Trump’s Lies Trumped by Science

By: Nicole Cutler

Background:

            Donald Trump has made many flippant remarks about climate change, ranging from dismissive to outright denying its existence.He has made many such remarks while speaking, but the most widely heard statements were on his social media.

 On his instagram account he said, “while the world is in turmoil and falling apart in so many different ways, especially with ISIS, our President is worried about global warming. What a ridiculous situation.” On his Twitter account he posted that, “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” Though Trump denied this sentiment, it is still on his twitter feed. These remarks fly directly in the face of scientific findings, though it appears that Trump has little regard for the accuracy of his claims.

He appears to have little regard for the facts surrounding this topic. If elected president he would be alone among world leaders to not accept the reality of climate change, according to the Sierra Club (http://www.cbsnews.com) Though he has tried to retract some of his comments, it does not change the fact that he made them.

Purpose of Blog Article:

            Despite Trumps claims, climate change is a very serious issue facing our global society and the ramifications of failing to act could be catastrophic.

Evidence Against Claims:

            There is ample scientific evidence that points to the legitimacy of  climate change. In the scientific community the discussion is not whether or not global warming exists, but what to do about it. Nasa has published its findings about the Earth’s surface temperature increase over time and found that the ten warmest years in the past 134 have all occurred since 2000 (http://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/). If nothing changes, this temperature increase will continue to rise. In 1989 an article was published in Oxford Bioscience Journal forecasting the effects of global warming (http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/57/3/227.full).

 Some of the things that have been predicted have already started to happen. National Geographic published an article detailing things that are to come and effects that have already begun (http://environment.nationalgeographic.com). The Adelie penguin population is now a third of what it was 30 years ago, because of melting ice. Sea levels are rising rapidly. The National Resources Defense Council predicts that the earth will be eight degrees warmer by the year 2100. (https://www.nrdc.org)This may seem inconsequential, but on a global scale it could be devestating. With a higher surface temperature of the Earth, there will be more frequent severe weather. We may also see a higher death rate, as the incidents of heat related deaths increase as the global temperature does. 

            The Washington Post recently published an article on the report that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (https://www.washingtonpost.com/). The council described global warming as “irreversible” and spoke of the severity of the threat to our ecosystems. They see the reality of changes happening to our earth, while Trump ignores them.

Conclusion:

Secretary of State, John F. Kerry said, “The longer we are stuck in a debate over ideology and politics, the more the costs of inaction grow and grow. Those who choose to ignore or dispute the science so clearly laid out in this report do so at great risk for all of us and for our kids and grandkids.” So while Trump facilitates the spreading of fiction surrounding the subject of climate change, our planet continues down a path that it cannot come back form. Trumps statements make it seem as if the reality of climate change is up for debate, however the science is in, and Trumps statements will not change the truth of the matter.