What Kind of Response Are You Prepared to Give?

Nile Bunger is an Environmental Science major at the University of Arizona. The majority of his jobs thus far have involved working in with marine life, which is where his love for the ocean comes from.

California droughts. Rainforest fires. Rising sea levels. Hurricanes multiplying. Sever storms in the Midwest creeping up in the news. These are all things we are dealing with far too often. "We do not know a planet like this," some may say. Well, that is not all the way true. In fact, we saw some very similar climate patterns and behaviors during the Pliocene period. During that time, the planet experienced both dry and cool climate conditions with sea levels approximately 90 feet higher than what is recorded today.

This time period was millions of years ago, so why am I bringing it to your attention now? When sea levels rise at a rapid rate, it not only poses a threat to our oceans wildlife and temperatures. It impacts the health of our human population. We will be exposed to bacteria that we are not equipped to handle at a rate we will struggle to keep up with. As temperatures start to rise globally, we will start to see diseases that once were only able to live in temperate and tropical climates start to spread to areas that once were too cold.

I urge you to VOTE this November for a leader that will address our climate crisis. There will be a time when the next generations will ask us what we did or didn't do to secure a livable planet for their future. What kind of response are you prepared to give?