This article will be focusing on the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Why is climate change given such less recognition? Why do people ignore the facts and figures and continue living their lives the same way? Just because climate change is a slow-moving, invisible threat, doesn’t mean it isn’t a heavy one. The Valley Fire started in San Diego County on September 5, and by the morning of September 8 had grown to 17,565 acres with only 11% containment. This fire has killed 85 people. 100,000 people have been evacuated and 50,000 people are displaced with nowhere to go. These fires also have a profound impact on wildlife and the ecosystem.
The phenomenon isn’t restricted to California. Doug Grafe, chief of Fire Protection at the Oregon Department of Forestry, said it was unusual in his state for fires this week to spread from the crest of the Cascade Mountains into the valleys below, and so fast, “carrying tens of miles in one period of an afternoon and not slowing down in the evening — (there is) absolutely no context for that in this environment.”
You’ll hear people giving multiple different reasons for why this wildfire started and why it's as big and uncontrollable as it is. However, even scientists have stated that the root of the problem is climate change; they say its influence is all but certain. David Romps, director of the Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center, said that we’re living in an essentially, climate-altered world (Schwartz 9 Sept 2020). With reference to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13:Climate Action, he recorded that average periodic highs for this time of year are now about 3˚ or 4˚ Fahrenheit warmer in Berkeley, California, as compared to the 20th century. He also found that every additional 33.8˚Fahrenheit of warming could increase lightning strikes over the US by about 12%, which is what is deemed as the main reason the fires started out in the first place.
“To cut to the chase: Where the heatwave and the lightning strikes and the dryness of the vegetation affected by global warming? Absolutely yes,” Romps said.
"Were they made significantly hotter, more numerous, and drier because of global warming? Yes, likely yes, and yes.”
“The answer is basically always that climate change played a large role in the severity or likelihood (of heatwaves),” he says. “It’s almost just a question of how much.” There are other factors that play into this fire but our environment getting hotter due to global warming is one of the main reasons why it is as significant.
Across the past four decades, the united forces of lower precipitation level and higher temperatures have already duplicated the chance of extreme wildfire conditions in California during the fall, according to a new paper in Environmental Research Letters. The researchers found that unless the world begins lowering emissions significantly and soon, the odds could double again in the following decades. So what can you do to help the victims of the fire? There are a few charities linked in the ‘External Resources’ where you can donate some money to the people affected by the fires.
Additionally, with reference to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, here are a few ways you can help:
You can use less hot water. By setting the water heater at 120 degrees Celsius, it can save energy as well as 500 pounds of carbon dioxide each year at the minimum, in many of the households.
Try to avoid eating meat daily and cut down as much as you can Every day that you forgo meat and dairy can reduce your carbon footprint by 8 pounds means more than 2 short tonnes a year.
Reduce, recycle and reuse. When people recycle close to half of their household waste, they can save around 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Instead of throwing excess waste into the atmosphere, increasing the amount of carbon dioxide, one can instead buy products with minimal packaging
Compact Fluorescent light bulbs can be used instead of regular light bulbs. If a CFL is used instead of a regular bulb, then it would help eliminate around 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, which is the same as taking 7.5 million cars off our roads.
So are you going to let another wildfire occur which, presumably, might be worse or are you willing to make just a few changes in your daily routine and contribute to a better Earth?
External Resources
Works Cited
Schwartz, John, and Lisa Friedman. “The 'Straightforward' Link Between Climate and California's Fires.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Sept. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/09/09/climate/nyt-climate-newsletter-california-wildfires.html.
Thompson, Don. “California Wildfires Growing Bigger, Moving Faster than Ever.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 10 Sept. 2020, apnews.com/dc30bcead69e5b67004711b78bbda868.
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