By Sean Reis
Production Manager
Is global warming real?
Yes. However, I dislike the term “global warming” because although climate change is real, it occurs in both extreme directions — extreme hot and extreme cold temperatures.
Recently, we experienced abnormal weather sporadically over the course of our “winter” break. On Christmas Day, there was an average temperature at the College of 63 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the website Weather Underground. Meanwhile, we finally received sufficient snowfall this past weekend when snow storm Jonas ran up the coast.
Nonetheless, New Jersey was not the only place where the effects of climate change have been noticed. Last Wednesday, scientists reported that 2015 was the hottest year recorded in history, according to the New York Times.
While one might consider my first two examples anecdotal and one may even call my citation of the New York Times article an exaggeration, I believe that these are pieces of factual evidence that prove climate change is a reality.
I also believe that while climate change might be reality, its process is not too late to stop because we have not yet reached Earth’s pollution point of no return. However, the Earth is in the hands of mankind and we have two options.
The first option is that we continue to power our daily lives with fossil fuels. Although this option may sound feasible (especially with plummeting gas prices), if we choose — and I emphasize that this is a choice — to continue to use this source of energy, the exploitation of fossil fuels will ultimately lead to the destruction of our planet and the extinction of mankind.
I understand this is quite the scary thought, but I promise you, the second option is the happy ending: We begin to use alternative energy sources and we save our planet before it is too late. Switching to alternative energy sources will be an extremely expensive process, but is it not worth that cost for our home?
Please take your time thinking about that question, but do not take too much time, because this will likely be our generation’s decision to make.
Earth is not only our planet, it is also our home. Is our home worth it?
