nations choose to ignore it instead focusing on more apparent issues that will grant them immediate gratification rather than attempting to solve the issue of Climate Change. Climate Change fixes would possibly hurt the economies of these countries which may hurt the political careers of these politicians and often times the people do not see the purpose behind climate sanctions and merely see it as a way to “weaken their country”. 
In conclusion, Climate Change will not be solved until countries are willing to see it as an apparent and immediate issue rather than one in the far-off future that “may affect them.” Countries need to accept the reality of Climate Change and work towards fixing it now instead of when the first island nation goes underwater because, even though the essay may not be due tomorrow, countries will be able to write a much better fix in 20 years than in a year once Miami is reduced to a larger version of Sea World.

Possible Solutions to Helping Tuvalu

            Over the past thirty years, there has been a clear rise in sea levels and temperatures across the globe, a clear indication of climate change. In the United States and other developed nations, we have not seen how threatening and devastating the rise in sea levels actually are. Island nations in the Pacific, like Tuvalu, have had their lives turned upside down due to the rise in sea levels. We are not blind to the effects of climate change, but we are not actually experiencing first-hand what is going. Developed nations across the world claim responsibility due to fossil fuel emissions and vow to decrease their emissions. Though this is an important step to take to combat climate change, it is too late of a step to help those in Tuvalu. In order to help island nations like Tuvalu, we need to focus on them as a case by case basis and offer solutions that will help them integrate into a different society as the nations will eventually be underwater.

            It is extremely difficult to leave one’s home let alone be forced to move out of their home. The reality is that Tuvaluans do not want to leave their homes. As we discussed in class, only 9 out of 28 Tuvaluans said they would be willing to move away. Though this is a very small sample size, it still gives a small idea that Tuvaluans do not want to move. One possible solution to extending their time on the island is to offer aid, such as more secure shelters, food, water, and such to improve their quality of life on the island for as long as they can hold out. Those opposed to a solution such as this would say that the U.N. should allocate money and resources to help placing Tuvaluans to a safer locations and to get them adjusted to a new society because eventually they would need to move off the island. To them, money would be better well spent in a long term fix than a short term solution.

            This brings us to a second possible solution, funding Tuvaluan relocation and providing them with a somewhat seamless transition to a different society, such as New Zealand or Australia. The funds can help Tuvaluans be placed in a safe home, be secured a job and provide support groups to those transitioning from their old home. This solution would be better in the long run because money would not be used to fix a problem that can’t really be fixed. I tend to agree with this solution as opposed to the first solution because though it would be hard for the Tuvaluans to relocate their whole lives, if they are given the resources and support to lead a better life, it would make the transition easier. If Tuvaluans know that they will not just be thrown into some random society and viewed as outcasts, I think they would be more willing to leave their homes. It would not be easy, but if places like Australia and New Zealand are prepared for Tuvaluans, then the transition for Tuvaluans would be easier because they would feel welcomed. The reason why these nations can prepare for Tuvaluans is because they wouldn’t be thrown into their societies tomorrow. The nation of Tuvalu still has between 50-100 years before it is predicted to be below sea level. Australia and New Zealand can take time to prepare for the influx of people to be relocated. The transition would not happen at once, either. The relocation of Tuvaluans would happen in waves. Even at that, the population of Tuvalu is just about 11,000, so Tuvaluans would not be infiltrating other societies. Tuvalu needs help and a positive outlook of what their lives could be like in a different society is how they will be more easily persuaded to relocated.

            Overall, the situation is Tuvalu cannot be fixed simply by decreasing fossil fuel emissions. The condition in Tuvalu needs to be evaluated as an individual and separate issue and be treated as such. Thousands of lives are at stake. The transitions of Tuvaluans will not be easy, but it is necessary their issues be viewed differently than the global issues due to climate change.