Ouch. That’s got to be the eighth fly I’ve swatted off my skin in the past two hours. I don’t exactly appreciate the cloud of gnats around me either, but the cool breeze paired with the soft moonlight makes up for it. My friends walked back to the house thirty minutes ago, but there’s no place I’d rather be right now than this rickety wooden dock with my line casted.

Fishing is an activity I didn’t appreciate much as a child. My parents or grandparents used to take me to a shallow pond on the golf course at the country club they belonged to. They’d accidentally pick days that it was raining heavily to go, and the pickings were pretty slim in those waters. Though it wasn’t my favorite activity, the occasional sunnies and blue gills I caught made my day. A sense of accomplishment came with reeling in a fish, even if it was tiny and my parents did ninety percent of the work for me. Sometimes, my extended family would host gatherings at my aunt and uncle’s lakehouse, and I’d dunk a worm by myself after my social battery ran out. Even then, it was mainly out of boredom that I’d fish.

I think there were a couple reasons I wasn’t a huge fan of fishing growing up. The first and most obvious is that I wasn’t big on the outdoors altogether. Few things that weren’t video games or Legos could hold my attention in my free time. The less obvious of the two reasons was that I misunderstood the sport.

Well, technically I understood the sport. You swing your rod to cast your line with a worm at the end and hope that after a while a fish bites so you can real it in. What I didn’t get was that almost all of the appeal of fishing is the environment and the anticipation, not necessarily the actual catching of fish. In my youth, that was a difficult concept to wrap my head around. Why would I stand around waiting for something to happen that very well may not happen at all? As a young adult, I take great pleasure in soaking up the vibes of fishing. Whether I went out in the morning, in the afternoon, or at night, I love immersing myself in the weather. Sure, we’re exposed to the weather constantly, but there’s no better way of enjoying it than just standing out in it for hours on end. To me, perfect fishing weather was a cloudless blue sky and the slightest breeze. To watch the water ripple and wonder whether it’s a fish or just the wind mesmerized me.

Though nature is a large part of why I love fishing now, the people are what really make it for me. Truth be told, it was my friends who helped me to fall in love with the sport. It was a great activity for a summer night spent at the lakehouse we frequented. I remember catching the biggest fish of the season the very first day we went out last summer. I’m not at all talented as a fisher, but luck must’ve been on my side that afternoon. The next step now that I’ve come around to enjoying fishing is to involve my parents and grandparents more. After all, they were who tried to fish with me before anybody else did.

The Inconvenience of Traffic in Los Angeles

5 April 2023

Introduction

            One hundred hours is a fairly long duration of time. Even when looking at the fraction of a whole year that one hundred hours take up, it is still more than four days of your life. So, what is the significance of that quantity of time? According to the government of California, the average driver in the city of Los Angeles spends upward of one hundred hours stuck in traffic each year. You read that correctly. Traffic is something that all drivers experience from time to time, but can you fathom spending four days every year frustrated, sitting in the driver seat of your vehicle while it remains motionless? People have places to be!

Problem

            FOX reports that Los Angeles is home to some of the most congested highways in the country and that its residents are subject to great inconvenience as a result. The crowding of these highways presents a safety hazard as well. Imagine a house on your street catches fire. You may be fortunate enough to live very near to a firehouse, but, unless that is true, emergency services are likely reaching the scene via an interstate. Los Angeles roads are most congested between 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM. If the fire were to occur during those hours, emergency services would likely struggle to arrive at the scene in a timely manner, which is worrisome. The congestion of Los Angeles freeways can be attributed largely to the car-centric design of the city. Before Los Angeles became the second most populous city in the United States, it being car-centric was not an issue. However, now that twelve and a half million people live in the Los Angeles metro area, accommodating each person’s transportation needs with roads alone is becoming infeasible. Los Angeles would benefit from more accessible public transportation and from fewer cars on its highways, not from an increased number of available roads.

