Global Warming No Longer Controversial

To the editor:

My name is Micah Price and I am a freshman at UC Santa Cruz. I have personal experience canvassing with The Sierra Club and have always been extremely passionate about environmental issues, particularly that of global warming.

Global warming is an issue that has been controversial for many years. It has long been a relatively bipartisan issue, with democrats advocating cutting global warming pollution, and republicans fighting against what they feel is unnecessary business regulation.

The science of the matter has involved two theories- the first is one supporting the idea that global warming is real, as well as caused by human activity. It makes the claim that the temperature of the earth is rising at a radical and abnormal rate; 15 of the last 20 years being the hottest on record. The second theory supports the idea that global temperatures fluctuate through time, and follow a natural trend of hot and cold.

The issue can no longer be called controversial. The vast consensus within the scientific community is that global warming is indeed happening, and that WE are causing it. The average temperature of the Earth’s water and land masses have risen 1 degree Fahrenheit in the last century, more in fact, than the temperature has risen in history. It’s important to note that global shifts in temperature have, in the past, taken place in 100,000 year intervals. This rate of increase is unprecedented.

Politically unbiased sources all over have come to promote the fight against global warming. Time and Vanity Fair magazines have both put out special editions about the dangers of global warming. The news media is now presenting this as a serious scientific dilemma, as opposed to political hullabaloo.
Though to many of us the affects of global warming seem abstract and subtle, they are very much present and have a direct effect on our everyday lives. Remember how hot last summer was? 2005 tied 1998 as two of the hottest years in recorded history. Have any friends or family living in New Orleans or along the Gulf Coast? Scientists accredit hurricanes to the drastic changes in temperature. Starting to worry about your water? You should be– water runoff from the Sierra Nevadas is decreasing due to changes in weather patterns.
On a more global level, the World Health Organization estimates that 150,000 people will die each year in the coming years from the effects of global warming. Entire lakes in Africa have dried up and are continuing to dissipate, causing droughts and death. As the polar ice caps melt, polar bears are dying at catastrophic rates. Rising sea levels will destroy cities and force millions to relocate. The effects will be, without doubt, cataclysmic, and the evidence is clear. So what is stopping us?
President Bush refuses to act on this issue because he is choosing to protect the interests of corporations, such as Exxon-Mobile, who has 10 lobbyists to every one of the Sierra Club’s, even as the largest and oldest environmental group in the nation. We need to invest in energy efficient cars, wind and solar power, and other solutions that will lower global warming pollution. The Bush administration refuses to act, and we should be ashamed that we are allowing him to determine the fate of the world for us and our children. In a country where it is supposed to be the people with the loudest voice, the corporations are shouting. It’s time to raise our voices on behalf of the people of the world who are suffering and even dying because of these changes. It’s time to show we care by driving more efficient cars and putting solar panels on our roof. Its time to write to our congressmen and congresswomen, and to stop voting for politicians that ignore irrefutable scientific knowledge. If you care about your future and your children’s future, and if you care about the earth that you live on, then stop waiting for everyone else to fight global warming and start taking action.
Global warming is the emergency of our generation, and the generations after us. It can be solved, but only if EVERYONE does their part to end it.