9th November: a dark day for the environment

2016 continues to cause political turmoil. Nobody thought that Trump was going to win this presidential race: all but one poll predicted Clinton to be the victor; it was clear she was to break the glass ceiling and become the next president of the United States. However, just like the result of Brexit, 2016 once again proved me wrong.

As I watched the election coverage and the result become increasingly clear, I grew shocked. And now nine hours later, this feeling has not left. I am hugely disappointed and sad. I grieve for those who have been left behind and for those who passionately did not want this outcome.

As a geography student, it was especially disheartening to see climate change continuously cast aside within the election campaign. During the three presidential debates, only five minutes and twenty-seven seconds were spent discussing climate change or other environmental issues. Similarly, no question was asked about climate policy (Merchant, 2016).

Yet climate change is happening now. Over the period 1880 to 2012, there was a 0.85 degrees Celsius warming trend (IPCC, 2014). And according to the IPCC (2014), this surface temperature is projected to rise as we just continue into the twenty-first century, regardless of the emission scenario. Heat waves are likely to become more common and last longer; precipitation events are expected to become more severe and frequent; global mean sea level is expected to rise; and the ocean will become warmer and more acidified.

However, the future president of the United States has failed to accept that this unprecedented warming is happening and instead has claimed that climate change is indeed a ‘hoax’. On Trump’s website, none of his policies mention or address climate change mitigation. Trump has caused global fear, suggesting he will undo Barack Obama’s ambitious environmental progress. He has claimed that he will scrap the Clean Power Act and repeal all federal spending on clean energy, and has hinted that he wants to get rid of the US Environmental Protection Agency, asserting that ‘they are a disgrace’ (Pulmer, 2016). Furthermore, Trump has plans to ‘cancel the Paris climate agreement and stop all payments of US tax dollars to UN global warming programmes’ (Whyte, 2016).

We are currently living in a pivotal moment. Carbon dioxide levels have now surpassed 400ppm for the first time in recorded history (NASA, 2013) whilst 2016 has officially been the warmest year on record (NASA, 2016): we must act now or pay for the consequences. The UN Paris Agreement has given a little bit of hope, exerting diplomatic pressure on countries to increase their mitigation action. There are indeed some serious flaws with the deal but it is a welcomed start. It offers potential momentum.

So now I also grieve for the environment.

The USA is currently the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide (Boden et al. 2015). If the US successfully decreased its carbon footprint, it would be revolutionary for the planet. The US has the chance to become a role model to the rest of the world, a pioneer in renewable energy, a leader in climate policy. But instead, the US may plunge backwards; if we take Trump for his word, his victory is an environmental disaster. This is dangerous. This is scary. This is real.

References

Boden, T.A., Marland, G., and Andres, R.J. (2015). National CO2 Emissions from Fossil-Fuel Burning, Cement Manufacture, and Gas Flaring. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge: National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy

IPCC (2014) Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers. Geneva: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Merchant, E.F. (2016) Climate change enjoyed its 2 seconds of fame in the final debate [Online]. Seattle: Grist. Available at: http://grist.org/election-2016/climate-airtime-presidential-debate/ [Accessed 9 November 2016].

NASA (2013) For first time, Earth's single-day CO2 tops 400 ppm [Online]. Washington D.C.: NASA. Available at: http://climate.nasa.gov/news/916/for-first-time-earths-single-day-co2-tops-400-ppm/ [Accessed 9 November 2016].

NASA (2016) 2016 Climate Trends Continue to Break Records [Online]. Washington D.C.: NASA. Available at: http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/climate-trends-continue-to-break-records [Accessed 9 November 2016].

Pulmer, B. (2016) There’s no way around it: Donald Trump is going to be a disaster for the planet [Online]. New York: Vox. Available at: http://www.vox.com/2016/11/9/13571318/donald-trump-disaster-climate [Accessed 9 November 2016].

Whyte, L. (2016) Donald Trump vows to pull US out of Paris climate agreement if he is elected [Online]. New York: International Business Times. Available at: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/donald-trump-vows-pull-us-out-paris-climate-agreement-if-he-elected-1562350 [Accessed 9 November 2016].