Fires rage across Los Angeles. Snowstorms bury the southeast under inches of snow. These are the latest in a pattern of ever increasing extreme weather events. Despite this, President Donald Trump signed executive orders to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Recent extreme weather events throughout the country prove that America needs climate change initiatives, such as the Paris Agreement, now more than ever.
Many people equate climate change with global warming. However, it’s important to note that climate change is about more than an increase in temperature. Climate change is caused by the release of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide or methane, which trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. This heat alters the weather patterns by changing the polar vortexes, regions of cold air surrounding the poles. Increased heat can cause the vortex to change shape, bringing warm air to the arctic regions and sending cold air to areas that typically experience milder weather.
The Paris Agreement was aimed to fix the root cause of those problems: greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of the United Nations treaty is to keep the annual global temperature increase between 1.5-2 degrees celsius below pre-industrial levels. To accomplish this, greenhouse gas emissions must be 43% lower by 2030.
The treaty obligates countries to submit a plan for lowering emissions every five years and financially support less developed countries in their efforts to fight climate change. On President Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order to pull the US out of this treaty.
“In recent years, the United States has purported to join international agreements and initiatives that do not reflect our country’s values or our contributions to the pursuit of economic and environmental objectives. Moreover, these agreements steer American taxpayer dollars to countries that do not require, or merit, financial assistance in the interests of the American people,” the executive order, titled “Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements” reads.
Pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement wasn’t the only move against climate change the newly sworn in president has made. Trump also signed orders to revoke former President Joe Biden’s efforts to fight climate change, such as his goal to increase the amount of electric vehicles sold.
Measures to limit climate initiatives are also happening on the state level. Kentucky’s Senate Bill 89 passed the state Senate this week. The bill changes the definition of “waters of the Commonwealth” to mean any “navigable waters” in the state. The navigable waters term would echo the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision that limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to enforce the Clean Water Act. This change would mean that some water sources, such as groundwater, won’t be eligible for protection against contamination. Climate change causes increased water levels. These lead to flooding, which could contaminate water sources and cause illness to spread.
With extreme weather on the rise, the government should be implementing more climate change initiatives, not pulling out of them. Weather events such as the Los Angeles fires and the southeastern snow storm aren’t just statistics. They have devastating impacts for the people living in those areas. Up to 12,000 homes were destroyed in Los Angeles during the fires. In the southeast, thousands of people were left without power, preventing them from heating their homes, cooking, and doing many other necessary tasks.
Climate change’s impacts aren’t limited to immediate effects of weather events. Warmer temperatures encourage the growth of bacteria, such as salmonella, on food. Pollution can make respiratory illnesses, such as asthma, develop or worsen.
These recent weather events show that climate change isn’t going away. It is not a hoax, and will only continue to worsen if we do not act now to reverse the effects. This is a matter that will affect all people, no matter their political affiliation. Climate initiatives, like the Paris Agreement and Biden’s goals of reducing America’s carbon footprint, are needed to protect the health and safety of Americans and the world as a whole.
