Remy Goldberg is a rising sophomore at Carnegie Mellon University from Northern New Jersey. He is currently studying Chemistry, Policy & Management, and Economics.
Climate change is an undeniable fact. California faced deadly and ecosystem-damaging wildfires near the end of 2019, only to be then followed by Australia wildfires and then more California wildfires. It seems that every year there are more severe hurricanes than the year prior. Western Europe is experiencing record breaking heat waves, reaching 38.7°C/101.6°F (CNN). While there are still many people who deny the existence of climate change or claim it isn’t human-caused, it has been proven time and time again that these extreme weather patterns are not independent events, and they will become the new normal if nothing is done to curb climate change.
I spent my quarantine taking advantage of all the remote education possibilities I could find. I participated in the Climate Advocacy Training Program run by Citizens Climate Lobby, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advocates for U.S. national policy to address climate change. More specifically, CCL supports the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 763); in short, this bill proposes putting a steadily increasing fee on fossil fuels and returns the funds raised back to the American public in the form of a dividend. It follows UN recommendations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by 40% in the next 12 years.
As of right now, I’m a chemistry major in college/university, but I’m also considering switching to economics, policy, or even statistics. All I know is that I want to work on environmental sustainability. I was first drawn to science because it seemed like a way to contribute to climate solutions, but as I take classes and do my own research, I realized that there are already so many tangible, possible solutions out there. The struggle lies in implementation.
I imagine this is also a feeling shared with my fellow students, but it’s a really discouraging time to be a student in the world. Scientists and educators with expertise propose effective solutions to our world’s problems, yet they are hardly ever listened to. Even with a pandemic threatening every aspect of life, politicians are still skeptical about listening to epidemiologists because of economic and factual concerns.
It’s frustrating to aspire for a future career, yet know that no one will listen.
My hope for the future is that politicians and policymakers look towards experts for advice on how to deal with societal problems. Without a doubt, fact can and should be debated considering that bias in statistics and misinformation is rampant, but there shouldn’t be a blatant disregard for the research and new information. On the topic of the environment, we can’t keep ignoring our dire situation with the hope that it doesn’t actually exist or that it will magically fix itself. Our governments need to take tangible measures to reduce our carbon emissions, and in order for that to happen, we need to fight for change.