Alexandra Edwards
English 170
Camilleri
11/7/23
Climate Change: Fact or Fiction?

Why has Starbucks stopped giving people straws? Why are restaurants using paper straws now? Why are Teslas everywhere? Why is every company ‘Going Green’? The reason: Climate Change. This menacing phenomenon has been a point of conflict for several years now but has only recently been addressed by companies around the world. Why the sudden concern for our climate? It has absolutely nothing to do with companies actually being worried about the health of the earth but rather a deeper, more sinister reason. Companies worldwide have all been participating in a relatively new concept Greenwashing which is actively condemning environmental campaigns. Not only is this dangerous to our environment, but it has also caused society to distrust most sustainable alternatives, leading them to believe companies are using climate change to gain profits. By analyzing infamous incidents of greenwashing, providing factual evidence and discussing the health of our environment, we can once and for all decide if climate change is simply a fact or just fiction.

The History of Fossil Fuels
Fossil Fuels were not the primary source of energy in the US until about the early nineteenth century, when people began seeking out an alternative to firewood in order to keep their houses warm. However, coal was expensive to transport, and people found the hard anthracite coal difficult to use. In order to make it easier to transport coal and other resources, the Schuylkill canal was built (Gershon, 2023). Since firewood was becoming more expensive due to the eastern US being deforested, people turned to anthracite coal as their main source of energy which was bountiful enough to support them. This transformed the United States into what it is now known as today, but has also had some lasting effects on the country as well (Gershon, 2023). The once bountiful amount of coal and oil that we thought would last centuries has been depleted beyond repair. Most of us have been blindsided by the sheer amount of these fossil fuels that we were oblivious to the fact that they have a limit. Despite the constant threat of this limitation and what it means for our future, the usage of coal and oil has continued to grow. This growth has led many to question: What will happen when they finally run out? Is there a backup plan? Engineers have been able to come up with several ways to counteract this depletion, however, no one is listening. That is why by 2052, Oil will be completely gone, by 2060, Gas will be gone and by 2090, Coal will be gone. (Kuo, 2019). That gives us a range of about 30-70 years to figure out a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, which in hindsight is not much.

How Fossil Fuels Led to Climate Change
The burning of fossil fuels leads to the release of nitrous oxides into the atmosphere which contribute to the formation of acid rain and smog (epa.gov, 2023). Though, anthropogenic activities such as car exhaust fumes, coal-fired power plants and even deforestation are the major sources of nitrogen oxides. However, nitrous oxides are not the only gases to blame. Human activities also release carbon dioxide, methane, and CFCs, which are all greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect happens when these gases collect in the atmosphere and trap the heat from the sun that reflects off of earth’s surface (National Geographic, 2023). This effect does occur naturally and is what makes earth survivable, however, due to the industrial revolution and the rise of fossil fuels, the effect has become unsustainable. Greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 70% between 1970 and 2004 and emissions of carbon dioxide alone have risen by about 80% (National Geographic, 2023).

Effects of Global Warming
According to National Geographic, the IPCC predicts that the average global temperature will increase by about 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade. The last decade was the warmest one in history and since the 1980s, each decade has been warmer than the last (WMO, 2023). They also predict that weather patterns will begin to change, and we will start to see an increase in freak weather events such as storm surges, hurricanes and tropical cyclones. These events will become more intense, last longer and occur more frequently in the coming years leading to more destruction of homes and loss of life (National Geographic, 2023). We can also expect to see a depletion of water sources due to the increase in temperature, and most dry-region communities will be exposed to water shortages. However, the major effect of global warming is the melting of ice caps and glaciers. Glaciers hold about 75% of the world’s freshwater supply and if all of this were to melt, sea levels would rise by about 230 feet (National Geographic, 2023). Rising sea levels can lead to damage to coastal cities, displacing millions of people and animal species. The world is losing species at a rate 1,000 times greater than any other time in human history due to forest fires, extreme weather and diseases that are only now threats because of climate change (United Nations, 2023). Many species around the world are specialists, which means they occupy a certain niche and cannot survive anywhere else so when their habitat is destroyed by rising sea levels or even deforestation, they have nowhere else to go and will die off.

