Full disclosure: I’m a Canadian. Jokes like “America’s hat” and “the 51st state” are obnoxious at best, and infuriating at worst. But, as a neighbor to the US, we see a lot of what the US does, of course. Canada has policies that can directly compare to US ones. Part of being a good neighbor is to offer neighborly advice when it’s warranted. So here it is, straight from our heart to yours: the US is messing it up. Especially in regard to things like climate change.
“Climate Change Impacts in the United States”
The U.S. Global Change Research Program first published this 841-page document in 2014. This important assessment of the U.S. National Climate crisis, named Climate Change Impacts in the United States, gives an in-depth look at all the ways climate change threatens the U.S. (1)
Climate Change Is Directly Worsened By American Activities
Climate change has been widely studied for years. There are those who don’t believe, but “this evidence tells an unambiguous story: the planet is warming, and over the last half century, this warming has been driven primarily by human activity. Multiple lines of independent evidence,” says the climate assessment paper, “confirm that human activities are the primary cause of the global warming of the past 50 years. The burning of coal, oil, and gas, and clearing of forests have increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by more than 40% since the Industrial Revolution.” (1)
The Industrial Revolution was the real start of a capitalist society. Now, the U.S. is heavily reliant on expansion and production. One has only to look at the massive economic downswing and the devastating impact on individuals when COVID-19 shut down businesses to see that.
The Water
“The oceans,” says the report, “are currently absorbing about a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere annually.” That makes them “more acidic as a result, leading to concerns about intensifying impacts on marine ecosystems.”
The circle of life is very apparent here: “acidification of the oceans has already caused a suppression of carbonate ion concentrations that are critical for marine calcifying animals such as corals, zooplankton, and shellfish.” Those marine-calcifying creatures form the base of the ocean food chain. That means if they die, the fish and other seafood we consume will have nothing to eat. If they have nothing to eat, their numbers will decrease. That’s one important food source–gone. (1)
The Impact Of Climate Change On People
Climate change will have devastating effects on human health. However, “not everyone is equally at risk. Important considerations include age, economic resources, and location.”
That’s not a good thing. Recent history has shown that, when it comes to poor communities or racial minorities, the United States just doesn’t care. According to a report on water gaps and wealth inequality, “race is the strongest predictor of water and sanitation access.” Just look at the Flint water crisis. There could be “1,000 to 4,300 additional premature deaths nationally per year by 2050 from combined ozone and particle health effects.” How many of those might be minorities? (1, 2)
