So if you have been living under a rock and have not seen the odd occasions of weather the world has been experiencing lately, here is your insight. The Earth is sort of melting before our eyes and here is how. Pollutants, mainly CO2 emissions, are floating up into Earth's sensitive atmosphere only to fall back down on glaciers and ice sheets covering them in black soot. Have you ever wore black on a hot summer's day only to be dripping in sweat five minutes later? Yeah, that is what is happening to these glaciers, except instead of sweating they are melting. This is bad. In some places, this is happening much more frequently, such as Greenland. Greenland is pretty much screwed. Scientists always feared that what was occurring in Greenland would eventually happen in Antarctica and unfortunately, that time has come. Antarctica is melting at an incredible rate and is exponentially shortening the amount of time humans have before we are directly affected. And sadly, my fellow Floridians, we are the first ones that will be impacted by this climate change. Now I am no weather expert, but this stuff seems pretty relevant and crucial to act now rather than later. There is only one problem. Marco Rubio.
Who is Marco Rubio, you may ask? He is the junior United States senator of Florida and a part of the Republican party. His name may also be being tossed around as a potential candidate to run for President in 2016, but that has not been confirmed. Rubio's name not only made headlines for a potential presidential run, but for his belief that global warming and climate change is nothing but a myth. He recently stated “I don't agree with the notion that some are putting out there, including scientists, that somehow, there are actions we can take today that would actually have an impact on what's happening in our climate." I get we, as humans, can't control the weather, but we can definitely help the environment. And last time I checked, the environment affects the weather.
Rubio claims the laws people are wanting to pass would ruin the economy and result in job loss. But according to an article on thinkprogress.com, the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 alone added 137 million work days and 26 million school days to the economy by 2010, while preventing over one million heart attacks and nearly two million deaths. That doesn't exactly sound like the economy is being ruined. Rubio needs to understand that even the littlest amount of regulations for climate control can make a difference for the future of the country and the world. It would take negotiations of many nations to all put forth effort. But if the United States – the powerhouse of this world - is unwilling to put forth effort by stepping up on climate change, how can we expect the rest of the world to follow?
To view the full article and video of Marco Rubio visit:
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/05/21/3440243/marco-rubio-climate-change/
