Earth Starving for Life, Love, Respect

Sammie Paris

The world has the ability to stop climate change now, before the effects are irreversible and leave the Earth, with everyone on it, grappling for stability and safety.

Climate change is a reference to the longterm shifts in temperatures and weather patterns that leave a great deal of lives impacted. Humans have been the driving force of this since the 1800s, with a great source being the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas.

These burning fossil fuels generate greenhouse gas emissions that go on to act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, therefore trapping all the sun’s heat.

These greenhouse gas emissions can come from a variety of sources, but regularly used ones include gasoline for driving a car, coal for heating a building, clearing land and forests, and filling up landfills with garbage.

These greenhouse gas concentrations are at the highest they ever have been in two million years, and as a result, the Earth is the warmest on record.

“Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth,” the United Nations said in their most recent report on climate change in 2023.

This change can affect one's health, ability to grow food, housing, safety, and work. Those in developing countries or living in small island nations are already more vulnerable to climate impacts, with the number of “climate refugees” on the rise.

“Climate change is a critical issue in the world currently that needs to be addressed more, as well as prevented as much as possible. If more people in the world knew how serious climate change is and how many people it is harming on a daily basis, I believe people would be more open to learning and preventing this already drastic situation from reaching an irreversible point,” junior and Vice President of Environmental Club Tate Kukiela said.

The broad categories of action for sustaining this change include cutting emissions, adapting to climate impacts, and financing required adjustments.

If the world were to switch energy systems from fossil fuels to renewables, such as solar or wind, that would reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses that drive climate change.

For this plan to work, however, those inhabiting earth need to start the process right now.

These emission and fossil fuel production declines must be in place by 2030 to ensure warming stays in an adequate, livable area.

“As people, we are tasked with the very special and important job of keeping our earth clean, healthy, and happy. Those who we share our planet with aren't able to do that, so it's up to us. Think of it like having a roommate, no one wants a roommate who doesn't respect their space and their living conditions, so why should we do that to the ecosystem around us?

“We only have one earth and one chance to keep it clean for all of us. The climate change crisis has been occurring for years, but in recent years has been disregarded to the point of almost no return.

“That is why it is so important for us now to make conscious efforts to protect the ecosystem we are in, whether it's by recycling, reducing waste, or simply spreading awareness; every effort counts,” senior and Environmental Club President Ava Foor said.

Adaptation is a key to survival in this trying time with everyone required to participate, but adapting must be prioritized for those in vulnerable areas. People with the fewest resources to survive are counting on the least vulnerable to help and ensure safety through climate change hazards.

“Early warning systems for disasters, for instance, save lives and property, and can deliver benefits up to 10 times the initial cost,” said the United Nations.

Financial investments from companies, corporations, and governments that have the funds need to be made immediately. Failing to provide action for climate change will prove vastly more expensive, and leave people with lives lost.

Industrialized countries must fulfill their commitments to developing countries in need so that those more susceptible to climate change, and the dangers that come with it, are able to adapt and move towards greener economies.

“Climate change is real. It is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating,” said Actor and Environmentalist, Leonardo Di Caprio.

Piece by piece, the world we know and love, will slowly crumble down. It is the younger generation that must do what the older generations could not and guarantee not just basic survival, but also prosperity, for years to come.