CURRENT ANALYSIS ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN CENTRAL EUROPE
Within the past decade, climate change has become one of the most discussed topics worldwide because of its dire consequences for human societies and ecosystems, such as global warming and extreme weather. In this summer of 2022, central Europe has unfortunately experienced an unprecedented heat wave that has caused different levels of inconvenience.
The most noticeable one was the sweltering heat. Many countries in central Europe including Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, and others reported their highest temperature range from 35 to 40 Celsius, which is, accumulatively, “1.94 to 1.99 degrees Celsius hotter on average than the preindustrial average (Voice of America)”.
Written by Ella Zhang, Edited by Chloe XuUnder this unbearable temperature, not only were people’s daily life impacted, but also a chain of effects was activated. Many regions reported wildfires exacerbated by the climbing temperatures, and Portugal’s was the most severe one. 80% of mainland Portugal has been detected at risk of fire, with a total of over 30 wildfires on extreme days. In addition to destroying forests and land, the extremely high temperatures can even threaten human life. “Portugal reported more than 1,000 deaths linked to the extremely high temperature (The Washington Post).” Health authorities in the Spanish capital, Madrid, estimate that at least 360 people died from heat-related causes during the week of the intensifying heat wave. More than 10,000 people were evacuated from their homes as fires raged in southwestern France (Politico). Nevertheless, the case could be harsher in less-developed countries. For them, rebuilding houses and facilitating protection infrastructures for future heat waves are unaffordable. Citizens are very likely to encounter similar disastrous circumstances next year therefore.
C L I M A T E C H A N G E
As these miserable situations happened, scientists strived to investigate what exactly caused this abnormal heat wave. A conclusion has not been reached, but scientists have offered several potential causes: disturbed jet stream; dried soil; sluggish ocean currents (Voice of America). A jet stream refers to an air current that loops around the northern hemisphere from west to east, and it can split into two sometimes, which are so-called double jet streams. Double jet streams are a normal phenomenon, which slows down air flowing, yet it occurs more frequently in central Europe this year due to recent climate change, leading to heat waves at last. Sluggish ocean currents—in specific, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)—contributes to rising temperature, too. As AMOC should bring warm water north and cold water south, this progress is slowed down because of overall climate warming. However, this hypothesis is objected by some, so no precise answer has been provided.
Lastly, ongoing droughts in Europe also play a factor in exacerbating heat waves. As the soil dries, less water can evaporate from the soil into the air. Since the energy for evaporation is no longer needed, it is instead used to warm the air, indirectly causing temperatures to soar.
As mentioned before, scientists have presented multiple potential causes for heat waves, but no consensus has been reached yet. What we should recognize and pay attention to is plans on preventing climate change from intensifying in central Europe or other regions. According to CNN, “the record-breaking heat wave that swept across Europe this year will become the ‘average’ summer by 2035, even if all countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by as much as they have pledged to”. Anticipating this unpromising future, we should all work together as a human community to stop the ongoing climate change. Only then will it be possible to stop the misfortune caused by extreme heat in Europe this summer. Anticipating this unpromising future, we should all work together as a human community to stop the ongoing climate change. Only then will it be possible to stop the misfortune caused by extreme heat in Europe this summer.
Illustration: Vanessa Layout: Elisa
CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLITICS VERONICA WANG
Climate change, a buzzword in the politics
and social debate for the past few years. Along with COVID, climate change has already become one of the most pressing challenges that human
beings need to tackle together in the coming decades. The solutions to our climate crisis are quite diverse, but politics remains the most powerful and pivotal. So what’s the exact relationship between climate change and politics? How can we better understand climate change through the lens of politics?
I would describe the relationship between Climate Change and Politics as mutually inclusive of one another. You can’t talk about climate change without talking about its global and local politics and vice versa. It’s becoming more and more frequent to hear our world leaders talk about climate and sustainability on both
international stages and domestic occasions. Politics, as one of the most crucial methods to achieve the climate goal of our times, need to embrace its new role in solving environmental problems quickly to ensure that human beings are not left behind in this race of fighting the climate crisis. Another reason to say that climate change and politics are mutually inclusive of each other is that they both encompass many divisions and sub-problems that are highly correlated. For example, the population of climate refugees is estimated to grow rapidly in the coming decades, and where these people relocate would pose a huge challenge for the rest of the world.
Climate problems are also highly intensified by class, in which rich people typically produce more carbon emissions. In contrast, the lower class people are the ones who pay the most for the negative impacts.
On the other hand, climate change and politics are both “wicked problems” in their essences. Climate issues, like political conflicts, are very complicated to measure or evaluate tangibly. First of all, climate change doesn’t have a single fixed definition. Different people may view climate change as a different process with different consequences. Secondly, you can’t really know when you’ve solved a problem regarding climate change since it’s a constantly ongoing process, and many outcomes are hard to measure. Thirdly, climate change is one of the most unique challenges that mankind faces, for human beings don’t really have many
previous experiences dealing with it. It’s the only problem in human history that has affected every aspect of our world’s physical, biological, and cultural systems, and it’s irreversible, prompting us to take action right now to mitigate and adapt to it.
When you talk about the intersection of climate change and politics, the most trending issue is the energy crisis in Europe. Because of the Ukraine War and its profound geopolitical consequences to the region,
Europe now has to think of other ways to provide electricity and other production power to their people besides relying on Russian energy. Many European countries started to announce that they might resume the coal industry just to ensure that their energy supply won’t be insufficient for this winter while causing huge backlash for their efforts on climate change transitions for the past decade. But somehow, this kind of reality doesn’t seem shocking anymore since climate change is still a “secondary” problem to the world that is less important than national interests and life quality. What will happen in Europe this winter is out of any single nation’s control, and we shall see what political conflicts and energy crises altogether would shape a region’s development in both the short-term and long-term.
Is adopting Paper Straws the right thing to do?
In recent years, paper straws have replaced plastic straws in various big companies, such as McDonald's and Starbucks, for "eco-friendly" purposes
As we all know, plastic straws are harmful to the environment. They frequently end up in our oceans, endangering marine life, and can take up to 500 years to decompose in landfills Therefore, many people may believe that paper straws would be the best choice for the environment However, is it really the truth?
Paper Straws may be a greener option, but not a green choice
The painful reality is that paper straws are not more environmentally friendly than their plastic counterparts. They might be more harmful to the environment due to their energy-intensive and greenhouse gas-emitting nature of the production of paper straws
Moreover, paper straw manufacturing requires wood, resulting in decimating forests. It reduces the number of trees that may be used to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
In today’s world, paper straws are still single-use waste items, just like plastic straws, and as their demand and overall production is rising over time, even though they do no good for the environment In regard to environmental issues, paper straws are a less ideal alternative to plastic straws since it downgrade customers' experiences.
On the other hand, even though the paper straw could be considered eco-friendly, it's not practical. Customers tend to finish the drinks more quickly than before; if the paper straw is placed in the water for a long time, it will melt, and you won't have the chance to enjoy your drink anymore.
In conclusion, paper straws may be only a little bit " greener " than plastic straws However, we should still find a better replacement product composed of ecofriendly material while also taking customer experience into consideration Personally speaking, I would encourage frequent Starbucks visitor to buy a reusable straw.
