Maybe, Just Maybe, Climate Change is Real

When two once in a lifetime hurricanes hit in the same week, it’s time to face the facts: climate change is real. Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc across the Texas Gulf Coast, and we’re still scrambling to handle the flooding. Hurricane Irma just landed in Cuba on September 6, 2017, and the death toll has already climbed to 13.

These two hurricanes were both Category 5. Hurricane Irma surpassed hurricane Wilma’s top-record sustained wind speed of 183 mph with its own 185 mph wind for 24 hours. Usually these hurricanes only appear once in a lifetime, but recently they seem to have become the norm. Increased wind speeds, ferocious storm formations, and hurricanes Jose and Katia following immediately behind Irma shows some indication that Earth’s climate is diminishing, or getting more sinister.

Not only hurricanes have been bringing attention to climate change. Record earthquakes in Idaho and Mexico, as well as predicted ones in California along the San Andreas fault line have been catastrophic to anyone living in those areas. Canada, Montana, Washington, California, and Oregon have all been experiencing tragic wildfires.

Climate change is still a very controversial topic between meteorological scientists and the conservatives who think they know what they’re talking about. Deniers of climate change continue to state that there is no factual evidence to support climate change of any kind. But there is.

Greenhouse gas buildup is known to trap heat from the sun’s rays and cause the ozone layer to drop into the troposphere (where the insane weather begins to form) or break open and expose Earth’s environment to the vicious habitat of space. Yes, it is true that Earth naturally undergoes changes of carbon dioxide levels, but these are usually separated by thousands, if not millions, or years. However, we’re not due to experience our next level change until 2450, if not later.

Several notable figures have been raising their voice about climate change. Jennifer Lawrence spoke in a Channel 4 News interview about the tragedy of hurricanes and pleaded that climate change received more attention. However, she kind of falls flat on her argument and pushes her political views.

“It’s scary,” Lawrence said. “This new language that’s forming. I don’t even recognize it. It’s also scary to know that climate change is due to human activity and we continue to ignore it, and the only voice we really have is through voting.”

Rush Limbaugh is utterly convinced that anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change is fictional. As he is not a meteorologist and/or a climatologist, which he states in his September 5, 2017 update of rushlimbaugh.com, “nothing [he] say[s] today should be considered a forecast or a prediction.” Nonetheless, he starts bombarding actual meteorologists with his views, as if they are valid. He skips the entire logical point of thinking that maybe, just maybe, because meteorologists are saying climate change is “man-made” that it is “man-made.” And he somehow thinks he’s more credible than an entire community of scientists…sure, okay.

“Now, in the official meteorological circles, you have an abundance of people who believe that man-made climate change is real,” Limbaugh said. “And they believe that Al Gore is correct when he has written — and he couldn’t be more wrong — that climate change is creating more hurricanes and stronger hurricanes.”

Limbaugh continues with how political parties are pushing hurricane warnings over the edge and just calling for advertisements on essentials like batteries, water, and medical aid. Yet, he evacuated for Irma.

“You have people in all of these government areas who believe man is causing climate change, and they’re hell-bent on proving it, they’re hell-bent on demonstrating it, they’re hell-bent on persuading people of it,” Limbaugh said.

Climate change needs to be taken more seriously. Make sure you are getting your information from someone who knows what they’re talking about, specifically not Rush Limbaugh or a celebrity. Anyone who has done actual research and knows the effects of climate change will tell you the time to take action is now. We can start with the little things like cutting down the cattle industry and reducing our output of carbon dioxide in factories and machinery. You can also contribute by planting a tree, taking the bus, or riding a bike. Climate change starts with us, and ends with our future generations.