If there are two things I’ll always be passionate about; it’s dogs and the climate crisis at hand. The climate crisis can be described as various serious problems being caused by changes in the world’s weather. Due to an increase in human activity and an increasing amount of carbon dioxide entering our atmosphere, the planet is heating up at an alarming rate. I am a firm believer that our consumption of natural resources and dangerous carbon dioxide levels need to be vastly decreased in order to save the planet. Without drastic measures from all corners of the globe, the planet will continue to be at risk, putting human lives in danger and creating irreversible damage as this crisis gets worse.
Despite this ongoing crisis that affects everybody on the planet, not much coverage within the media is made to convince readers that it is a very important subject matter. Without convincing and important coverage of the daily impacts of the climate crisis, consumers are lead to believe that the ‘crisis’ isn’t really a problem for them to worry about. Furthermore, those questioning the climate crisis are met with varying articles debating back and forth on whether the problem at hand actually even exists. Those looking to higher-ups, such as government officials, about what they are doing to reverse or halt the climate crisis (ie. enacting policies and following through with proposals) are met with little. Even our president refuses to acknowledge the crisis at hand, blatantly ignoring the facts. With the United States government unavailable to help others even acknowledge the crisis at hand, people turn towards the media and dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly.
There are many social media platforms that cover the climate crisis. Many portray it as it should be, and others portray it as a stigma not even occurring. Websites such as Nasa’s Global Climate Change and United Nations Issues offer scientifically proven facts alongside of actions that could help resolve the global issue at hand. Often, fake news spreads throughout the internet from important government officials resulting in the circulation of articles far and wide being read and received incorrectly. People are either believers who want change, or those who believe that the climate crisis is fake news and will not affect them in anyway. Social media is another large factor within the climate change stigma. Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook come to life with both supporters and non-believers. The biggest debate between the two would most likely be between believer Greta Thunberg and non-believer Donald Trump. They often go neck and neck to each other about the climate crisis at hand. All throughout various media, the Climate Crisis is filled with fake news and stigma about the whole situation. This results in an onslaught of information being tossed around with confusing direction for those reading into the topic.
Personally, I look to websites that contain sited facts and end in .org or .edu for my information. Websites ending in .org are top level domains for non-profit organizations and .edu is for education. Websites such as EcoWatch, United Nations Issues, IPCC, and Nasa’s Global Climate Change is where I get my facts. Websites such as these offer sited facts and unaltered data regarding climate change. I often steer away from social media when it comes to information unless it comes with facts and data regarding who wrote it and where it came from. With such an important topic like climate change, it is important that the media is able to correctly portray it in its full glory, instead of creating a harsh stigma around the topic.
