Since Tuesday, November 8, 2016 the amount of hate crimes and many other types of discrimination have gone up rapidly.

The amount of threats, vandalism and harassment that we have seen all over the news and social media are much more than what we saw after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 according to experts. Although some of these hate crimes that we see on social media are not all true, there are still many that have been happening in our country.

Many of these hate crimes, and threats, have been towards Muslims, African-Americans, Mexicans and the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) community. Obviously, they are not the only groups that have been attacked, but these are the groups that have been attacked the most. For example, in Ohio, a black male was beaten by two white males just because he was an African-American.

While browsing the web I came across an image that was very disturbing. On a wall, in an alley, there was the words “Black lives don’t matter” spray painted on it.

There was also a case in New York where a white male banged on the door and window of a Muslim woman’s car, with her children and grandpa in the car. Also in New York, two men threw rocks at a young male because he “looked gay.”

As a country we all need to stick up for one another instead of putting each other down. Now more than ever.

These past few weeks have been such an emotional roller coaster. The anticipation and stress put upon ourselves just to see whose next to become the 45th president of the U.S. With some being overjoyed with the results, others are disgusted and confused by the fact that Trump is the next to become the President. I asked a few people about their reactions on the topic and here’s what they had to say:

“It’s disgusting to see a man like him elected.”

“Well, I guess America showed its true colors.”

“No one has any common sense nowadays.”

“It’s ridiculous how a business cooperate could actually become a presidential candidate without any experience whatsoever. Just shows really ANYONE can run for president.”

“I like him as an elect. I mean good for him; he seems fit for the role.”

“He speaks his mind he has no filter I think that’s what we need in a president.”

“Why would such people vote for a child as president?”

“Well, we were either gonna be (expletive) or extra (expletive) I just thought we would be just plain (expletive).”

“He’s trying to take control and take back our jobs.”

“Why would people vote for a man like him anyways? He mocked an entire race just because one person who just happened to be that certain race did. That’s wrong on so many levels.”

“He doesn’t seem to think about the consequences or anything about people’s families at all.”

“If his wife is an immigrant shouldn’t she get deported too?”

“Its heartbreaking… that’s all.”

“Trump is a disgrace. He disgraced the name ‘land of the free’.”

“Make America Great Again!”

In the end, our nation has been divided. We’ll just have to see how the next four years end up to be.

Throughout history, the world’s climate has progressively changed. According to NASA, the earth has gone through seven cycles of glacial advancement and retreatment within the last 650,000 years. The cyclical event abruptly ended at the end of the last age, some 7,000 years ago, acting as a starting point for not only the modern climate era, but also of human civilization.

Satellites and other modern technologies are orbiting earth, and recording visual data regarding the world’s climate that enables scientists to observe the planet in a larger, holistic scale. Scientists have stated they’ve observed signals of climate change.

To further strengthen their hypothesis, scientists have drawn ice cores from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical mountain glaciers to show that the Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels. These ice cores also show that in the past, large changes in climate have happened very quickly. According to these studies, scientists have concluded that, geologically-speaking, the climate changes we are experiencing now, have happened in tens of years, not in millions or even thousands, but within the last decade.Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snowfall in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and that the snow is melting earlier in the year.

Much of the earth’s heat has been absorbed by the oceans. The top 700 meters, about 2,300 feet, of ocean have grown warmer by 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since the year 1969.

In response to the warming oceans, NASA’s Gravity and Recovery Climate Experiment show Greenland has lost as much as 60 cubic miles of ice per year between 2002 and 2006, and Antarctica has lost 36 cubic miles of ice between 2002 and 2005. In 2006, the AAAS, American Association for the Advancement of Science, reported, “The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society.”

Oceans also act as a sponge for carbon dioxide. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, 1712, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by 30 percent. This increase is the result of humans emitting significant doses of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, hence more carbon dioxide being absorbed into the oceans. The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the upper layer of the oceans is rapidly increasing. The ocean is absorbing about 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. The American Chemical Society stated in 2004, “Comprehensive scientific assessments of our current and potential future climates clearly indicate that climate change is real, largely attributable to emissions from human activities, and potentially a very serious problem.”

According to whitehouse.gov,  “The United States is leading global efforts to address the threat of climate change. Since 2005, the United States has reduced its total carbon pollution more than any other nation on Earth. Wind power has tripled, and energy from the sun has increased tenfold. President Obama has taken a series of common-sense steps to curb carbon pollution and other greenhouse gases through initiatives that drive energy efficiency, promote clean energy, and put in place the first-ever carbon pollution standards for power plants.” However, this progress may be halted or regressed due to president elect Donald Trump’s views and future actions on climate change, such as dismantling the Paris agreement, which is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, (UNFCCC), dealing with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance starting in the year 2020.

Despite all the physical and scitenfic evidence of global climate change, 46% of the worlds population don’t believe global climate change is occurring. However, when given this evidence by NASA, and observing the visuals of the worlds climate, I find it hard to believe that anybody can believe current global climate change can be a hoax. According to pew research.org, “A global median of 51% say climate change is already harming people around the world, while another 28% believe it will do so in the next few years.”

Let’s not let our arrogance harm our neighbors and wild species that rely on the ocean, and other natural lands. Let’s combat this progressive regression of natural land masses and animals. To do so, we can use less energy; install a solar panel, turn the lights for other technologies off when they don’t have to be used, use energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs, recycle, reduce waste, etc. In a world of consumers, we’re not only consuming goods and products, but also the natural world around us.