After a five year drought, Californians are seeing hope for the future with the above average amount of precipitation the state has obtained within the last 5 months. During the middle of February 2017, the state of California received showers that filled their President's Day weekend. These showers came from the "Pineapple Express" or from the tropic winds along Hawaii's coast. Along Hawaii's coast, the wind travels toward the west coast, but this air is tropical and brings moisture to California that turns into precipitation through condensation. In Europe, 14 storms that caused major damage to residents were due to these atmospheric rivers like the one California has been experiencing.
The drought is likely to come to an end this year, in terms of surface water levels, but groundwater levels will require a longer period of recovery. The vast amount of rain the Northern part of the state is receiving has caused damage to homes and roads, which is why precautions must be taken into effect for people that are traveling in dangerous weather conditions. www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2017/02/20/atmospheric-rivers-california-storms-floods/98154504/
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The Vice President of Clean Energy urges Texas to replace oil and coal manufacturing with renewable energy. The benefits behind the use of wind and solar outcompete those of nonrenewable energy resources. Unemployment can decrease due to an increase in job availability when wind turbines and solar panels are implemented into production and the competitive prices renewable energy faces against costly oil refineries and coal industries. The use of renewable energy resources will also reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, and the advocacy group for making Texas more environmentally sustainable also wants to implement new restrictions on the emission of methane. Out of the nation, Texas still ranks as the highest carbon emitting state, even with their population being less than California by at least 10,000 residents, California's carbon emissions are still 17 metric tons less than Texas.' With California using renewable resources within the past decade to generate 20% of the state's electricity, they are able to reduce their carbon footprint.
The opportunities of utilizing renewable energy are greater than the traditional use of oil and coal to generate power. Texas must consider these benefits not only for their economy, but the environment as well. www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2017/02/09/187303/environmental-group-urges-lawmakers-to-focus-on-renewable-energy-natural-gas/ A Republican congressman has drafted a bill to abolish the Environmental Protections Agency. Gaetz, a U.S. House Representative is trying to persuade other members of the chamber to support his bill, he claims the agency imposes too many regulations upon small businesses that cannot financially support, which is the cause for the unemployment within the nation. Although regulations can be a financial burden to small businesses, the EPA is not the only institution affecting these business owners. Large corporations are the main cause of the failing of small businesses because their prices outcompete those of small businesses. With the possibility of losing the EPA by 2018, the hope of defeating climate change is slowing fading away for several scientists. Trump's administration has already instructed the EPA to not contact journalists or use social media to promote regulations that can reduce global warming.
In order to sustain the environment that the American people have inhabited for hundreds of years, the government must implement regulations to prevent further detriment to the atmosphere. If the EPA is abolished, states will have to enact their own regulations to make progression of sustainability. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/environmental-protection-agency-bill-drafted-abolish-matt-gaetz-congress-a7556596.html |
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April 2017
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