Existing Plan

            A remedy to extreme urban traffic is currently being tested in the city of Las Vegas, which resides relatively near to Los Angeles in comparison with other major United States cities. Ultra-wealthy entrepreneur Elon Musk has constructed a tunnel under the city with the intent of reducing congestion on the main roads of Las Vegas. This doesn’t sound like a poor idea, initially. However, this approach addresses the symptoms of traffic rather than the root cause of it. The problem with simply building additional roads in intensely congested cities is that the new roads will inevitably become just as crowded as the existing ones. Urban populations across the United States are rising, which will lead to further congestion in car-centric cities, regardless of how many roads are available to drivers. After these underground tunnels become unreasonably busy, residents of car-centric cities will fall back to square one. News source Vox claims that similar tunnels could appear in other major cities across the country in the future. Such tunnels would be largely ineffective as a long-term solution to traffic in Los Angeles.

Counterplan

            The direction policymakers should move in is making the city of Los Angeles less car-centric. How can this be done? The city has been designed and constructed already, and its roads have existed for more than a century.

Just because Los Angeles has been built and established for so long does not mean that measures cannot be taken to provide transportation options other than the roads. Los Angeles already has an underground subway system, but it does not get used nearly as much as it should. To allocate funding towards making the subway system under Los Angeles more practical and comfortable for passengers to use would reduce traffic on freeways. This may mean adding additional stops, which could present great challenges, but it is necessary as a part of the long-term solution to unreasonable traffic.

The other part of this policy is implementing carpooling incentives. This would reduce the number of cars on the road at one time without keeping people from getting to where they need to go, according to researchers at MIT. An incentive could be a designated carpooling lane on each major highway, or it could be a break from paying tolls.

Conclusion

            This approach is extremely feasible and would be more effective than alternatives because it suggests that existing systems be upgraded to become more efficient, and it addresses the root cause of extreme urban highway congestion rather than the problem’s symptoms. For the safety and convenience of residents of the area, it is very important that this policy is implemented in the city of Los Angeles.

Works Cited

“100 Hours.” Southern California Association of Governments, 21 Nov. 2020, https://scag.ca.gov/100-hours#:~:text=The%20average%20LA%20driver%20now%20spends%20over%20100%20hours%20every,traffic%20in%20the%20entire%20world.

11, FOX. “Los Angeles Has the 6th Worst Traffic in the US, Study Finds.” FOX 11 Los Angeles, FOX 11 Los Angeles, 8 Dec. 2021, https://www.foxla.com/news/los-angeles-has-the-6th-worst-traffic-in-the-us-study-finds.

Artsy, Avishay. “Elon Musk’s Tunnels to Nowhere.” Vox, Vox, 8 Dec. 2022, https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/12/8/23498861/elon-musk-boring-company-tunnels-finished.

Conner-Simons, Adam. “How Ride-Sharing Can Improve Traffic, Save Money, and Help the Environment.” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 4 Jan. 2017, https://news.mit.edu/2016/how-ride-sharing-can-improve-traffic-save-money-and-help-environment-0104.

Liu, Jennifer. “Commuters in This City Spend 119 Hours a Year Stuck in Traffic.” CNBC, CNBC, 4 Sept. 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/04/commuters-in-this-city-spend-119-hours-a-year-stuck-in-traffic.html.

Rubio, Isabel. “The Underground Tunnels That Elon Musk Says Will End Traffic Jams.” EL PAÍS English, 6 Jan. 2023, https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2023-01-06/the-underground-tunnels-that-elon-musk-says-will-end-traffic-jams.html.

I remember the first 60 degree day of this semester. Penn State students had endured a harsh winter, and schoolwork wasn’t making the season any happier on campus. Just about everybody had enough of bundling up to go outside and nightfall at 5 PM. However, the sun did eventually shine through the grey sky, and to say the student body was appreciative would be an understatement.

The spirit among the dorm halls reminded me of the excitement caused by the first snowfall of the year. When the temperature outside became reasonable after months of frigid conditions, campus was bustling with energy. I have always recognized the importance of green space, but never have I appreciated it as much as I did that first warm day in State College. The HUB lawn appeared like a scene from a movie; it was surreal how busy the area was and how happy the students were. Some students threw footballs or frisbees, others tanned or sat on blankets. I of course made sure my homework was in good shape before partaking in any outdoor fun, but after I confirmed that all my assignments were completed, I ventured over to the HUB, only 300 feet from the door of Simmons Hall. There, I saw members of my business fraternity with two Spikeball nets set up. For those who aren’t familiar with the game of Spikeball, it’s a classic lawn game and maybe the most fun of its kind. After finding a partner to play with and waiting five minutes for our turn, I made it on one of the nets. My partner and I left the lawn with a record of 2-1, defeating two very strong teams and putting up a great fight against the last.

