Cristian Carlos.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), climate change "is attributed directly or indirectly to human activities that alter the global composition of the atmosphere and to climate variability that has been compared to other time periods".
In recent years, the temperature of Planet Earth has increased significantly, this behavior in the warming of the biosphere has caused floods, extended storm and hurricane seasons, earthquakes, and the melting of the poles.
Therefore, Ethnic Media Services offered its space to give voice to specialists in favor of the existence of the climate change phenomenon that former President Donald Trump was in charge of denying during his presidency.
Ramon Cruz, president of the Sierra Club's National Board of Directors, began the discussion by bringing to the table the issue of the U.S. government's environmental agenda: "85% of the people are suffering from the effects of climate change," he said.
In addition, Cruz commented that the role of science is crucial to make decisions and manage resources in favor of the environment, therefore, he called on governments to pay attention to environmental scientists who are warning about the harmful effects that threaten the planet. "The effort and money destined to stop the effects of climate change are not being seen in different countries," he said.
He lamented that billionaires are "fleeing to other planets," such as Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors who use their resources away from the consequences for the environment.
For Alex de Sherbinin, associate director of Science Applications and senior research scientist at the International Earth Science Information Center at Columbia University's School of Climate, noted that the consequences of climate change include increased natural disasters that ultimately result in migration.
De Sherbinin said that environmental hazards and "social vulnerability" put people at risk by forcing them to move from a different place than their places of origin, such as displacement, and circular or permanent migration. "Migration is a systemic response to deal with problems such as climate change," De Sherbinin said, adding, "Scientists agree that environmental change has contributed to population migration in the past and that this phenomenon is very likely to occur again in the future."
Dana Johnson, WE ACT's Senior Director of Federal Strategy and Policy for Environmental Justice, noted that WE ACT is the first organization of people of African descent to end what she called "environmental racism" that originated in New York and has a permanent presence in Washington D.C.
Johnson pointed out that WE ACT's goal is to ensure that people of African descent and low-income people "have the opportunity to participate meaningfully" in the decisions that are made in their communities. In that sense, it seeks "environmental justice" by ensuring that business owners and companies are aware of the adverse effects they cause to their surroundings, specifically to the environment and whether it perpetuates the pattern of economic inequality in their communities; with this, he said, it seeks to end dependence on fossil fuels and that, in reality, there are "false solutions" such as carbon sequestration and the use of biomass that will only create economic instability and delay the elimination of the use of fossil fuels.
