From destructive tropical storms to intense periods of drought, natural disasters have been hitting the planet with more extremity and frequency than ever before. New York is anticipating one of the worst hurricane seasons ever, and California was slammed with record-breaking heat waves last week. It's hard to deny that all of these events are linked to the acceleration of climate change, due to centuries of deforestation, fossil fuel combustion, or oil drilling, overwhelmingly done at the hands of companies.
The state of Delaware, suffering from coastal flooding among other issues, is suing 31 fossil fuel companies for deceiving the residents of the state about the environmental damage they would cause. Two of the companies being sued are Chevron and Exxon Mobil, who are numbers 2 and 4 of the 10 companies most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions globally. Delaware has the lowest average elevation in the country, and tens of thousands of residents are being affected by coastal flooding, predominantly residents living under the poverty line. Rising sea levels are also affecting the state's agricultural systems, flooding fields with saltwater, not to mention crop damage from irregular weather patterns.
Similar to how Delaware's lower income populations are disproportionately affected by coastal flooding, California's lower income and more vulnerable residents were hit by last week's heat waves much harder than most, already suffering from wildfire smoke and evacuations. On Sept. 6, it reached 120 degrees in Palm Springs, 121 in Chino and 122 in Solvang, the hottest day ever recorded in many cities. An opinion article in the LA Times argued that heat waves are just as deadly as wildfires, with power outages, extreme heat and lack of refuge hit people with pre-existing conditions or less financial resources the hardest, and that the government isn't doing enough to help them. The opinion column suggests that citizens need to take it on themselves to plant trees or other cooling methods in low-income neighborhoods, but it seems impossible to make any tangible change if it's not on a systematic level that would drastically alter how things work. Placing the responsibility on average citizens to fix climate change (a problem caused mostly by giant corporations) by being conscious consumers even though it's expensive and inaccessible is irresponsible and frankly a little cruel. I think that Delaware's Attorney General is setting a good example of how to hold companies accountable for the damage they've caused, but it's entirely possible that it's too little too late.
1 comment:
These past months have been very telling of the devastating effects of climate change and their steadily growing impacts on our everyday lives. California has faced record breaking heat waves and wildfires, and it isn't a coincidence. As carbon emission has increased, global temperatures have also increased, resulting in disastrous consequences. However, even our president continues to deny effects of climate change and dismissed many environmental policies since taken office, which may rub off onto the less educated. To actually protect our environment and ensure positive change, there are a number of small things an average citizen can do, but a president that believes in climate change would also be a good start. If some companies go unregulated, climate change will just continue to get drastically worse and the damage will be irreversible.
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