Reno, the hottest little city in the world | Romanick
Pope Francis has been an outspoken critic of governments who do not address the serious issues of climate change and global warming. Veuer's Nick Cardona tells us what the Pope just said. Buzz60
As we near the end of 2018 and reflect back on this year, we can acknowledge some heavy changes in our community as well as across the country.
Andrew Wheeler took charge of the Environmental Protection Agency following Scott Pruitt’s resignation; both are former coal lobbyists.
Reno experienced its hottest summer yet and is reported as the fastest warming city in the U.S. Therefore, it’s no surprise that our heat is accompanied by devastating wildfires both here at home and next door in California. The drastic changes in our desert climate are a few examples of changes in climates across the world; therefore, immediate and careful change in environmental policies and human practices is more important now than ever.
Our land and climates are dramatically affected by human activities, which include overconsumption of nonrenewable materials that is now causing observable and deleterious changes in our oceans.
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Our oceans work hard for us by absorbing 80 to 90 percent of energy from our atmosphere in the form of heat, and absorbs a quarter of CO2 emissions produced by human activity from the burning of coal. Where air meets water, the ocean is able to absorb such heat and CO2. Wind and turbulence create waves, which increase the ocean’s surface area, allowing for more heat and CO2 absorption.
However, as a consequence, the ocean temperatures rise and the increase in CO2 absorption contributes to ocean acidity. The marine life in our oceans is not suited for the emerging environment and will have no choice but to adapt or die.
One of the biggest problems are oceans face today is plastic pollution. Plastic is a material less dense than water; therefore, it floats at the ocean’s surface where it is broken down by sunlight. A study published this year conducted by Dr. Sarah-Jeanne Royer at the University of Hawaii reported that single-use plastic, low-density polyethylene in our oceans emit powerful greenhouse gases as they are broken down by the sun. Furthermore, plastics block air-water contact, which inhibits the ocean's ability to absorb heat and CO2. Thus, plastic pollution in our oceans contribute greatly to changing climates and global warming.
You can help make a big difference in preventing changes in climate. How? By reducing your everyday plastic waste! The first step in fighting plastic pollution is refusing single-use plastic products. For example, carrying a reusable water bottle and utensils with you daily, as well as bringing your own reusable grocery bag to shop with, will dramatically reduce the LDPE plastics that end up in our oceans, which breakdown the fastest and release the most gases.
Samantha Romanick is a graduate student working on a Ph.D. in molecular biology at the University of Nevada, Reno.