SCI 219 1-2 Journal How Do Environmental Issues Impact You Personally

1-2 Journal: How Do Environmental Issues Impact You Personally

Brynne Nicholas

Southern New Hampshire University

SCI 219: Environmental Issues

Instructor Alyssa Johnson

January 8, 2023

Global climate change is a pressing environmental issue that impacts and will continue to

impact everyone on the planet in some way or another if changes are not made. The balance

when solar energy is reflected back into space. Earth cools as absorbed energy is radiated back

into space. Changes in the energy balance of the planet can result from a variety of natural and

human processes, such as: “variations in the sun's energy reaching earth, changes in the

reflectivity of Earth’s atmosphere and surface, changes in the greenhouse effect, which affects

the amount of heat retained by Earth’s atmosphere” (Causes of climate change, n.d.).

Everyone is affected by climate. The rather steady climate we have had since the last ice

change, for instance, may affect rainfall patterns, food yields, human health, the health of forests

and other ecosystems, and even our energy supply. Impacts from the climate are being felt

nationwide and in many different areas of our economy (Climate change impacts, n.d.).

Over the previous century, the earth's average temperature has increased by 1.5 degrees,

and over the next 100 years, that temperature is expected to climb by another.5 to 8.6 degrees.

Slight variations in the earth's average temperature can result in significant and potentially

hazardous changes in the climate and weather. The effects of climate change have become

evident as we can see that the increase in the average temperature of earth has been accompanied

by weather and climatic changes (Climate change: Basic information, n.d.). Numerous locations

around the globe have already seen shifts in rainfall which has resulted in an increase of intense

rain, flooding, and/or droughts in addition to more frequent and extreme heat waves. There have

will undoubtedly intensify, posing problems for both the environment and society (Climate

change: Basic information, n.d.).

Because everyone is affected by climate change, that means it affects me as well. I have

seen the direct effects of climate change over the past few years just by observing the increase in

temperatures, the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme downpours of rain, and stronger

storms. In addition to the above, there have been at least two major extreme weather events that I

According to the article, Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan: Climate change and the

1,000-year flood in Baton Rouge: When will we learn?, this extreme weather event left thirteen

individuals dead and nearly 60,000 were ruined. Honestly, having experienced the devastation

firsthand, 60,000 homes seem like a low ball. I only know one individual whose house did not

flood. My house had almost six feet of water in it as it was enough water to pick my mother’s

police unit up and completely turn it around. This weather event was so unexpected as I had no

idea it was even supposed to rain that day. Meteorologists Jeff Masters and Bob Henson had

stated that “August has been the wettest month in Baton Rouge in 174 years, when records were

first kept” (Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan..., 2016). That year from June through August,

Baton Rouge, Louisiana had received 40.95 inches of rain which was “more rain in three months

than downtown Los Angeles has recorded over the last five years (38.79 inches)” (Amy

devastation it brought to areas close to me like Grand Isle, Louisiana. However, my father-in-law

was living in his camp in Grand Isle at the time (he had evacuated) the storm made landfall. The

storm surge pushed so much sand onto the island that nobody was allowed to go back to their

homes or camps for months. Additionally, it took seven months for the beaches down there to

reopen. There has also been a major decrease in permanent residents in Grand Isle as roughly

700 buildings (approximately 1 of every 4 buildings) were either damaged or destroyed (Orr, M.,

When will we learn? (2016, August 26). UWIRE Text, 1. Retrieved January 8, 2023, from

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A461663134/ITOF?

u=nhc_main&sid=ebsco&xid=a903a1977

Causes of climate change. EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.).

Orr, M. (2022, August 30). This island is not protected from a hurricane. but residents remain