New Community Translation! (Patreon)
Content
Hello my beautiful patrons!
For Twisted Translations fans I have a new script for us that I need help with QUITE quickly (I'm turning this in tomorrow). We're going to tackle climate change this week (and then lighten things up with Eminem later). If you can run this through your many layers of terrible AI translation, I shall do the same, and let's see what we come up with!!
xxMKR
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2021 has brought some intense climate news. Flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, record breaking heat waves.
So we want to give you a quick, non-exhaustive explanation of what exactly scientists believe to be causing the climate crisis, as well as what you can do about it.
And Google Translate is here, too, to make us all feel better.
The data is clear, the earth is warming.
Climate change has always been a naturally occurring event, but there are clear indicators that human activity has been a factor in the way the climate has been changing, especially over the past 300 years.
The Industrial Revolution, which began in the mid-18th century in England and North America, saw the emergence of manufacturing and an increase in the production of new sources of energy- namely gas and coal.
The burning of fossil fuels to create energy for heat, transportation and electricity results in the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
These gases can become trapped, resulting in atmospheric heat retention. In addition, deforestation leads to less CO2 being filtered from the atmosphere, more light refraction from the surface of the earth, thus creating additional heat.
Since the 19th century, the planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit (1.18 degrees Celsius), most of that rising in the last 40 years.
If you don’t think that’s a lot, the last ice age ended around 3000 years ago, the planet in a blanket of ice, and surface temperatures were only 5-9 degrees cooler than they are now, so even a small change in temperature has severe impact.
With a warmer climate, droughts become more severe and wildfires more likely to spark.
Warmer temperatures and heavier clouds from additional vaporization mean stronger, more violent storms.
As temperatures rise the air quality drops due to emissions, mold and other allergens, becoming less hospitable for breathing.
As icebergs melt and sea levels rise, flooding becomes more commonplace in areas at or below sea level.
Entire ecosystems, from coral reefs to Arctic Tundras can crumble and vanish remarkably quickly, and we are already witnessing what scientists are calling the Sixth Mass Extinction.
It is estimated that by 2050 over 1 billion people could be considered climate refugees, leading to mass migrations, greater social inequity and loss of life.
Now for the good news: we have what we need to mitigate the damage.
The key is cutting global emissions of fossil fuels, and the vast majority of that action needs to happen on a legal level, specifically regulating the energy sector.
Thus far the Paris Climate Agreement has been the most united front against climate change, with the US attempting to cut emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025. China, the UK and the EU aim to be carbon neutral.
What can you do at home?
Continue to actively engage politically, on both the state and federal level. Call your Senator and congressional representatives, state legislators, and organize locally to encourage investment in renewable energy sources.
Again, legislative action will ultimately have the greatest impact.
But on an individual level, opting for renewable energy sources for your home if available is an excellent step!
Small steps like recycling, practicing zero waste, planting trees and plants native to our regions, and utilizing public transport, again where possible, are all small ways we all can contribute.
But we must not lose sight of the larger picture -- the responsibility of and the accountability from the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions that comes from the burning of fossil fuels for industry and electricity, and from the consumption of petroleum based fuels for transportation.