When it comes to Climate: See-Judge-Act. By Julie Peller Ph.D.

Green Junction

Do many people pay attention to the latest information on climate change? I regularly ask my students how often they discuss climate change issues with their friends and family, and it usually comes across to them as a silly question. I am not sure what this suggests about human interests and modern-day responsibilities. The science community is concerned about our changing climate. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine held a webinar a few days ago to communicate the latest science of climate change, the factors, and consequences. According to the authors of “Effects of Human-Caused Greenhouse Gas Emissions on U.S. Climate, Health and Welfare (2025),” many adverse consequences are now happening, with greater concern for future generations.

 Here are some conclusions that were presented during the webinar and included in the document.

• “The most recent decade (2010-2019) marked the largest increase in global CO₂ emission on record.”
• “Improved observations confirm unequivocally that greenhouse gas emissions are warming Earth’s surface and changing Earth’s climate. The rate of CO₂ increase is more than 100 times faster than occurred at the end of the last Ice Age.”
• “Global mean sea level has risen about 7 inches since 1900, and the rate is accelerating.”
• “Climate change intensifies risks to humans from exposure to extreme heat.”
• “Climate-sensitive infectious diseases – such as those carried by insects and in contaminated water – have increased.”
• “U.S. infrastructure, and many communities are experiencing increasing stress and costs owing to the effects of climate change.”

The committee offered this “Overarching Conclusion: EPA’s 2009 finding that human-caused emission of greenhouse gases threaten human health and welfare was accurate, has stood the test of time, and is now reinforced by even stronger evidence.” The updated science fully endorses the Endangerment Finding, which connects carbon pollution to climate change. The current US federal government is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to repeal it, even as the evidence linking carbon dioxide emissions with devastating consequences strengthens.

“In a world where the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters are the first to suffer the devastating effects of climate change, deforestation and pollution, care for creation becomes an expression of our faith and humanity.” Pope Leo XIV, World Day of Prayer for Creation, Sept. 1, 2025

Julie Peller, Ph.D., is an environmental chemist (Professor of Chemistry at Valparaiso University). She has been writing a weekly column called The Green Junction for the past seven years and is helping to move the call of Laudato Si to action forward. Her research interests include advanced oxidation for aqueous solutions, water quality analyses, emerging contaminants, air quality analyses, challenges along the Lake Michigan shoreline (such as Cladophora, water, and sediment contaminants), and student and citizen participation in environmental work.