Donald Trump has stated that “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive” (Yes, Donald Trump…). Assuming that this was none other than an irrational statement to spark controversy, it still highlights the nature of his position. Our next president will not place a priority on fixing the very problem we started. As of April of this year, 97% of climate scientists agree that “climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities” (NASA). So far, Mr. Trump has vowed to cancel the International Climate Accord, bring back “clean coal,” and keep fracking for natural gas. America should be worried if Mr. Trump stands by what he has said so far stands true.
Of the many troubling things he has said, his claim to bring back “clean coal” has to be the most absurd. According to a report by the World Health Organization in 2008, coal pollution is estimated to shorten approximately 1,000,000 lives annually worldwide. The detrimental effect is multifaceted. The physical burning of coal that is used for energy aerosolizes numerous derivatives of compounds containing mercury, uranium, arsenic, and other toxic substances. Aside from that, the physical mining for coal is extremely detrimental to the surrounding habitat. The biodiversity is drastically reduced in areas of mining. Aside from this, nearby water sources can easily be contaminated from the mine area.
Regarding jobs, renewable energy creates 3 times as many jobs as fossil fuel does, yet receives 1/4 of the subsidy. Eventually, the fossil fuel supply will run out and we will need to use renewable energy. However, before this is a concern, we would have polluted the earth so drastically that it will probably be inhabitable. Right now, scientists in MIT are working on a nuclear fusion reactor that is capable of producing “huge” (to quote the Donald) quantities of energy, with little to no byproduct. Without the proper funding for such a project, which Stephen Hawking called the penultimate in alternative energy, we will not be able to ever create such a device.
To quote Donald Trump, “To solve a problem, you have to be able to state what the problem is” (Trump Says Clinton Won’t…). However, he refuses to admit this one. I take this opportunity to combine science with the current political affairs to demonstrate what we have gotten ourselves into by voting for this individual. Seriously, what the f**k America?!?
– Andrew Resnick
