The thought of waking up for a fresh breath of air was overwhelmed when residents of Frederick County were greeted by the scent of wildfire smoke. Frederick County could feel the effects of the wildfires that ravaged Canada’s forests in June 2023.
New York City was engulfed by the bulk of the smoke from the Canadian forest fires, making it look like a dusty wasteland out of a movie scene.
Climate change is seemingly a result of human negligence as well as government oversight. Each year we hear about record-breaking temperatures and severe tropical storms in the summer, to the above average temperatures in the winter or the aggressive wildfires ravaging North America this year.
With climate change being an increasingly critical issue, there should be more ways to fight the negative effects. But are Frederick Community College students concerned about climate change?
Ben Lubanga, 17, a freshman criminal justice major at Frederick Community College, recycles and believes in climate change. He said one way to help mitigate the effects of climate change is by “providing more ease of access to public transportation.”
He said there should be fewer vehicles that use gasoline to cut down on emissions. If there is anything the U.S. can do, Lubanga replied, “Absolutely, it is an issue that people need to make a bigger deal about.” “Getting people more informed and spreading the word.”
Jack Witte, 18, a freshman business major, said he believes in climate change.
“To a certain extent, humans have a big effect on the environment and greenhouse gasses,” he said.
Witte tries to make an effort to help with climate change.
“I recycle as well as composting and things like that,” he said.
Witte suggested that people can “plant more trees and cut back on deforestation,” to slow the negative effects of climate change. He suggested the U.S. could put policies in place to limit the amount that corporations can cut down trees.
Experts also say public transportation is one way to help combat climate change. Public transit in the U.S., compared to Europe, is vastly different. According to Italiatren.com a train from Rome to Florence is less than a two-hour ride. In the U.S. there are far fewer public transportation options to get from city to city and a train ride from NYC to Baltimore is a three-hour ride according to amtrak.com. Public transportation such as buses and trains could severely cut back on C02 emissions we produce.
According to Statista.com, in 2022 Italy produced 317.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions while the USA produced a staggering five billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
