Is Climate Change Real? What Can We Do About It?
Do you think that climate change is real, or is it just a hoax? The question my partner Maeve and I asked people is “Do you think that climate change is real and happening? If so, what do you think needs to be done to put an end to it?” We asked a variety of people about this in order to understand what people’s perspectives are on climate change. We conducted most of these interviews at school, during Humanities class. We also both interviewed some of our friends, to get more of a variety of voices. This topic has been on the minds of many people lately because the climate is getting extreme, and the storms and weather are getting worse and worse as time goes by.
The most common response to the question was that yes, climate change is real. Some others thought that climate change isn’t real and is a hoax, while others still weren’t really sure. Melissa, my sister and a sophomore at Latitude, said “Climate change is real, and there are many things that people can do to stop it.”
Still others had a different perspective. Deanna, a sophomore at Latitude, said, “I’m not really sure what should be done about it. My class is just learning about it.” Physics teacher Mr. Castro had a more straightforward response to the question, saying “Climate change is definitely real, and I think that California is going to pass a law saying that people can only own and buy electric cars in 2030.” Freshman art/design teacher Mr. E answered in a more playful tone, saying “I think that we should be giving people private jets” and when I asked him if he had any other ideas, he stated, “I think there should definitely be less farts.”
Overall, the trend in people’s answers seemed to be divided into three different ideas: climate change exists and needs to be stopped, climate change doesn’t exist and is just a hoax, and not sure but learning about it in class. Most of the interviewees think that climate change is real, and something needs to be done about it. The other two idea groups are either fully against climate change, or unsure about it. Most people think that there are many things we can do to slow down climate change, but we have gone too far in destroying the planet that we won’t be able to fully prevent the damage.