Although Penn State students clearly enjoy warm weather, we appreciate winter sometimes as well. I recall when it started snowing at the end of the fall semester. The first time a snowflake fell to the ground, Christmas music was blasting throughout my dorm hall, and students rushed to the HUB lawn to play in the snow. My friends and I ended up rolling a giant snowball, only for it to split in two the moment we climbed on top of it.

Just this past weekend, the weather was beautiful again, and I happened to be really proactive with my homework throughout the week, so that wasn’t a concern. I awarded myself a well-earned break on Saturday and brought my hammock to the HUB lawn along with a football and my backpack. I set up my hammock between two sturdy trees near the building, and I stored my equipment at the base of the lower tree. This was around 11 AM, and nobody was on the lawn. However, the scene was anything but desolate and unwelcoming; bird songs filled the silence perfectly. The sound of a woodpecker fascinated me as I listened from my hammock. After an hour or two had passed, my friends were finally convinced to join me, and they brought snacks, blankets, and a Spikeball net. With my friends came a crowd of other students, and the HUB lawn became close to what it was on the first 60 degree day of this semester again.

I’m someone who appreciates convenience greatly. Much of my day-to-day life is centered around being “low maintenance.” Take my hair, for instance. Sure, having long, flowing curly hair was awesome when I had extra time to make sure it was under control, but it required more care than I was happy to put in. So, when February rolled around and it was time for THON, I was eager to shave my head. Of course my primary motivation was to raise money for pediatric cancer treatment, but I was also excited to wake up every morning and do absolutely nothing at all to my hair before leaving my dorm room.

This brings me to why I love hiking. It happens to be my favorite outdoor activity, for the same reason I’m enjoying my short hair, oddly enough. Hiking requires decent footwear and a trail. What’s more, you can forage a new trail if there isn’t an existing one. I’ve blogged about hammocking, cycling, skiing, and kayaking, all of which require more equipment than hiking does. While those activities may bring me enjoyment equal to what I feel when hiking, none is more convenient and low maintenance than going on a hike.

I was raised as a hiker. My parents and my surroundings were responsible for this. My family got a dog for the first time when I was in second grade. Though I was young, I remember my parents debating over what breed was right for our lifestyles. My mother had a small dog in mind, but my father wouldn’t settle for any dog under fifty pounds. After lots of discussion, my father convinced my mother that we should follow up on a local advertisement for a one year old vizsla puppy for sale. My parents surprised my brother and I with the dog one evening. I didn’t realize it in the moment, but this animal would be the primary reason I went outside during my childhood. Vizslas have extremely high energy capacities, which means they require a great deal of activity in order to behave. My father recognized this, and he took it upon himself to get our dog walked for at least thirty minutes nearly every day. Because I loved hanging out with my dad, and I thought the new family pet was adorable and intriguing, I’d join him on their walks more often than not.

The roads around my neighborhood make for a fine walk, but a hike through the State Park near my house never failed to wow my father, our dog, and me. Because cars aren’t a factor in the forest, we would remove my dog’s leash and let him roam within the vicinity. Even though these walks were for the purpose of tiring out our pet, I came to realize that I find equal enjoyment in hiking if not more than my dog does. Something about the whole experience was so serene to me. There is so much beauty to behold on a woodland trail, and the scenery is great when I want to clear my mind after a long day. I’m like my dog in a way; when I don’t tire myself out with activity, I feel slightly cranky. Navigating the woods is an extremely restorative experience to me, and I find myself yearning for a hike frequently.

 

One hundred hours is a fairly long duration of time. Even looking at the fraction of a whole year that one hundred hours take up, it’s still more than four days of your life. So, what’s the significance of that quantity of time? The average driver in the city Los Angeles spends upward of one hundred hours stuck in traffic each year. You read that correctly. Traffic is something that all drivers experience from time to time, but can you fathom spending four days every year frustrated, sitting in the driver seat of your vehicle while it remains motionless? People have places to be!

