2020 has been a year of enormous change and realization. There have been deaths of many important figures, nation-wide racial divides, a dooming election between two controversial candidates, and a number of wildfires that have opened our eyes to the severity of climate change.
Less than one week ago, the LA skies — along with cities up and down the west coast — had filled with huge clouds of orange smoke which fueled a social media frenzy of citizens proclaiming that “climate change is real”. It is both frustrating and empowering that people are just now seeming to realize that climate change is not something to take lightly, yet are willing to stray away from their day-to-day posts and instead spread awareness about a very serious issue. It is easy for us not to talk about climate change, as it is something so commonly known as a science that we frequently overlook the need to keep implementing change. This way of thinking is not sustainable, just like the daily decisions that humans make that negatively impact the environment.
Since the mid-1900s, the United States has devoted itself to relying on fossil fuels to run the country. Oil quickly monopolized all forms of transportation and plastics became the main source of packaging for all facets of material life — it was the groundbreaking discovery that helped pull our country out of its great economic depression, yet it was also the straw that broke the camel’s back. Now, we are at a tipping point of the global climate and change needs to start happening much faster and in greater numbers.
The global temperature has increased 1.1℃ since the 18th century and is expected to increase more rapidly due to the consequences of global human impacts. A Time article by Justin Worland informed us that, should we continue with the rate of carbon emissions we are releasing right now, global temperatures will increase past 2℃ and the world’s climate will reach the point of no return. A climate change clock introduced by environmental scientists highlights this. The clock was recently broadcasted on the New York Metronome that faces Union Square, telling passersby the amount of time that we have left until “Doomsday”, or the day that the consequences of global warming become irreversible.
Change starts with the big dogs — from the newly elected government officials to those who hold high positions of power in big companies. This next election will likely determine the fate of our environment, seeing rewards or consequences that live past just the next four years in office. While Biden has proactively highlighted his plans to implement change in the environment, President Trump and his administration have instead made recent rollbacks on the Paris Climate Agreement and restrictions on auto emission and air pollution standards. This decision, despite combatting advice from environmental experts, has allowed for those large companies to get away with their enormous, detrimental impacts on the environment in the hopes of bringing in big bucks. Yet, Biden has established that the environment and the economy go hand in hand — something that gets mulled over in the Trump administration, where the economy comes first. He has made it clear that when the environment takes a turn for the worst, so will the economy — this is exactly what has been happening with the California wildfires and large hurricanes that stormed from Texas to the East Coast. Houses were lost, small businesses were ruined, and the microeconomy saw those direct consequences. The economy doesn’t solely rely on finding basic ways to make money, it relies on a functioning global environment — something much bigger than our tax percentages.
In order to truly ignite change, we must vote for someone who strives to change the status quo with regard to our planet. We must vote for someone who believes that the wildfires were caused by climate change, rather than a surplus of leaves on the forest floors. The 2020 election is arguably the most crucial election to vote in, as it will be the determining factor on whether or not our planet will survive. In terms of the Climate Change Clock, I’d argue that the countdown should not read 7 years and 98 days until Doomsday, but rather 39 days until Election Day — the two have the potential to go hand in hand.
