By: Tiara Anderson

People have stuck to their thin T-shirts for the first month of school rather than wearing their normal sweaters and hoodies. While September was nice, our health – as well as the planet’s – is more important than unseasonably warm weather. It’s hard not to wonder whether global warming is to blame for the warm start to the year.

Global warming is believed to cause weather changes such as “heat waves” according to the Natural  Resources Defense Council’s website, which explains the almost hot weather for the first month of the school year.

Shelly Duk, Earth science and Forensic Science teacher, agrees that there are “many ways global warming can happen.” She explained that “greenhouse gasses are gasses that are trapped causing the destruction of our ozone layers thus letting in more ultraviolet rays, which can be harmful to all of us.” Meaning humans, animals, and species, too.

Searching how the ozone layer is diminishing, according to the NRDC’s website, Carbon Dioxide and other air pollutants are already a concern for certain communities taking action now is important. “Because climate change is already damaging human and environmental health and welfare, preparedness projects must get underway even as we pursue aggressive regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Many communities are already extremely vulnerable to climate-related impacts and will remain so for years to come, regardless of proposed greenhouse gas regulations, unless there is sustained support for improving preparedness”

Despite the agreement of scientists on the existence of global warming and its detrimental impact on the climate and environment, there is great debate among some.  Junior Jamie Williams said “Global warming is a real thing and it messes with the weather and lets more rays in from the sun.” On the flip side, junior Kristin Jordan believes more of a conservative point of view about global warming.“We live in Michigan and the weather is just unpredictable here. Global warming is more of something that is just said to explain what happens to the the weather when it heats up around the world. Other states go through the same weather changes, just like Michigan, as well as other countries,” said Jordan.