Obama on Climate Change

With the global average temperature having risen 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900, it’s clear that things are only getting hotter. Setting out to discover the effects of global climate change over the next century, the Obama administration released the study, Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, last week. The collaborating 13 agencies project what will happen to water supply and temperature changes regionally throughout the US. They foresee intense, heavy downpours, sea-level rises, and hurricanes that will greatly damage almost all forms of transportation. Also, they predict an increase in heat-related illnesses and deaths. The report closes with a reminder that our choices today affect the future. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock is responsible for 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, the very gas that traps heat, which is more than the entire global transportation system. Perhaps with a little less meat-eating and a little more conscientiousness, we could cool things off.