2017…Is It Really A Happy New Year?

After experiencing decades of climate issues for Mother Nature, 2017 isn’t going to be any different at all. One small change, however, is that environmental issues are getting more and more serious. In addition to that, what will happen to the environmental policies that were previously created, after Trump and his administration has their way?

During Obama’s presidency in 2009, the EPA proposed the Clean Power Plan, which was an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the plan being sued several times, the legality of the plan has yet to be decided by the D.C. Circuit Court. This is significant because Trump will become the new president of the United States. Trump’s belief in the absence of environmental issues will severely impact the future of America. Taken from Live Science, there is a possibility that Trump will be wiping previously recorded climate data by cutting the funds for agencies that maintain a record. Furthermore, there is a chance that Trump will be withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, which the United States previously took part in. The Paris Agreement was an agreement to reduce 28% of all greenhouse emissions by the year 2025, in nations that signed the agreement. If no further action is done to protect the environment, then there would be serious consequences.

Some of the huge effects of climate change include: dying desert bacteria, the darkening of oceans, the worsening of allergies, damage of the ecosystems, and more invasive species. Like all living organisms, different types of desert bacteria require different temperatures in their environment to live. Some are more suitable to live in cool deserts, while others in extremely hot deserts. Due to climate change, the Earth’s overall temperature will increase, which eliminates the desert bacteria that are usually found in cooler deserts. As the temperature on Earth increases, the sea level of oceans increase will as well. As a result, strong flowing rivers wash away debris and silt into the ocean, appearing to be darker. While all of this occurs, one of your best friends, allergies, may worsen. During this climate change, plants and animals are adjusting to the temperature, which means the time of pollination and season of breeding changes; usually occurring earlier than the normal season. This means that pollen will start to travel around the city much earlier than the “allergy season,” but lasting longer than usual. The temperature change impacts the lives of living organisms everywhere. Animals are forced out of their habitats and move to new ecosystems, because their current one is destroyed, has become unsuitable for living, or the food they have been relying upon is gone. For example, bears might hunt for fish in a nearby river, but the river has been too polluted for fish to live, thus causing the bear to move into a new area, and even possibly taking the food source of another species that was originally there.

As seen, the consequences of poor regulation of the environment can lead to serious issues for almost all living and even non-living organisms. On the other hand, Trump’s inauguration will determine the future of unofficial environmental policies that are still undecided upon. Every single human being has responsibility over the issues that are happening today in the environment. This problem should not be tossed away by one businessman after the abuse of mother nature for several millenniums by human beings. To do that, it all begins in a small community like FDR.