It Takes a Child to Save the World

Inferno. The world as we know it is burning. Earth is well on its way to becoming that fiery inferno if humans continue to remain negligent. The abundance of toxic fumes and harmful gases emitted by the burning of fossil fuels, combined with excessive deforestation, has placed the planet in a state of crisis, leaving us with a mere 18 months to take immediate action to save our home. According to Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder and director emeritus of the Potsdam Climate Institute, “The climate math is brutally clear: While the world can’t be healed within the next few years, it may be fatally wounded by negligence until 2020,” emphasizing the crucial need for action by the people.

Climate change continues to be more evident through environmental catastrophes, both natural and incurred by human activity. Incidents including the Amazon Rainforest Blaze, or the heat spikes and abnormalities in weather experienced by countries, have been globally rampant. In line with this, individuals, especially the youth, have continued to express distress over the world that they are to inherit, and outrage about the lack of concern shown and action taken by governments and leaders around the world. Youth environmental activists like 16-year old Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, continue to lead the fight for our planet, urging people to act as individuals and as one, for each person is directly affected by the consequences of this phenomenon.

“Knowing that we might be the last generation who can reverse the devastating effects of our changing climate, I can sense people around me becoming more active in our society, doing their best to become the eco-friendly citizens our predecessors failed to be. We are rising, exemplified as the generation of imminent change, taking our stands, and working even harder in our studies,” says Alex Punsalan, a tenth grader at SPCP when questioned about her take on the current environmental crisis. The actions being taken by SPCP, in particular, in response to this include waste segregation, encouragement in the use of recycled paper, and the Student Coordinating Team’s Project SHIFT, which entails the use of reusable or metal utensils, brought by the students themselves. SPCP is a mere microcosm of the power held by the movements of the youth around the world, reflecting the eager desire of this new generation to stand up, face, and correct the errors of its predecessors--to create a better world not just for the present, but for the future that they continue to fight for.