One of the most breathtaking places that I've ever gotten to experience is the Grand Canyon, seriously it is the absolute best part of that State. Honestly, I can walk around that park for hours without getting tired of it; each formation is so unique, how could you not love it?! You know what the best thing about that park is right now? That the budget for protecting the park and the animals that roam it is being slashed! Isn't that just so cool?
If you answered no to the question about it being cool, you would be correct! If none of you know what's going on in politics right now, Donald Trump has decided to try to slash the Environmental Protection Agency's budget. He's not just taking a small amount from their budget, he's trying to slash the budget by, about, 31 percent!
I hope you know what the Environmental Protection Agency is, but if you don't I'll explain it to you. The EPA was officially formed in December of 1970 following Richard Nixon's presidency; it works to reduce environmental risks to humans and animals and they work to create and maintain a healthy environment. While the National Parks Services is what takes care of the, you know, National Parks, the NPS and EPA work hand in hand. They are both working to protect the environment and our health; although they do not do the same thing, they are both being affected by Trump's presidency.
Anyway, Donald Trump and his cabinet don't believe in global warming. He believes it is just a hoax. A HOAX! So disappointing to have made so much progress for global warming within the last eight years just to have it all have the potential to be revoked. I am soooo happy about this, can't you tell?
So right now, this budget cut would not only cut more than 50 EPA programs (which means lost jobs for many people), it would also harm the way the rest of the world looks at us. There are several countries around the world that are working together to fight climate change and Donald Trump is beginning to exclude us from that effort. The U.S. Energy Department was even told to stop using the phrases “climate change”, “emissions reduction” and “Paris Agreement” in all briefings and written communications, on the same day Donald Trump signed an executive order. Like... WHAT?!
Speaking of the Paris Agreement... I'm going to explain it real quick. So this agreement was made so that all nations have a common cause to combat climate change. Guess what, America is no longer a part of that agreement. So cool. China, a developing country, is now the leader of climate change since the U.S. is no longer in the agreement. Although it's terrible that we are no longer in this agreement, it is good to see a country that has a large amount of pollution step up to make a change.
I'm kind of jumping all over the place in this, there's just a lot to talk about with what's going on right now. I'm really upset about the EPAs budget being cut. Honestly, I agree with Van Jones of CNN in an opinion article he wrote that Trump may have signed Earth's death warrant. I just don't understand how or why years of reform for climate change could be torn down so quickly; it's like eight years of development was thrown down the drain.
Sigh. I don't really know what more to say about this besides the fact that I'm extremely ashamed that military has become more important than climate change. The EPA is one of the most important needs for climate change in order to make sure that America progresses into a country that works on the health of the environment. Overall, this is just so terrible. I am genuinely depressed that we are taking ten steps backwards for the environment from where we previously were.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Are You Sick, or is That Climate Change?
Ugh, I think living in the dorms is really starting to effect my health. I feel like I'm constantly getting sick from living in this small cramped space, I swear. I mean, it has to be the dorm that's getting me sick, right? That or the fact that people are coming to class sick. Maybe it's me, maybe I'm just prone to getting sick since my immune system is so compromised. Or... maybe it's the air I'm breathing in that's making me just a little bit sicker.
The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health came out with an extensive report on March 15th on the fact that "climate change is harming our health." This report even shows a map to illustrate how one's health is harmed by a particular region of the United States. Here in the northeast we are oh so lucky to only have five things affect us rather than six (too bad we're really not lucky since pretty much every region has at least five expect for the northwest, Alaska, and Hawaii. Oh well).
What affects us is extreme temperature, air pollution, extreme events such as flooding, hurricanes, and storms, tick-borne infections, and mental health and wellbeing. An article in USA Today said that "scientists have warned for years of the potential impacts of climate change on human health," meaning that there have been health concerns from climate change for years. The fossil fuels that are released into the air do not only have an effect on the environment but also us living on this Earth.
The extreme heat can cause heat-related illness and death from heat stroke and dehydration. The Summer where I live in New York used to be bearable when I was younger; I didn't mind sitting outside for long periods of time relaxing. Now, the heat is one of the absolute worst parts of the Summer. By the time July rolled around, New York had only gone under 80 degrees, during the day, once. The average temperature in July of 2014 for New York was 76 degrees and had an average low of 68 degrees compared to the average of 79 degrees and an average low of 71 for July of 2016. That is a crazy increase to have within just two years and can really impact people's health; as stated by the World Health Organization, "an increase in future heat-related mortality is seen as one of the most likely impacts of future anthropogenic climate change." This Summer when you say "this heat is killing me" or "it's so hot, I might die" (I know I say this a lot when it's hot out), those small comments can actually be a real health problem.
