We are the Adolescent Community from Prairie Hill Learning Center -- a group of students between the ages of 11 and 14. Starting in October of 2019, we wrote LR294, a resolution that will appear in front of the Natural Resources Committee, which is a part of the Nebraska Legislature.
It will receive a public hearing on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Sen. Rick Kolowski introduced LR294, and 14 other senators have co-signed.
LR294 lays out the facts about climate change, then asks the senators to do two things. First, it asks them to acknowledge that we are in the middle of a climate and ecological crisis that is caused by human beings. Then, it asks the senators to admit that they have a moral obligation to take steps to combat the climate crisis.
Climate change is real. According to the Independent, 97% of scientists agree that it is real, yet some people are still denying the facts.
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It is extremely necessary to take action on the climate crisis immediately. According to a report that was published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we only have 10 years until the effects of climate change become irreversible.
Like millions of other young people around the world, students from Prairie Hill Learning Ce…
If we don’t do anything, humans could face “untold suffering,†according to another report published in the journal BioScience that was signed and supported by over 11,000 scientists. This same study also said that the climate crisis is “more severe than anticipated, threatening natural ecosystems and the fate of humanity.†Later on in the report, it states that “climate change reactions could cause significant disruptions to ecosystems, society, and economies, potentially making large parts of Earth uninhabitable.â€
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, climate change is very likely to cause intense weather phenomena to occur more frequently. Wildfires are going to become more intense and burn for longer, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Heat waves and droughts have used up water supplies, causing over $10 billion in losses in the agricultural sector, according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment. A study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states that sea levels are rising about one-eighth of an inch per year. Higher sea levels cause more storm surges and nuisance flooding. All of these natural disasters can impoverish people, rob them of their homes or, at worst, kill them.
These types of natural disasters are already directly affecting people here in Nebraska. The Nebraska floods in 2019 cost our state more than $1.3 billion. Even if the floods didn’t directly affect you, a lot of people lost their homes. These types of natural disasters will most likely become more frequent because of climate change. This type of flooding could occur again this year.
According to The Guardian, climate change will hit poor countries the hardest, even though richer countries are the ones who contribute the most to climate change. This is not fair to poorer countries, because they aren’t contributing as much to the problem.
We need to do something about climate change because this is our future and everyone’s future, and it isn’t fair that it’s in the hands of adults who won’t be there to witness all of the effects. The fact that people are denying that climate change even exists makes us angry and sad. We also feel scared because of all of the horrible disasters that could happen to us because of climate change.
We think that it’s very important for LR294 to pass because our resolution isn’t asking for that much. It isn’t making a law. All it’s asking the senators to do is acknowledge that climate change exists and that they need to do something about it.
It should be easy for the senators to vote in favor of LR294. It’s important for these senators to show younger generations that they care about our future and the future of our planet.