Los Angeles is home to some of the most congested highways in the country, and its residents are subject to great inconvenience as a result. The crowding of these highways presents a safety hazard as well. Imagine a house on your street catches fire. You may be fortunate enough to live very near to a firehouse, but, unless that’s true, emergency services are likely taking an interstate to reach the scene. Los Angeles roads are most congested between 4:00 and 7:00 PM. If the fire were to occur during those hours, emergency services would struggle to arrive at the scene in a timely manner, which is worrisome. The congestion of Los Angeles freeways can be attributed largely to the car-centric design of the city. Before Los Angeles became the second most populous city in the United States, it being car-centric was not an issue. However, now that twelve and a half million people live in the Los Angeles metro area, accommodating each person’s transportation needs with roads alone is becoming infeasible. Los Angeles would not benefit from more highways; the city would benefit from more accessible public transportation and fewer cars on its highways.

A remedy to extreme urban traffic is currently being tested in the city of Las Vegas, which resides relatively near to Los Angeles in comparison with other major United States cities. Ultra-wealthy entrepreneur Elon Musk has constructed a tunnel under the city with the intent of reducing congestion on the main roads of Las Vegas. This doesn’t sound like a poor idea, initially. However, this approach addresses the symptoms of traffic rather than the root cause of it. The problem with simply building additional roads in intensely congested cities is that the new roads will inevitably become just as crowded as the existing ones. Urban populations across the United States are rising, which will lead to further congestion in car-centric cities, regardless of how many roads are available to drivers. After these underground tunnels become unreasonably busy, residents of car-centric cities are back to square one. Such tunnels would be largely ineffective as a long-term solution to traffic in Los Angeles.

The direction policymakers should move in is making the city of Los Angeles less car-centric. How can this be done? The city has been designed and constructed already, and its roads have existed for more than a century. Just because Los Angeles has been built and established for so long does not mean that measures can’t be taken to provide transportation options other than the roads. Los Angeles already has an underground subway system, but it doesn’t get used nearly as much as it should. To allocate funding towards making the subway system under Los Angeles more practical and comfortable for passengers to use would reduce traffic on freeways. This may mean adding additional stops, which could present great challenges but it’s necessary as a part of the long-term solution to unreasonable traffic. The other part of this policy is implementing carpooling incentives. This would reduce the number of cars on the road at one time without keeping people from getting to where they need to go. An incentive could be a designated carpooling lane on major highways or it could be a break on paying tolls.

This approach is extremely feasible and would be more effective than alternatives because it suggests that existing systems be upgraded to become more efficient and it addresses the root cause of extreme urban highway congestion rather than the problem’s symptoms. For the safety and convenience of residents of the area, it is very important that this policy is implemented in the city of Los Angeles.

The beef, beans, onions, and cheese came together so perfectly for a delectable, savory taste that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.  Each spoonful warmed my body up and left me smiling. Realistically, was the chili in the lodge really all that? In hindsight, it was probably a pretty average bowl of chili, but, after five straight hours on the slopes at Vale Mountain, that meal felt like a reward for a day of challenging but satisfying work.

I was fortunate enough to spend a week at Vale, Colorado with my parents over spring break. Sure, I missed out on decompressing and relaxing at home during my time away from campus, but I satisfied my appetite for skiing, which is a tradeoff I was more than happy to make.

I’ve been skiing since I was only four years old. My parents made it a point to sign my brother and I up for ski lessons at a very young age. I remember feeling so intimidated by the beginner slope at my local mountain. Everyone called the slope the Bunny Hill, but, to me, it may as well have been the toughest slope on the mountain. Though the slope terrified four-year-old me and I would often cry upon getting off the chair lift at the top, my parents would ski alongside me and the instructor each time, echoing the words of encouragement shared by the instructor. With the support of both my parents and the professional ski instructor, I’d reach the bottom safely each time, even if I fell onto the snow a few times along the way. From there, I improved rapidly. By the time I turned 8 years old, I was capable of skiing any slope on the mountain, regardless of its bumpiness or steepness.

