By: Jordan Coll/Staff Writer
With the start of a new decade, the environment in South Florida is facing critical issues as a result of global temperature disturbances.
In the following years, climate change is expected to become a much more prominent phenomenon if “we continue to carelessly use our resources instead of improving the earth’s conditions,” according to Amir Khoddamzadeh instructor and undergraduate director from the Department of Earth and Environment.
According to a recent report made by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “the world’s carbon emissions have to fall 45% by 2030 in order to keep the world’s average temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.”
However, in the past few months, the planet has experienced a rapid increase in surface temperature according to the 2019 Annual Climate Report from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
Record high annual temperatures over land surfaces have indicated that ocean temperature has increased over the previous decade. The issue of climate change hits closer to home in the region of South Florida, which has been categorized as a ground zero zone – this means the area is a potentially high flood zone region.
The impact of sea-level rise has significantly affected the sand levels at the beach, causing an increase in erosion destroying local areas and tourist attractions such as “frequent flooding in South Beach, Key Largo, North Miami which are considered to be present-day hotspots” said Dr.Leatherman, professor of Earth and Environment.
“Most of the beaches in South Florida are maintained by sand nourishment, but nearly all the offshore sand has been naturally placed there,” said Dr. Stephen Leatherman, professor of Earth and Environment.
Another major issue Dr.Leatherman highlights is the introduction of non-native species in the Everglades, especially the Burmese python.
The artificial migration of certain species harms the relation among certain animals throughout the food chain.
High flood zones are geographic regions that present a high risk of flooding. A challenge that comes along with flooded areas is a saltwater intrusion, ocean acidification, sea-level rise, habitat destruction and loss of croplands.
“In addition, over-harvesting and deforestation have led to the critical endangerment of many native South Florida orchid species,” said professor Amir.
Climate change has resulted in the shift of established weather patterns mainly in central and northern regions of the planet and has spread throughout the surface of the ocean. As a result, the high rise in temperature trends causes the devastation of certain environments in particular zones.
The problems faced by climate change have also been brought up in the spectrum of global affairs, in the 50th World Economic Forum Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg brought up the U.S leaving the Paris Climate Accord.
She also brought up the lack of policy-making towards climate change that has led to the “modern fires” we are facing.
But the fact that we’re all about to fail the commitments you signed up got in the Paris Agreement doesn’t seem to bother the people in power even the least” she said.
President Donald Trump retaliated by suggesting “America is going through an economic boom” praising the efforts of the recent trade deals in China.
He also brought up to several business and political leaders that the current American economy was “nothing short of spectacular.” In the following decade, we are expected to see much more drastic changes in our ecology and local forests if not assessing our anthropogenic impact,” said Cara Rockell, research assistant professor of Earth and Environment.
Her research on sustainable forest management has suggested the importance of preserving rainforests such as the Amazon.
Many environmentalists and researchers argue that the need for sustainability is the future of solving our current problems with the environment.
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