BY DANIEL SAENZ
Here in the United States, we tend to casually dismiss any type of environmental issues as a non-issue or hoax that merits no attention from the government. There is indeed no better example of this than the issue of climate change.
Despite the fact that both NASA and the wider scientific community around the globe have been warning about the disastrous effects that could happen for years, there has been nothing done to address the issue. This inaction has manifested in melting ice caps and natural disasters at an alarming rate.
Recently, we saw this issue in Greece and Japan where people were dying from heat strokes and wildfires. This received almost no attention by the media here in the United States. However, the issue just might start to receive more attention now that it is finally hitting home here on the homefront.
California is now suffering from its second largest forest fire in state history. Over 75 residency buildings have been destroyed, 2 people have died, and over 11 have been injured. The disaster also consists of 17 major fires. Consequently, California has had to apply for a federal disaster declaration in order to provide relief for those affected by the fires.
Unfortunately, it does not end there. Hawaii, after already dealing with the eruption of the volcano Kilauea, is on hurricane watch. Hurricane Hector, as it is now named, is projected to have wind speeds of 140 miles per hour and cause floods.
What does this all mean? It means that inaction against climate change is beginning to have long-term consequences. Because of what we know about climate change and the effect that it is having on weather patterns, we must act now or circumstances will continue to worsen and more lives will be lost.