As a young adult, I couldn’t be more grateful that my parents cared enough to ensure that I learned thisvaluable skill. To fall and get back up and continue skiing so many times instilled a great deal of resilience in me for such a young age. Crying became less and less commonplace as I grew older and progressed as a skier. Once I’d become comfortable even on the most daunting slopes at my local mountain, my parents decided the family could give Vermont a try. Stowe, Okemo, and Killington became my three favorite mountains after I had tried each.

A couple years have passed since I’d visited all three of those mountains, but the mountains west of the East Coast sparked my curiosity about what else was out there for me to conquer. When my parents asked me if I’d like to join them in Vale over my spring break, I eagerly said yes. By now, no mountain intimidated me, and I was eager to accept the challenge presented by the Colorado mountains. Sure enough, I encountered the steepest, bumpiest, and most powdery slopes I ever had, but I navigated them like the expert I’ve become through more than a decade of practice. To traverse the mountain without fear was extremely gratifying to me, since I remember experiencing terror on the Bunny Hill back in Northeast Pennsylvania as a kid. Skiing is one of my favorite ways to spend time with myparents, and I love the challenging aspect of the sport.

Much of pollution is concentrated in specific areas in which the pollution took place. For instance, in my first installment of this Civic Issue Blog series, I discussed how Scranton’s history as a coal-mining town continues to negatively impact the area directly surrounding the city. However, a resident of either Ohio or New York would almost certainly never face the consequences of pollution that took place around Scranton.

In my most previous installment of this blog series, I shared some of the dangers presented by pollution around the United States. Specifically, I brought attention to the wildfires that have terrorized California repeatedly. Firstly, the damage caused by those fires is anything but localized to the areas in which the wildfires began. People hundreds of miles away from the origin of a wildfire may end up with their homes engulfed in flames or with thick smog overhead.

Let’s think even larger than the United States. The effects of pollution globally will be the topic of this installment of myCivic Issue Blog series. It’s fitting that we cover global pollution in the final installment of the series because itencompasses all other pollution, no matter how small or large.

Pollution is cumulative more often than not. That’s a fancy way of saying that rarely do the effects of pollution expire. One might assume that because a thick cloud of toxic chemicals becomes invisible, it has disappeared. In reality, the chemicals have only diffused into the air, and there is a major difference between dispersion and disappearance. Perhaps many people assume that toxic gas disappears rather than diffuses because it’s a convenient and comforting belief to hold. Nobody wants to acknowledge that toxic chemicals in the air are building up. That would be a very depressing thought to keep in mind constantly, but it’s crucial that we don’t ignore pollution for the reason that it can be inconvenient and uncomfortable to discuss and address.

What’s actually so harmful about the accumulation of toxic gases in the air? I can’t speak for you, but I am notstruggling to breathe and gagging on slightly toxic air as a result of centuries of burning fossil fuels around the world. Sure, residents of Beijing, China were wearing face masks at one point due to unbearable smog around the city, but that’s beside the point I’m trying to make. The emission of greenhouse gases, such as methane, is not going to render our air too dirty for humans to breathe. What the accumulation of greenhouse gases will do is trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing an infamous phenomenon widely known as global warming.

I hear the term “global warming” so often anymore that I’ve begun to tune it out because it seems scary and distant in the future. Like I said, paying attention to the effects of greenhouse gases created as an externality of transportation and manufacturing is inconvenient. Living life with blissful ignorance is definitely the easier path to go down. Every time I begin to dismiss climate change as “far off” or “not so bad,” I catch myself and remember just how devastating a warming atmosphere can be.

I mentioned briefly how rising sea levels, which can cause flooding to the greatest extent, are a result of the Earthwarming. It’s strange to think that the temperature of the Earth rising and the size of the ocean are connected, but one most definitely causes the other. At the poles of the Earth, giant ice formations are melting increasingly rapidly as temperatures continue to rise. All of that water has to end up somewhere, it doesn’t just disappear into nothingness. Water trickles down glaciers in the North and South Poles into the ocean, thus increasing the size of the ocean ever so slightly. That increase means water creeps further up onto land all around the world.

