Citizens debate global disputes, teens speak out

The subject of climate change creates a topic of discussion that has divided the globe over the last 30 years. Colliding with politics, social issues and religious beliefs, climate issues continue to aggravate an age of apathetics and activists who struggle to find a common ground amidst the controversy.

According to NASA, scientists ascribe the climate shifting issues (including global warming) to the human expansion of the “greenhouse effect”. Scientists study this phenomenon in relation to rising oceans and planet temperatures.

Assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at California State University, Fresno Dr. Aric Mine has been teaching and researching climate change for the past ten years. He advocates for the collaboration of all nations working together to reduce fossil fuel emissions.

“This will require intergovernmental communication and organization,” Mine said, “among nations to address concerns about where people will live, how they will have access to food and water and what resources will help in accommodating them somewhere else.”

Mine studied under Dr. David Archer, professor in the Department of The Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago since 1993. He is currently studying the past global warming as recorded in the geologic record just west of Fresno in the Panoche Hills.

“This record will give us clues as to how the Earth responded to a rapid climatological event,” Mine continued, “and provide some insight into what to expect given our present warming. I try to reduce my environmental footprint by driving and traveling less and limiting my water usage.”

The effects of climate shifts include rising global temperatures, increased drought and heat waves, intensified hurricanes and an ice-free Arctic before 2050, according to NASA. Most researchers accredit the Australia and California wildfires and shrinking ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland to climate change.

Dr. Joshua Reece, assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Fresno State, has been working on atmospheric change for about ten years. He spreads awareness through educating students and publishing scientific papers on the impacts of climate change.

“Natural climate change has been massively exacerbated by human activities,” Reece said. “Namely the mass production of fossil fuels that have caused the planet to warm and the seas to rise. We have damaged the landscape of the planet in ways that have made ecosystems incapable of dealing with many of these changes.”

Teen climate activist and TIME’s Person of the Year Greta Thunberg captured the world’s attention at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit with her speech that inculpated the world’s climate leaders for their lack of action concerning the rising global temperatures.

In the following podcast, Addison Schultz, ’21, discusses climate change with AP Calculus and AP Statistics teacher Scott Bucher.

Thunberg now fights for climate action based on science and evidence rather than political party policies. Issues of the Green New Deal and Paris Agreement deadlines continue to circulate in environmental decisions.

Senior Sydney Saville harbors concern for the climate issue and researches courses of action. As a practicing vegan for two-and-a-half years, Saville educates herself on global pollution and the impact she has on atmospheric conditions.

“Our climate has been warming more rapidly than we have ever seen and pollution is being blamed,” Saville said. “Whether or not you believe in climate change you cannot deny pollution. Each of us should do our part to take care of the planet we live on.”

Shown in a recent survey taken on campus, 62 percent of FC high school students are not concerned about climate change and would not be willing to make any lifestyle changes to contribute to the climate change topic.

Hannah Van Noy, ‘21, references Psalms 104 when contemplating the subject of climate fluctuations. Viewing global warming as shifting weather patterns, Van Noy encourages others to educate themselves, but sees no value in a changed lifestyle.

“I think the people that want to repopulate forests, cut carbon emissions and stop oceans from rising are worshipping the earth,” Van Noy said. “When we say that we have en effect on the climate and and we can destroy the earth or make it better is stating that we are God and we are in control of those things.”

In the following tweet, NASA provides updates on the latest sea level data.

Keeping an eye on climate? We have updated our “vital sign” dashboard with the latest sea level data, as seen from space ?️ https://t.co/f8Cpqo7QQT

— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) February 10, 2020

Campus chemistry, AP Calculus and AP Statistics teacher Scott Bucher bears no concern for the climate crises being broadcasted across news platforms and social media pages.

“When I first started teaching I was told that we had ten years left,” Bucher said. “Then the fisheries in the ocean would collapse because of climate change and the ice caps were going to be gone.”

Bucher encourages students to form a factual opinion on the subject rather than believing every news site they scroll past on their phones.

“No prediction that they’ve ever made has come true,” Bucher continued. “So as a scientist, if someone is making predictions based on models and they always fail, then I’m not too concerned about their predictions.”

According to The Washington Post, seven in ten teenagers and young adults in the US say that climate change will harm their generation. About 57 percent of teens nationwide are afraid of the subject of climate change.

Mine addresses young people concerning the global issue and encourages them to advocate for the reduction of costs associated with current energy usage and production.

“To successfully move away from our current energy production system will require major behavioral change,” Mine said. “High school and college students must understand climate change because this issue will require action on their behalf and will affect them in some capacity the rest of their lives.”

In the following tweet, PBS NewsHour aired ten segments each month on climate change in 2019.

PBS NewsHour aired 121 climate segments in 2019, or nearly 10 segments each month. That’s more climate segments than the nightly news shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC aired combined (116). https://t.co/oxzWWSllcr Good for PBS.

Makes their horse race election coverage more baffling.

— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) February 29, 2020

Amnesty International has posted information about how climate change is impacting, human rights, our world and suggests ways to become involved whether volunteers have a minute, an hour or a lifestyle of change. Please consider how to not only change personal choices but influence others. Leave a comment below on ways to combat climate change.

To learn more about the scientific consensuses surrounding climate change, visit NASA. For more information on international global action and climate updates, check out Climate Tracker.

For more articles, read Campus cheer team earns Grand Champion title, overcomes hardships and COLUMN: Seniors travel to Israel for a new perspective on scripture.

Addison Schultz can be reached via email and via Twitter @SchultzAddison.