Global Warming is Real Even When It's Freezing Here

Dear Editor,

As a student at Ramapo College, I am taking an Environmental Writing course that has had a tremendous impact on my views.  I come from a family where one side is conservative so I have never thought too much about Global Warming or its possible impact on us in the near future and for the generations to come.  But what I have come to learn has really disturbed me and shown me the importance of taking action sooner rather than later, because if we as humans wait too long it may be too late.

Many people argue, "if Global Warming is real then why does it get so cold during the winter?"  Those people do not truly grasp the true meaning of global warming.  Although we still experience very frigid temperatures here in New Jersey, the poles are heating up.  This is causing many of the ice caps to melt and glaciers to drift.  We are already feeling the effects of this with its impact on weather. 

We have experienced some truly devastating natural disasters over the last decade, which we have not seen in our region before.  Many towns in New York and New Jersey are still feeling the lasting effects of Hurricane Sandy, which wiped out many towns especially by the Jersey Shore.

If Global Warming continues, these storms will likely become more and more frequent with the severity increasing with every passing year.  The damage caused by Sandy has resulted in lives being lost and millions and million of dollars being spent in order to recover.  These efforts to rebuild after the storm will have been for nothing if more storms, stronger storms, wreak havoc on our area in the future.

We are setting our children and our children's children up for disaster, where New York and New Jersey as we know it can be completely different.  Many scientists have already predicted that New York, as soon as the 2050s, will be a city of ruins.  Water will have flooded the streets and temperatures can possibly jump an average of 4.1-5.7 degrees.  By 2080 it's possible that it can increase by 8.8 degrees hotter than the average.  This will result in an increase of precipitation and significant rise in the sea levels.  The floods that we experienced during Sandy would be nothing compared to what we face if this does indeed happen.

Mayor de Blasio has already made an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the city, but this can't just be a one man effort.  Everyone has to make the effort to save the environment or else the next generations will be thrust into a "Day After Tomorrow"-like disaster.

I hope that everyone can now see the danger that we face.

Brian Writt