Of all the issues that our country faces, only one indiscriminately does harm to all people in all parts of the world: climate change. While humanity reaped the benefits of the Industrial Revolution and has since been advancing technologically at a rapid pace, the Earth has paid the price and is now suffering from unprecedented warming due to fossil fuels exacerbating the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere. My care for this topic lies in its ability to affect all people anywhere and everywhere. By warming the Earth by even a fraction of a degree, we as a global society have single-handedly changed weather patterns, risen sea levels, and driven species to extinction. Such change at such a fast rate threatens to destabilize ecosystems, create …show more content…
Many people are still willing to vote for candidates who will do nothing about climate change or are simply deniers of the fact themselves. According to Gallup acceptance of climate change as a man-made phenomenon in this country is at a record high, 68%, but only 42% of survey participants believe they will see the effects in their lifetime. In order to precipitate real change, more people will have to become educated on environmental issues. It is understandable that people will oppose measures curbing fossil fuels because of the impact this will have on their communities. Nowhere is this more visible than in the state of West Virginia, where thousands in Appalachia work as coal miners. These miners have few job alternatives and will lose their sources of income should our power grids go off coal. However, by the boundless creativity of innovators and cooperation between the government, private business, and communities, as the nation makes the trip towards green power the people who rely on fossil fuels for their jobs can be given the tools and training they need to embark on the voyage to working on eco-friendly