By Victoria Pavlock
With spring upon us, Western New York is in for some well-deserved sunshine and beautiful weather. April sheds light on the appreciation we have for our Earth with the blooming of flowers, warmer days, and the world’s very own Holiday. Earth Day this year will be celebrated on April 22, 2023. Showing our love for this planet is something that should continue 365 days a year. We need to take care of it, for it is the only one we have. Remaining cautious about how we are preserving Earth is extremely important.
As it should be, climate change is a major topic being discussed amongst society. There is no question about if the earth is experiencing rapid global warming. This Spring, we are seeing quite a few effects of the changes happening to our environment. The first change you may be noticing is within your sinuses. Due to the 21% increase in pollen production since 1990, allergy season has started 20 days earlier and is projected to last about 10 more days. The reason for all of this sneezing is the rise in temperature so early in the year. The earlier the heat creeps up on us, the earlier pollen is able to be produced.
Early allergies aren’t to be the only expected happening due to climate change. Another frequently discussed effect we are due to see is the amount and intensity of future storms. Not only is the air temperature affected by the heating of the planet, but also the water’s temperature. Bodies of water on the East Coast such as the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico have shown quick increasing temperatures that are expected to be the reason for the larger storms the East Coast is promised in the future, according to researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The question everyone is asking is, “How do we stop Climate Change?”. The answer is there is no stopping climate change. The fossil fuels and greenhouse gasses have been admitted into the air and are present and are going to continue affecting our world’s temperature. There are a few things that humanity can be aware of, however, to help start the limitation of rapid climate change.
Recycling energy has become a popular fad amongst society. Renewable resources such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower have shown substantially less physical harm to the climate than the fossil fuels filling our world such as natural gas, coil, and oil. Although this statement is true, we also need to remain informed on these new sources of energy. Environmentalists are now showing growing concern for the effects of recycling energy. Wind and solar power are some of the most well-known sources of recycled energy. They have also become very popular energy sources, as Western New York is able to see. The issue recently discovered with solar energy is not all energy storage is clean. Research is now showing that the battery boom could actually increase greenhouse gas emission if not done precisely. Solar energy could basically turn out to be an extreme positive or an extreme negative. And as for windmills, their concern has to do with physical climate change. Windmills are a nontoxic, inexhaustible and affordable object of energy. They seem to have all of the qualities that our society needs to limit climate change. The issue now being discovered with windmills is their nonrecyclable qualities. Windmills are made with fiberglass, steel, and plastic that is so durable that it is almost completely unable to break down. They also have the tendency to negatively impact wildlife and agriculture. Not being able to recycle such large and consistent materials adds to the waste we are trying to control. Recycling is a key factor in limiting the amount of virgin products we are required to make that produce the greenhouse gas and fossil fuel emissions we are trying to avoid. For more information on this topic, the Union of Concerned Scientists, has research and articles expressing growing concern for the environmental impacts of reusable energy.
Climate change is a topic we need to keep discussing and questioning. With every new answer to our planet’s warming, we need to find the positive and negative impacts in order to efficiently save our earth. There are many ways to remain conscious of the well being of the earth. If we all do our part to stay aware of these new impacts of renewable resources, we can use them in more sustainable ways. With all of this being said, this coming Earth Day is the perfect time to start protecting the amazing place we are able to call home