The US Senate came together on Jan. 21 to vote on an issue that has been debated for some time: climate change.

The amendment passed with an overwhelming vote of 98 to 1. The single vote against the amendment came from Mississippi Senator, Roger Wicker.

The amendment was initially proposed by Rhode Island Senator, Sheldon Whitehouse. Whitehouse said he hoped the amendment would lead to greater efforts to address the impacts that climate change is having on the oceans and other ecosystems.

The information on climate change and proof of it has been available for public access for some time.

In a state such as Louisiana, the summers are getting hotter, and the winters are too.
Lauren Couvillion said she believes climate change is a fact.

“Climate change is a very real thing because if you look at the history of the earth you will notice that several small and large ice ages have occurred over time,” said Couvillion, a junior pre-social work major.

Couvillion said she also believes the human race is affecting it with pollution and “messing with a naturally occurring cycle.” However, she said we should not panic.

“Climate was going to change whether we messed with it or not,” said Couvillion.

The mountains of scientific research that support climate change have been argued against in recent years as topics such as ‘global warming’ and ‘climate change’ are steady subjects. In the past few years alone this debate has become a hot topic for discussion amongst the population in the United States.

Though the U.S. Senate passed the amendment, Sean Chenoweth, assistant professor of geosciences said it doesn’t exactly mean it’s the start of a solution.

“We know that climate is dynamic and is always changing,” said Chenoweth. “The climate debate is about whether the actions of humans are accelerating the normal rate of climate change in the direction of warmth.”

Chenoweth said our generation is already being affected by climate change policy and will likely increase in the near future.