Water creeping further up onto land sounds like a pretty benign externality of global warming. After all, who really cares if the tide rolls onto a beach a few inches further inland than it had the year prior? Rising sea levels affect areas at lower elevations disproportionately. Take Bangladesh for instance. Flooding occurs there constantly because the country is basically at sea level, and Bangladesh doesn’t necessarily have the resources to defend itself against such natural disasters. This is an excellent example of how less wealthy parts of the world may face greater consequences of climate change than wealthier countries, which is entirely unjust.

To combat these changes, it’s important that we look to alternative energy sources. Fossil fuels have been the primary energy source of the human race since humans learned to use them, but, now that we recognize the harm caused by burning fuel, it’s time that we employ wind, solar, and hydroelectric energy. If we’re unable to change, the world will continue to heat, and the affects will only become worse.

I’m turning 17! It’s my junior year of high school, and classes are still a hybrid between virtual and in-person. Because I’ve got so much free time on my hands, my friends and I went to the State Park to hang out for the afternoon. They suggested that setting up some hammocks in the trees would be a fun way to celebrate my big day. I agreed, though I didn’t have a hammock of my own. They told me I could borrow one of theirs for the afternoon. Once we arrived at the park, my friends handed me a brand new hammock and told me it was mine to keep. That pleasant surprise made my day, and the afternoon was a blast.

Ever since my 17^th birthday, I’ve found great relaxation in setting up and lying in a hammock. I’m somebody who rarely truly relaxes; I’m always on-the-go. However, when I take time to rest, I prefer to nap in a hammock outside over my own bed at home. There’s something serene about picking out two trees that are nearby to one another and napping for hours on end.

The afternoon of my birthday two years ago was my first time using a hammock, and it did not disappoint. One of my friends brought his speaker and played soft music; another brought a notepad and sketched the scene for fun. After we’d spent two hours in our hammocks, we deciding to take a break to hike around the park. We only hiked briefly because all we wanted to do was stretch our legs, take in some different scenery, and return to the comfort of our hammocks. Once our short walk had concluded, we resumed playing music from the speaker, and vegged out once more. A couple more peaceful hours passed, and we ventured to a nearby stream to catch frogs for a while. Half the fun of going out to hammock has nothing to do with the piece of equipment itself. The little adventures between naps are sometimes what makes a trip special.

Now that I’m a freshman at Penn State, I’ve witnessed just how excited students get over warm weather. The Hub lawn is vibrant and revitalized on a 65 degree day in February. When that day happened this year, I immediately searched for my hammock in the closet of my dorm. I was extremely disappointed when I realized I’d left it at home. However, I remembered to bring it back to campus with me when I visited home two weeks ago, and I’m now well prepared for the next warm day that comes our way.

It’s safe to say I’m relieved that my group’s deliberation day has passed, and I’m ecstatic that it went well. While homelessness still affects Philadelphians, I think Group 2 did an outstanding job of discussing a few different viable options to address the problem.

There were definitely some disagreements in our classroom Thursday afternoon, but isn’t that the whole point of a deliberation? I’m thrilled that a variety of ideologies were represented during my group’s deliberation. Because people were respectful of one another’s beliefs, the ideological differences made for a riveting discussion that demanded critical thinking and open-mindedness from everyone involved. To put it into Dr. Bodaski’s words, the tea was a little hotter than it was for the previous deliberation, but it could still be sipped. I’m proud that my group facilitated a dialogue in which students felt comfortable expressing their beliefs.

I think that my group brought three truly unique approaches to resolving homelessness to the table. None of our approaches overlapped with one another, and each was extremely distinct in its reasoning. Though students suggested a combination of Approaches 1 and 2 to aid homeless people in Philadelphia, it was important that we presented those approaches separately because they represent entirely different theories, even if they would be more effective if employed simultaneously. As for Approach 3, the suggestion of hostile urban architecture definitely raised some eyebrows in the classroom, but students quickly shot down that approach. Furthermore, they did so respectfully, and they dissected the idea rationally and communicated their grievances politely rather than yelling over one another and arguing. All students showed great maturity when faced with opinions that differed from their own.

Lastly, I’m glad that Dr. Bodaski mentioned ableism at the end of the class after our deliberation. I believe my group addressed ableism to an extent, but he forced us to revisit the idea and to give it further consideration, which was entirely necessary. I’ll never take constructive criticism for granted.

