Donald Trump may currently be one of the most powerful people in the world, but is his logic living up to his self-proclaimed strength? The Paris Agreement is a mutual agreement among all nations to control the amount of pollution we put in the atmosphere. According to the White House official website, Trump doubts the environmental crisis and states his position on the issue by providing facts about emissions.
“We owe no apologies to other nations for our environmental stewardship. After all, before the Paris Accord was ever signed, America had reduced its CO2 footprint to levels from the early 1990’s. In fact, between the years 2000 and 2014, the United States reduced its carbon emissions by 18-plus percent. And this was accomplished not through government mandate, but accomplished through innovation and technology of the American private sector.”
For someone in a position of power to think pollution and global mistreatment of the earth is not their responsibility is something I never thought I would see in my lifetime. According to DoSomething.org, pollution is something we should not take lightly. Here are 5 important facts they have posted about pollution today .
1. Pollution is one of the biggest global killers, affecting over 100 million people…That’s comparable to global diseases like Malaria and HIV.
2. Cleanups can save animals’ lives and discourage people from littering in the future. Take initiative and host a cleanup at a park or hiking trails near you.
3. In 1975, the National Academy of Sciences estimated that ocean-based sources, such as cargo ships and cruise liners, had dumped 14 billion pounds of garbage into the ocean.
4. Over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed by pollution every year.
5. People who live in places with high levels of air pollutants have a 20% higher risk of death from lung cancer than people who live in less-polluted areas.
Not only is global pollution a very real threat, the Paris Agreement is the biggest agreement between all the powerful nations on Earth to conserve and preserve. We cannot afford to devalue this important agreement. I encourage you to make small changes that we can easily control that will help the environment. A very simple switch is watching what brands you buy from and purchasing only those that are certified eco-friendly.
Smaller changes can make big impacts! After all “it isn’t the mountain that wears you out, it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.”
