As a member of the next generation, I want to see change and an effort to reverse the negative effects of climate change.  However, our current government leader, Donald Trump, is not an advocate of climate change.

During his 2015 campaign, Trump commented that climate change was a “money-making hoax.”  It’s surprising that a leader with such an outdated mindset got elected in the first place.

Although he has recently come to terms with the fact that climate change does in fact exist, he doubts we have anything to do with it. Trump continues to downplay the situation itself saying that most of it isn’t “man-made.” This statement contradicts many scientists’ research. In the Fourth National Climate Assessment, it explains that our “air quality, transmission of disease through insects and pests, food, and water increasingly threaten the health and well-being of the American people” and that it is “presenting challenges to human health, safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth.”

It’s almost comical that our president, who majored in economics, believes he has more knowledge of these topics than people who spend their whole life studying it.

Trump and the GOP’s inability to recognize that climate change is human-induced leaves blood on his hands. In his denial of these facts, he becomes partially liable for the deaths of thousands from the California Wildfire, Puerto Rico’s hurricane, and many more natural disasters worsened by climate change.

I also am under the  impression that Trump won’t back down on this environmental issue.  Of course this anti-climate change rhetoric seems motivated by the men with the money. In this case specifically, Trump and the GOP have become servants to fossil-fuel based companies for votes.

It seems almost as if his climate change opinions are a way to assert his dominance. The problem at the core of it all is that he needs to prove his masculinity and strength.

On Black Friday, while most people were consumed with shopping, a report come out from the Fourth National Climate Assessment (https://nca2018.globalchange.gov). An insightful, yet terrifying read, the report highlights the downfall of earth if we keep spiraling down the same path of climate-change denial or ignorance.

By denying human-induced climate change, Trump deprives people the rights he is supposed to protect for them. He puts his country and his environment in danger. His efforts to discredit scientists is based on a lack of evidence and knowledge he has on the topic.

In an interview, Trump shut-down the Fourth National Climate assessment: “I don’t believe it.”  If Trump had fact-based evidence proving his stance he may be listened to; however, without this he is being mocked by news companies, other nation’s leaders, and even people in his own party.

While Trump remains a very recognized and listened to figure in our society, masses have come together to create a bigger movement and to be heard. Companies such as Patagonia, Ceres, Tesla, and many more are fighting climate change. Recently, Patagonia donated 10 million dollars to environmental groups in order to fight for our environment when the people in charge are not.

It’s mind-boggling to think that these companies will fight for our environment while our so-called leader is unable to recognize that is even an issue. With the lack of our president’s recognition and support, my generation will face the burden of climate change effects in decades to come. Although admitting that climate change may lose Trump and his fellow republicans a lot of money, it is a step he must take in order to save our future.

Sources Used:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/28/politics/donald-trump-washington-post/index.html

https://blog.arcadiapower.com/16-companies-fighting-climate-change/