PCHS APES Teachers on Global Warming

Hannah Bonet

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Hannah Tarkelly, Reporter

President Trump has caused a stir in the scientific community due to his accusations upon global warming being a “hoax” and his neglect towards the importance of the environment through the reduced funding for the EPA. Therefore, PCNN took this rising controversial matter to the minds of Panther Creek’s very own AP Environmental Science teachers: Mrs. Masterson and Mrs. Craven. A large portion of the their job includes teaching the importance of climate change and the magnitude of its effects on the environment. The video above provides an inside look regarding their views of climate change along with the scientific aspect of what is causing global warming.

 

Throughout the interview Mrs. Masterson and Mrs. Craven were exposed to various quotes made by President Trump regarding global warming and was asked to share their thoughts upon the subject. The first quote they responded to was found on Twitter provided by politifact.com when President Trump tweeted on November 6, 2012 (2:15 P.M) “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” Mrs. Masterson responded by saying that President Trump is “someone who is uneducated in the sciences” and quotes such as this is “a way to encourage people to lose faith in science” and even “a way to cover up larger matters at hand.” Mrs. Craven referred to this tweet as “silly” however, President Trump might be sending an underlying message since the “Chinese are burning more coal than any other country in the world and they’re putting more carbon dioxide and more particulates in the air than any other country.”

 

Another quote that was shared with Mrs. Masterson and Mrs. Craven was found on politifact.com when President Trump made a speech on December 30, 2015 in Hilton Head South Carolina saying “Obama’s talking about all of this with the global warming and a lot of it’s a hoax. It’s a hoax. I mean it’s a money making industry, okay? It’s a hoax, a lot of it.” Mrs. Masterson responded to this quote by saying that environmental science is “a field that isn’t showing necessarily growth towards helping the overall society we live in” and therefore contains “no monetary value in protecting citizens lives with his perspective with regards to making sure our environment is actually safe.” Upon this subject she claims that President Trump doesn’t see the “end game” and is thus poorly preparing its citizens for the future. Mrs. Masterson ended her response through stating “He has multiple times within his quotes has not stated any factual evidence, he has no proof to show that it is a hoax, he has no proof to show that it is worthless.” Mrs. Craven also responded to this quote by saying that climate change is a “global issue” and therefore “the solution needs to be a global solution.” She claims that President Trump speaks upon this issue as it pertains to monetary disadvantages to the U.S. but people should be reminded that this is in fact a change that is affecting the entire globe.

 

According to Scientific American, President Trump recently cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 31%. During the interview Mrs. Masterson and Mrs. Craven  were asked if President Trump’s quotes shared any correlation between his actions to drastically reduce the funding for the EPA.  Mrs. Masterson responded by saying, “I think it directly relates to his dismissal of the EPA’s importance to our society. I don’t think he has a full understanding of what the EPA actually does and how they regulate our safety as human beings.” Mrs.Craven made similar statements however she also placed herself in the shoes of the political aspect by saying, “there probably are places within the Environmental Protection Agency where they could make some cuts and if his message is we need to be more efficient with the way we run government then I tend to agree with him.”

Although there are some negative reactions in response to the reduced funding for the EPA, Mrs. Masterson believes that the future for the scientific community is still bright due to their knowing economical importance by saying, “I think the scientific community understands their importance with or without that funding and I think the scientific community is going to rise up and they’re going to stand for what they believe in is correct for the people of America.” IFAW  is doing just that and has begun taking action to restore the EPA and defend their crucial role within the community through starting a funding campaign. The future regarding President Trump’s role in the environment is unknown but it is evident that the scientific community will not back down.