Climate Change

Coming to SJU as an environmental studies major, climate change was one of the issues I felt very passionately about and one of the few environmental issues I felt I had a decent grasp on. I was ready to get started and figure out a solution to climate change. As I learned more and more about climate change I became increasingly frustrated with the governments and people around the world. To me the issue seemed very cut and dry; climate change has the potential to drastically alter life on earth, we as humans have the ability to possibly affect whether climate change accelerates at its given rate or slows to natural speeds, we need to fix it! At the same time that I was realizing all of this, I was learning about other environmental issues: water pollution, water allocation, food system inefficiencies... Suddenly everything else seemed just as important. While I didn't forget about climate change, it did take a back seat to other issues, other issues that felt more manageable. Ultimately, I think this is the main issue with why climate change isn't addressed. It isn't a matter of knowing its a problem; it's a matter of the huge process of fixing the problem. Fixing the problem of climate change will ultimately take the involvement of the rest of the world in one focused effort against a common enemy. The problem just seems too daunting to handle even if the rewards from doing so would be tremendous. Just as I had become overwhelmed and frustrated, I think the rest of the world working to fix this problem ultimately feels the same way.

My perspective on climate change has never been a question of whether it is happening or not. Climate is changing and it is clear (although the media may not portray it this way) that we as humans are causing it. I have always put that fact aside and realized that the outcomes of fixing climate change will ultimately create a better, stronger world. The entire world now has the ability to collectively combat a problem of global proportions and create societies that are not on a race to the bottom. Addressing the climate change issue will lead to societies that are more sustainable and healthy for the people that live there. In addition, global cooperation towards a single goal would go a long way towards achieving cooperation amongst nations rather than constantly fighting. Climate change could be the common ground that everyone agrees about. In addition, cooperation on this issue could lay the foundation to combating other global environmental problems.