Why People Don’t Believe In Climate Change
Despite the massive amount of evidence in favor of climate change, people around the world just do not believe it is real. A 2021 poll of U.S. adults by The Economist found that nearly 10% didn’t believe global warming was occurring at all, nearly 15% believed it was real but not due to human activities and 14% were unsure (Pierre, 2022). This means that only half of the population of US adults believes in climate change. How is this possible? One reason could possibly be due to naive realism, or the belief that personal experience is reality (Pierre, 2022). Many people do not believe in climate change because they themselves have personally not experienced it, mostly because winter is still cold and the change in temperature is gradual, not immediate. Another big factor of climate change denial is political parties, with conservatives and Republicans being much more likely to deny anthropogenic climate change than Democrats (Pierre, 2022). This denial also stems from countries who are major oil producers, such as the US and Saudi Arabia, because they do not want to admit that their industries are harming the earth. They are also unwilling to stop fossil fuel production because renewable sources will ultimately cost them more, hurting their pockets (Pierre, 2022).

Greenwashing
However, most companies have found a loophole for this, in which they can satisfy the public by being environmentally conscious without the actual commitment. This concept is formally known as Greenwashing, which is when companies use advertising and public messaging to appear more climate friendly and environmentally sustainable than they really are, and in turn distract consumers from how their products are actively harming the environment (ClientEarth, 2023). Even though companies are aware of global warming and its drastic effects, they are purposefully counteracting it in order to gain more profits. Despite the success this gives companies, it also has disastrous consequences for them when they are eventually exposed for being fraudulent. For example, in 2016 when Volkswagen campaigned that their cars had “clean diesel” but in reality they just fitted their cars with illegal emission defeat devices designed to mask high emissions during government tests (FTC, 2016). In a complaint filed in court, the FTC alleges that Volkswagen deceived consumers by selling more than 500,000 diesel cars based on fraudulent claims that the cars were low-emission and environmentally friendly (FTC, 2016). In their promotional advertisements targeting environmentally conscious investors, Volkswagen claimed that their cars reduced nitrogen oxides by 90%, however, they actually emit 4,000% more than the legal limit. Though, Volkswagen was not the only company to participate in greenwashing. In 2022, Swedish alternative milk brand Oatly was slammed for ‘misleading’ claims in their advertisements. Oatly claimed that if people were to go vegan, it would reduce a person’s environmental impact more than cutting down on vehicle usage. Their ads claimed that “dairy and meat industries emit more CO2 than all the world’s planes, trains, cars, boats etc, combined” but did not take into account the full life cycle of transport and completely “overstated” their claims (Sweney, 2022). Furthermore, one of their ads stated that their products generated “73% less CO2e v milk, calculated from grower to grocer” but were only basing these statistics off of one of their products. Greenwashing is a deceitful concept made up by companies to profit off of climate-conscious investors without actually committing to their promises. It creates distrust in environmental campaigns and climate change overall.

