The Ultimate Paradox

Sorry for being political again, but the essence of Environmental Science is its interdisciplinary nature. You cannot just focus on the science; you have to encompass social, economic, political, scientific, etc. aspects. According to Trump’s new Office of Management and Budget proposal, the government plans to cut the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by more than 25%. Although this could lead to an increase in economic growth, but in the long term, no growth can occur without a sustainable environment. It is the ultimate paradox. The public is blindly focusing on the economic success and not enough on the environment—the ultimate basis of all organisms living on Earth.

“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive”

This type of mentality only serves to belittle years of scientific evidence of global warming. Environmentalists’ “beliefs are opinions only” (Williams 936). Although Trump is right in that Chinese has higher emission levels, he fails to notice the extended efforts to decrease emissions. In reality, China is leading in alternative energy to provide sustainable energy without environmental damage. The Three Gorges Dam, for example, generates massive quantities of hydroelectric power. However, more research needs to be done because the original construction of the dam displaced many people and killed many animals, decreasing biodiversity.

Three Gorges Dam in China

The world needs to lose its obsession of looking solely in the short term. Sure “financial loss is a serious matter,” but a destroyed environmental will lead to the inevitable “financial loss” (Williams 936). Plus, everyone at Troy High School should take AP Environmental Science with Mr. Zynda because its an amazing class!