By Paresha Khan, Staff Writer
Prior to his Presidential election, Donald Trump tweeted in 2012, “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
As a student who is tremendously passionate about global warming and climate change, I stared at my phone in awe, dumbfounded that the citizens of our country elected a leader who has previously expressed complete denial about the complications arising in our environment.
Global warming is known as the rise of the average temperatures of the Earth over time, and is considered to be a human-caused complication due to the burning of fossil fuels. This process causes carbon dioxide to absorb sunlight and solar radiation, thus increasing the Earth’s heat drastically. Climate change also refers to the distinct differences of the predictable weather patterns in a certain location.
Students at George Mason University shared my distress over President Trump’s words and their opinions about climate change.
“What shocks me the most is the fact that there has been proven evidence that climate change is real by certified science agencies and the fact that we are seeing the consequences of our actions already with the multiple hurricanes that have happened recently,” freshman Andrea Aguiluz said. “Something that really makes me angry about [Donald Trump’s] stance on climate change is how he and most Republicans have made denying climate change into a political issue when it should be a scientific one.”
The effects of both global warming and climate change are in full swing as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which includes over a thousand scientists, predicts a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century.
According to CNN, scientists have discovered that the rising sea levels and warmer temperatures in oceans have caused both Hurricanes Harvey and Irma to be far more destructive than they would have been decades ago. A Category 4 and 5 hurricane were clearly not convincing enough to the President, as he stated that, “we’ve had bigger storms than this.”
“To me, it is absolutely mind boggling that some people do not believe that global warming exists and is an increasingly pressing issue,” junior Sanjoli Agarwal said. “When it comes to global warming, you can choose to believe that nothing is wrong and that ‘we’ve had bigger storms,’ but when the facts are right there in front of you and you don’t even acknowledge it, it’s called ignorance. What more needs to happen for us to be able to enact some real change? Was Hurricane Irma, a record-breaking Category 5 hurricane, not enough? What else will it take?”
Recently in Northern Virginia, climate change has displayed its presence during the 2015-2016 school year. On Dec. 25, 2016, Virginians in NOVA spent their Christmas day in 75 degree weather.
“Living in the East Coast, especially in Northern Virginia, we suffered from ‘bipolar’ weather heavily last year. I clearly remember waking up on Christmas morning and being in complete shock because there was absolutely no snow and no sign of winter,” freshman Rezia Mahmud said. “Climate change is very real and it’s time that the leaders of our country take notice.”
Given that the world is experiencing a plethora of terrifying events regarding the climate, it is crucial that the student body of George Mason University considers both global warming and climate change, which have been twisted into various controversies. So one should not hesitate to ask, “Is global warming really a hoax created by China?”
Opinions do not reflect the views of Fourth Estate
Submit opinions to frehman3@gmu.edu