I’m extremely appreciative for my group and for all the students that participated in the deliberation Thursday. I greatly look forward to Group 3’s deliberation tomorrow!

Have you ever wondered why you even tune in to the news? I mean, seriously. It’s rare that you view a daily broadcast on a major network in its entirety and aren’t left wondering, is anything going right in this country?!? Terror attacks, riots, economic problems, and political disputes dominate the news stations we view regularly. When the many issues of the United States are brought right before our eyes on a daily basis, it’s hard not to be a downer sometimes.

It can be a real pain to discuss problems that threaten our country as a whole, but it’s crucial that we do. Chief among nationwide news topics is climate change and its disastrous effects on our environment and on American citizens. Yes, thinking about the looming threats of rising temperatures, toxic air, filthy water, and rising sea levels is depressing and feels pessimistic, but if we don’t talk these issues over, they’ll all collapse on us eventually in the not-so-distant future.

While I briefly mentioned a few of the negative impacts of a changing climate already, it’s necessary that I explain why climate change is even a problem at all. I definitely understand the temptation to brush the issue off as natural and unworthy of public attention. After all, the climate has been changing forever. The natural cycle of the world includes ice ages and hot spells. Why is it some big problem now if it hasn’t been for millions of years prior?

This time, things are different. The rate at which sea levels and temperatures are rising across America is unnaturally quick. Sure, they’ve both steadily risen in the past, but the industrialization of the United Stares has dangerously accelerated that process.

Our usage of fossil fuels is the primarily culprit. Burning gasoline and diesel has depleted the ozone layer, which is a scientific explanation of global warming. Carbon dioxide and other harmful chemicals are released into our atmosphere when factories manufacture goods, when cars start their engines, and when energy producers mine for fuel. Because of how our atmosphere functions, we are essentially sealing ourselves in with toxic gases and reducing our protection from the rays of the sun.

I’ve established that the world is in fact heating up as a result of the actions of Americans. So, what are the implications of a warmer Earth for the United States specifically? Let’s talk about coastlines. The Gulf Coast and the Southeast will face the consequences of rising sea levels before anywhere else in the country. This region of the United States resides at a very low elevation and directly borders the Gulf of Mexico. Residents of the Florida Panhandle and southern Louisiana love their proximity to the beach, but this proximity very well may lead to their downfall. As global warming causes icebergs to melt into the ocean, places situated at low elevations are witnessing the sea creep farther and farther inland. These places experience frequent flooding, and it’s not at all unlikely that they’ll be underwater in decades to come.

Far from the Gulf Coast, California is experiencing problems that are related to those of the American Southeast but manifesting in much different ways. What does that mean? It means that rising sea levels aren’t a direct concern of Californians, but toxic emissions and an increasingly warm atmosphere are presenting the state with other threats.

Take Los Angeles, for instance. Upon hearing the name of the city, your mind probably conjures the iconic Hollywood sign, the Los Angeles Lakers, the entertainment industry, or one of the city’s prestigious universities. Did you happen to think of the thick smog that clouds the air above the city, though? This dark cloud can be attributed to the ridiculously heavy traffic on the roads of Los Angeles. Traffic is something that 99.9% of Americans experience regularly, but few experience it to the degree that residents of Los Angeles do. Sure, the additional time it takes to commute is a major inconvenience, but what’s far worse is the air pollution caused by so many cars running at once. It doesn’t take a genius to be able to tell that visibly dark air is harmful for humans to breathe.

Los Angeles is a densely populated urban area, so it’s no surprise that pollution affects the city. However, pollution isn’t unique to urban California. Wildfires are another relevant news topic related to climate change. The Mediterranean climate of the West Coast is much to blame for the infamous wildfires of California, but the aridity of the state bears a great amount of responsibility as well. California becomes increasingly dry yearly as a result of the burning of fossil fuels by humans.

What can be done to remediate some of the damage caused by humans and to prevent further harm in the future? We need to begin taking green initiatives seriously, specifically regarding energy. I’ve mentioned fossil fuels several times throughout this post because I truly see them as public enemy number one. If we were to make better use of solar, hydro, and wind energy, much of nature would heal and the United States would be less threatened by climate change.