This current hurricane season has been a memorable one, with some of the strongest storms seen in history hitting the mainland America. Most recently, the panhandle of Florida was slammed by Hurricane Michael, and it left behind a path of destruction that is hard to look at.
This hurricane was the strongest to ever hit the panhandle of Florida and one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the country. The hurricane season is not over yet, and so far, the Atlantic has had 14 storms, which is more than the 10.3 average.
It is also important to note that waters in the Atlantic were four to five degrees warmer than usual this week, and warm waters are how hurricanes strengthen. Climate scientists have attributed this warmer-than-average water to the size and strength of Michael, which was the same case for Hurricane Harvey last year and Hurricane Florence this past month.
Now, you may still think that this warm water in the Atlantic is not an effect of global warming and that it is “natural” for the Earth to go through warming cycles. This sounds plausible, but there are many scientists with real doctorates and years of research who say otherwise.
Even I learned in my Advanced Placement environmental class in high school that the overproduction of greenhouse gases from humans is making the Earth warmer, and because of this, the oceans are getting warmer.
Another fearful effect is that the warming of the waters is causing polar ice caps to melt in unprecedented amounts, which is causing more and more flooding in places like Miami, Florida. This is something that you can see with your own eyes — you cannot argue that the ice is not melting.
Not only is Florida getting battered by strong storms intensified from global warming, but they are also suffering from the flooding as a result of climate change. It is pretty clear that Florida is one of the biggest victims of climate change, much like many other coastal states.
Why then, are the words “climate change” and “global warming” banned by Florida Gov. Rick Scott within his administration? NowThis News recently came out with a video of quotes from former administration members talking about how they were told not to use these words.
A Google search will find other members of the administration confirming they received similar messages that the ideas of global warming and climate change are unwelcome in Scott’s administration.
Miami has spent hundreds of millions of dollars putting in water pumps because the city keeps flooding. They are literally battling immediate effects of global warming with the potential destruction of an entire city, and their governor still refuses to recognize the cause of it.
Why does Scott — and many other Republicans — pretend science is not real and prefer to continue living on in ignorant bliss as our planet suffers every day? I really cannot see a good reason for denying climate change. All it will do is create more damage and harm.
When you were in science class and the biology teacher told you the different parts of a cell, you did not argue with him. You cannot argue that a cell does not exist. The same can be said for climate change: it is a science that we have warmed the Earth with greenhouse gas emissions, and now we are suffering because of it.
I live right next to the Jersey Shore. It is a beautiful place that I love with all of my heart. I am sure Florida residents feel similarly about their beaches and would hate to see them go. The reality is, if people in positions of power continue to deny the existence of climate change, their beautiful beaches could be gone in the next 30 to 100 years.
Scott and other politicians need to start owning up to what we are doing to our planet and make fixing it our top priority. The economy is not going to matter much when Earth is uninhabitable.