Obviously, the extreme temperature isn't the only thing to affect people, as previously stated, it just happens to be the most well-known effect of climate change. I mean, it is called global warming for a reason. Everything else can be summed up pretty easily compared to the long explanation for extreme temperature.
Air pollution can affect anybody, but it mainly harms people with preexisting respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic lung diseases. Air pollution is pretty self-explanatory, the air quality is terrible and is slowly affecting everybody's health. Extreme events can injury people and even kill them if the event is bad enough; between the years 1980 and 2000, there was an estimated 250,000 deaths from floods associated with cyclones and storm surges. Tick-borne infections come from more and more ticks carrying Lyme Disease. This disease can only be transmitted through Ixodes ticks, or deer ticks; they have been more and more common in the north and east part of the United States over the past few years.
The last thing that affects us in the northeast is mental health and wellbeing. I'm sure at this point in your life you've heard the term seasonal depression at least once; this basically means that the wintertime months can cause people to become more depressed in the colder months of the year. Since it gets darker earlier in the winter, as well, the lack of light tends to add to the depression people may have during these months of time. The extreme weather events can also severely stress a person out and can lead to consequences such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and an increase in suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Extreme weather can have a serious effect on mental strain since the events can be so traumatic to the person experiencing it.
If you didn't think climate change could get any worse for us... well, here's your proof. People have known for years that global warming has been affecting our health, but this extensive report really illustrated how terrible it is to us. I get sick all the time, but after this I really have to sit back and think to myself, "am I still sick just because that's how my body is, or is it the fact that the air I'm breathing in is keeping me sick?"
The extreme heat can cause heat-related illness and death from heat stroke and dehydration. The Summer where I live in New York used to be bearable when I was younger; I didn't mind sitting outside for long periods of time relaxing. Now, the heat is one of the absolute worst parts of the Summer. By the time July rolled around, New York had only gone under 80 degrees, during the day, once. The average temperature in July of 2014 for New York was 76 degrees and had an average low of 68 degrees compared to the average of 79 degrees and an average low of 71 for July of 2016. That is a crazy increase to have within just two years and can really impact people's health; as stated by the World Health Organization, "an increase in future heat-related mortality is seen as one of the most likely impacts of future anthropogenic climate change." This Summer when you say "this heat is killing me" or "it's so hot, I might die" (I know I say this a lot when it's hot out), those small comments can actually be a real health problem.
Obviously, the extreme temperature isn't the only thing to affect people, as previously stated, it just happens to be the most well-known effect of climate change. I mean, it is called global warming for a reason. Everything else can be summed up pretty easily compared to the long explanation for extreme temperature.
Air pollution can affect anybody, but it mainly harms people with preexisting respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic lung diseases. Air pollution is pretty self-explanatory, the air quality is terrible and is slowly affecting everybody's health. Extreme events can injury people and even kill them if the event is bad enough; between the years 1980 and 2000, there was an estimated 250,000 deaths from floods associated with cyclones and storm surges. Tick-borne infections come from more and more ticks carrying Lyme Disease. This disease can only be transmitted through Ixodes ticks, or deer ticks; they have been more and more common in the north and east part of the United States over the past few years.
The last thing that affects us in the northeast is mental health and wellbeing. I'm sure at this point in your life you've heard the term seasonal depression at least once; this basically means that the wintertime months can cause people to become more depressed in the colder months of the year. Since it gets darker earlier in the winter, as well, the lack of light tends to add to the depression people may have during these months of time. The extreme weather events can also severely stress a person out and can lead to consequences such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and an increase in suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Extreme weather can have a serious effect on mental strain since the events can be so traumatic to the person experiencing it.
If you didn't think climate change could get any worse for us... well, here's your proof. People have known for years that global warming has been affecting our health, but this extensive report really illustrated how terrible it is to us. I get sick all the time, but after this I really have to sit back and think to myself, "am I still sick just because that's how my body is, or is it the fact that the air I'm breathing in is keeping me sick?"
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