I wish climate change was a hoax.

I would love to believe climate change is overhyped and just a big hoax. It’s not. The data is pretty clear. We’re destroying our planet and doing little to stop it. This is one of many reasons why I’ve decided to get involved in the green movement. Even if climate change was a hoax, why wouldn’t we invest in green energy and taking care of the planet? I want future generations to enjoy the beauty of nature like I did as a kid.

As a person who has changed my mind about political issues many times over, I took due diligence when researching this topic. I’ve read articles by those who believe it’s a hoax, and those who believe it’s a natural phenomenon, most of which are rarely written by climatologists or experts in the field. In fact, I’ve found many of the videos and articles on the Internet that downplay climate change come from organizations that are funded by oil companies. Take Prager U, for instance, which constantly minimizes the dangers of global warming. One of their main funders is the Wilks brothers (the fracking billionaires). No surprise there.

Fortunately, there are plenty of resources online to help confirm the data. I’ve found the doubters are slowly backing away from their original position as more evidence is revealed. For instance, the people who used to say that the planet wasn’t warming at all no longer say so. How could they? We’ve been breaking heat records for the past two decades. Many of the doubters have now taken the position of “yes, it’s happening, but it’s totally natural.”

The evidence says something different. According to NASA’s report, “The current warming trend is of particular significance because it is unequivocally the result of human activity since the mid-20^th century and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented over millennia.”

https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

Then there are those who say this phenomenon is not caused by humans. The evidence begs to differ in this case as well. Carbon Brief analyzed factors that contribute to the Earth’s warming and cooling cycles and found, “The global warming witnessed over the past 150 years matches nearly perfectly what is expected from greenhouse gas emissions and other human activity, both in the simple model examined here and in more complex climate models. The best estimate of the human contribution to modern warming is around 100%.”

Analysis: Why scientists think 100% of global warming is due to humans

My favorite resource is the book pictured above, “How to Prepare for Climate Change” by David Pogue. His matter-of-fact approach to explaining many of the misunderstandings surrounding climate change paired with common sense preparation has given me some peace of mind. There’s also a YouTube video by the author under the same title that I highly recommend watching.

And as I write this on a 70° day in December, I wonder how much more extreme these crazy weather patterns are going to get. Bottom line: the planet is getting warmer whether people choose to believe it or not. Now is the time to prepare. There are tons of websites out there that discuss climate change and ways to live more green. These are some of my favorites:

https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-scientists-think-100-of-global-warming-is-due-to-humans

https://www.wwf.org.uk/what-we-do/climate-change-and-energy

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/29/50-ways-to-green-up-your-life-save-the-planet

We know we must make changes, but where do we start? I believe the answer lies in minimalism, purging one’s home of the clutter. And that’s exactly what I’d like to help people do.

Stay tuned!