BY CHARLOTTE BUTCHER
Los Alamos
The climate is changing rapidly. Last year the global temperature was the highest since we started recording in 1850 (NOAA). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, global surface temperature was approximately 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, meaning it is getting very hot. Natural disasters are increasing everywhere. We have seen wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, floods, tornadoes, cyclones, and many more severe weather events just in 2024 (NOAA). People around the world are suffering from climate disasters.
On Monday, January 20th, Donald Trump signed orders to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement, a treaty where countries around the world are committing to combat climate change. The United States is now accompanying Iran, Libya, and Yemen as the only countries not in the Paris Agreement. I am devastated that our commander in chief has decided to reverse America’s hard fought progress fighting climate change. He stated that he plans to increase use of fossil fuels, dig up America’s oil, and declare a “national energy emergency.” We are already by far the largest oil producer globally (US EIA), yet Trump only wants to increase production. He is trying to shift the focus from the climate disaster which he denies to an ambiguous push for bettering America. The problem with his plan is that increased fossil fuel use will and is coming back to hurt the economy. It will not make America better. According to Morgan Stanley, climate disasters have cost North America $415 billion in the last three years, much of that due to wildfires and hurricanes (Columbia). Researchers know that climate change will harm the U.S. economy, even with modest amounts of warming. (UChicago)
To me, Trump’s intentions are clear. He does not care about the American people and our welfare. He instead is helping trillionaires get richer. In his greed, he is actively threatening my newborn daughter’s future. She is only two months old, but her future is already at risk because of our leader’s actions. In a few years, I will have to attempt to explain to my daughter what humans are doing to our beautiful planet and why our president is trying his best to make things worse. How can I explain to her that we are killing so many beautifully diverse types of life for the economy? I will have to tell her that the man we chose to lead us prioritizes money over the wellbeing of the earth and humanity. I have to explain to her that the planet she is growing up on is becoming rapidly devastated by her own species. I will have to tell her that the older generations are failing to provide for her future. Anyone who interacts with children: parents, teachers, caregivers, and family, will sadly be forced to do the same. I don’t want that heartbreaking day to come. If we support Trump’s actions, or even sit passively by, we fail the younger generations. We are leaving our children a deteriorating world which will only continue getting worse.