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2016 Was the Hottest Year on Record. Thanks, Humans.

I’m sure while we all dote on our failing New Year’s Resolutions the last thing we want to hear about is climate change and how the world is overheating due to the green-eyed monster: greenhouse gasses. However, being aware of environmental changes occurring on the planet is a perfect way to start the year and finish off the month of January. In concurrence with recent events such as Trump’s presidency and previous policies possibly being revoked, an understanding of how environmental policies affect the environment is essential. Your knowledge will make an impact. I guarantee this statement: if humans are the culprits behind the destruction of the Earth, our actions and awareness are possibly the only way to resolve the issue and clean up the wreckage.

Let’s look at the facts. The hottest year on record was first reported in 2010 and initially, this was nothing to be extremely concerned about; weather changes are expected to naturally occur as the Earth cycles through its orbit around the sun.

However, every year since 2014 has consecutively followed the footsteps of 2010 and has been identified as the hottest year in written records.

Whatever your attitude toward climate change, there is no denial of the fact that the Earth is getting progressively warmer and there is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Primarily, the Earth undergoes a cyclical orbit around the sun; these orbits have been coined “Milankovitch Cycles.” Milankovitch Cycles are responsible for affecting the amount of solar radiation (heat) subjected to Earth’s surface and influencing climatic weather patterns. Counter to the argument of anthropocentric global warming, opposing parties may claim the Earth is simply in a warming cycle. However, according to scientists, the Milankovitch Cycles are scheduled to be in a current cooling period in which weather patterns are expected to decrease from the standpoint of the warmest temperature of the last cycle, which occurred 10,000 years ago. Due to industrial processes, the cycle has deviated from its natural state of cooling as a result of fossil fuel burning, as proven in computer simulations displaying the significantly harmful effects of carbon dioxide and various industrial gasses.

Fossil fuel burning has set the Earth in a warming trend due to the prominent existence of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, etc. in the environment.

Greenhouse gasses linger in the atmosphere for centuries rather than disappearing after their usage has been exceeded; our footprint on the ocean of air we call the atmosphere is mighty and everlasting.

Greenhouse gasses essentially trap the sun’s rays onto the surface of the Earth in a process called counter-radiation in which heat remains absorbed by the Earth’s surface rather than reflected back into space. This process is vital to maintaining warmth on the planet, but excessive amounts of counter-radiation are detrimental. As the Earth is an ecosystem, this transaction of heat not only warms the environment but consequently results in the melting of glaciers and ice caps. Glaciers and ice caps are strong sources for reflecting the sun’s rays into space, and when these natural land forms are lost, the average temperature of the Earth will increase at an alarming rate that leads to drastic weather changes such as 24-hour precipitation, an inundation of violent storms and excessive drought periods. When policies such as Trump’s awaited repeal of the Climate Protection Plan are taken into consideration, these are the outcomes that should be expected when climate change is not taken seriously by our leaders in power. Saving the economy from “burdensome regulations on our energy industry” should probably be slightly lower on the priority list when it comes to the state of our melting planet.

On a hopeful note, in order to benefit the planet one should always be aware of climate policies, form their own opinions, and understand that most information found online is biased while remaining educated on the negative effects of industrial activities and counter these with meaningful actions. Stay green friends. Your voice matters.

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