Why You Should Believe in Climate Change
According to the Center for American Progress, 139 elected officials in US Congress, including 109 representatives and 30 senators, ‘refuse to acknowledge the scientific evidence of human-caused climate change’ (Lynas, 2021). So, if government officials don’t believe in it, why should the public? Although these political figures continue to sow doubt, “there is an overwhelming consensus among climate scientists that human-induced climate change is happening” as the IPCC has stated that “Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1 • C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020” (Lynas, 2021). It is also stated that “energy use from industry contributes to almost a quarter of global GHG emissions, with an additional 5% coming from direct industrial processes” and has persisted for the last three decades, which is alarming enough to say that climate change and global warming are mainly caused by anthropogenic activities (Lynas, 2021). There has also been a staggering increase in extreme weather events in the past few years, with just about 20 happening this year alone. The year began with the sixth warmest and third-wettest January on record, as California was hit with 10 storms resulting in floods and landslides. Then, Texas was hit with an ice storm in February, as well as the Midwest saw an extreme amount of tornadoes which is not usual for the month. In March, the longest-lived tropical cyclone was recorded and killed at least 400 people in Malawi. Asia also recorded several heat waves in the month of April, with temperatures reaching over 113 degrees. In June, wildfires from Canada blew down to the east coast, causing hazardous air quality for a few days. Another heat wave was recorded in India, where temperatures rose above 45 degrees celsius and killed 170 people. July 3rd through 6th were the hottest days on record globally, when the temperature reached an unprecedented 63.02 degrees Fahrenheit. In August, wildfires spread over Hawaii, killing over 100 people and California was hit by tropical storm Hillary, the first of such to hit the southern part of the state in 84 years (Rao, 2023). Too many events this year were preceded with “unprecedented” or “abnormal” that it’s not just a coincidence anymore, the earth is changing and so is the climate.

Conclusion
The climate is changing. That’s a fact. The question, however, is if anthropogenic activities are really to blame? The answer: Yes. Humans are naturally invasive species which means we are actively harming the earth by living here. Over the years, we have been progressing the destruction of earth by burning fossil fuels and cutting down trees, to the point of no return. The sad part is that no one wants to stop anytime soon because that means money out of everyone’s pockets. We need to start taking action and we need to do it soon. Whether that is by using public transport or recycling, then it is a step in the right direction. Scientists have expressed that the ozone layer is healing which means that we can heal the earth, too. Reversing the effects of climate change and global warming won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible.

Works Cited

Gershon, Livia. “When Did Americans Start Using Fossil Fuel? .” JSTOR Daily, 11 Oct. 2023, https://daily.jstor.org/when-did-america-start-using-fossil-fuel/
Kuo, Gioietta. “When Fossil Fuels Run Out, What Then?” MAHB, 25 Aug. 2023, https://mahb.stanford.edu/library-item/fossil-fuels-run/
“The Sources and Solutions: Fossil Fuels.” US EPA, 20 Jan. 2023, https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-fossil-fuels
“Past Eight Years Confirmed to Be the Eight Warmest on Record.” World Meteorological Organization, 12 Jan. 2023, https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/past-eight-years-confirmed-be-eight-warmest-record#:~:text=Since%20the%201980s%2C%20each%20decade,contributed%20to%20record%20global%20temperatures.
“Greenhouse Effect.” National Geographic, 2023, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/greenhouse-effect/
“Causes and Effects of Climate Change.” United Nations, United Nations, 2023, https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change
Pierre, Joe. “Why Don’t People Believe in Climate Change?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 2 Apr. 2022, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psych-unseen/202204/why-dont-people-believe-in-climate-change
“Greenwashing.” ClientEarth, 2023, https://www.clientearth.org/what-we-do/priorities/greenwashing/
Newman, John, et al. “FTC Charges Volkswagen Deceived Consumers with Its ‘Clean Diesel’ Campaign.” Federal Trade Commission, 28 Mar. 2023, https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2016/03/ftc-charges-volkswagen-deceived-consumers-its-clean-diesel-campaign
Sweney, Mark. “Oatly Ads Banned by UK Watchdog over ‘misleading’ Green Claims.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 26 Jan. 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jan/26/oatly-ads-banned-by-uk-watchdog-over-misleading-green-claims
Lynas, Mark & Houlton, Benjamin & Perry, Simon. (2021). Greater than 99% consensus on human caused climate change in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Environmental Research Letters. 16. 114005. 10.1088/1748-9326/ac2966.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355458046_Greater_than_99_consensus_on_human_caused_climate_change_in_the_peer-reviewed_scientific_literature
Devika Rao, The Week US. “The Extreme Weather Events of 2023.” Theweek, The Week, 28 Oct. 2023, https://theweek.com/in-depth/1021278/2023-extreme-weather