If you read my last post, you may have learned, or already knew, that Trump feels as though Global Warming is a hoax. That our changing climate is nothing to be alarmed by and, to not use as much profanity as our President has, is just a bunch of “bull****” and “f****ed” up. He issued a handful of executive orders that brought back pipeline projects in which had been terminated by our previous president, Barack Obama. These projects not only were a hazard to the land they ran under, but also interfered with the communities whom had occupied that land. On the bright side, Station Obama will continue to monitor and conduct research on the pressing issue of climate change, no matter what Trump’s views are. Despite Trump’s skepticism towards this epidemic and lack of assistance to save our land, Mother Nature has seem to taken it upon herself to fix whatever damage is being done to the ecosystem.
The oceanic world seems to be fighting back against, not only, the change in climate, but also with any harm that polluted areas may have brought. “There are instances where sensitive ecosystems have shown remarkable resilience after climatic events. You can think of them as ‘bright spots’: They demonstrate that there are conditions under which ecosystems can persist even with major climate disturbances,” said Jennifer O’Leary, a marine conservation biologist with California Polytechnic State University and leader of the study. Eighty percent of researchers who had witnessed climatic disturbances also reported noting instances of resilience. For example, a western Australian reef lost 90 percent of its live coral after a bleaching event. But 12 years later, it had restored itself to 44 percent of its normal size. maintaining and promoting connectivity among habitats and protecting pristine or remnant populations of habitat-forming species — such as coral and kelp — can dramatically foster recovery after extreme climatic events,” said Giulio De Leo, with Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, who also worked on the study.
^ That is a Western Australian reef.
The issue of climate change is still extremely prevalent within today’s society. These findings do not suggest that we, as a whole, may do whatever we want to Mother Nature, and eventually, she would just “fix” herself. These studies did not show instant reparations. In fact, most of this compensation on nature occurred years, or even decades, after the initial detrimental incidents took place. The risks are much greater over the long run than over the next few decades, but the emissions that create those risks are happening now. There are multiple effects climate change will have on our environment, not beginning right this instant, but the more time that passes, the more these effects will begin to show. Some things that may occur are the rainfall will be heavier in many parts of the world, the number of hurricanes may fall, BUT, ones that do occur will draw energy from a hotter ocean surface, and therefore may be more intense, and one last effect is that we would begin to see an increase in flooding around the world.
These findings show that we must be more careful with our ecosystem, and start respecting the environment more, if we want to even begin to prevent the issue of a changing climate. It could all start with a simple task; such as picking up a piece of garbage that was just thrown on the ground in a park. Things like littering are what lead to oceanic pollution. Dumping trash into an ocean or lake only does harm to the animals and plants which reside in them.
There are multiple ways in which we, as individuals, may begin to prevent climate change from spreading even more. Things as simple as; buying food and other products with reusable or recyclable packaging instead of those in non-recyclable packaging; Walking instead of driving; Recycling your home’s waste newsprint, cardboard, glass and metal; Insulate your home, clean your air conditioning filters and install energy efficient shower heads; and most importantly, Purchase a fuel-efficient car to replace your most frequently used automobile, are all things that could lead to a brighter future and even brighter ecosystem.
Although Mother Nature does seem to be fighting back, we need to fight even harder so that she does not have to. It should be our job to save our environments, we should not leave it to our ecosystem to fix itself, especially because of the amount of time it would take to do so. We may not be able to do much, but we can spark a change, especially if our President cannot be bothered to do so.
Sources:
(^Yes, that is a link^: NY Times James Yang; Short Answers to Hard Questions About Climate Change)
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/marine-ecosystems-are-preparing-for-climate-change/#
http://www.broward.org/PollutionPrevention/AirQuality/EducationalPrograms/Pages/ThingsToPreventClimateChange.aspx