In a speech in Davos, Switzerland, student, and climate change activist Greta Thunberg said, ¨Adults keep saying, ‘We owe it to the young people to give them hope.’ I don´t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day...I want you to act as if your house is on fire. Because it is.¨ People say that we need to give the children hope, but we need to take action, not simply be hopeful. It is too late to just be hopeful, because like a house being on fire, our planet is dying, and we have a limited amount of time to save it. If people continue to believe that preventative measures are not necessary, we will die. Wildlife will die. Our entire planet and everything in its existence will die. It is too late to simply wish for the Earth to save itself; now, we have to do something about it. When Thunberg gave her speech to the world leaders present, there were many people who doubted what she was saying, even though she had plentiful evidence to support her arguments. It is this kind of ignorance that will lead to the decay of the Earth.
For example, we cannot do anything about climate change if people do not believe that it exists. This disregard for evidence and unwillingness to make policy changes and reevaluate members of the government is a key part of what makes scientists unable to put preventative measures into place. According to a study by Yale University, only seventy percent of adult Americans believe that climate change is real.
In addition to that, it makes it increasingly challenging to change our policies, laws, and mindset if only fifty-seven percent of people believe that it is caused by human activities. One person who is greatly influential on this matter is President Donald Trump, who has deemed climate change to be a hoax created by the Chinese government. So far, there has been absolutely zero evidence to support his outrageous claims, which in part has led many psychologists to deem him incompetent and mentally ill.
Finally, we cannot do anything about climate change if corporate greed continues to be as prevalent as it is today. For example, many companies dispose of waste in detrimental ways. Even though you can make a difference by taking part in certain lifestyle adjustments, it is large corporations that need to adjust their policies and reconsider their actions. This does not mean that you cannot do anything, however. No matter how small, everything you do makes a difference.
There is bountiful evidence to support that climate change is real and that we need to prevent it while we still can. For instance, very recently, the Australian Medical Association declared climate change a health emergency, following the British and Canadian governments in calling for action against it. In addition to this, numerous articles produced by various countries and health organizations provide ample evidence of climate change and how it is affected by human activities worldwide. For hundreds of thousands of years, the levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere had never once risen above three-hundred parts per million people. It did fluctuate some, indicating the ice age and other natural events, but even then, it always stayed below three hundred. In 1950, however, when the industrial revolution started, the amount of Carbon Dioxide rose from 273 to its current level of 415. Also, land temperatures have risen an average of 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit since the late nineteenth century. This may not seem like much, but when it happens to the entire world, it makes a devastating impact.
Even if there is not much you can do, anything helps. I was a vegetarian for five years, and even now, I only eat meat two days a week. According to researchers at the University of Oxford, this can decrease your carbon footprint by seventy-three percent, and that is the “single biggest way” to decrease your environmental impact on the Earth. I have also not used a plastic water bottle or any kind of plastic wrap in over a year. These are just simple things you can do that make a huge difference. By continuing to live your lives not being aware of the environmental impact you have, you are simply adding fuel to the fire. Even the state of South Carolina is directly affected by this. As climate change progressively gets worse, we can expect many more natural disasters, like Hurricane Dorian, which has forced many residents to flee their homes to escape the devastating hurricane. Evidence indicates that the level of Dorian’s strength is directly related to climate change.
In summary, we need to take action against climate change. Evidence supports theories that we only have about ten to fifteen years before climate change becomes irreversible. I believe there is a way to see this as a positive thing. Each and every one of you has fifteen years to do your part in saving our world. Whether or not you decide to actually do that is up to you. I call upon you to raise awareness and spread evidence wherever you can. I call upon you to start making a difference. Even if you do not care about living with the repercussions, do it for your children, your grandchildren, and the many generations to come after it will already be too late. In conclusion, our Earth is dying, and it is our fault. We need to take action against climate change before we ruin the world that we have been so blessed to have been born in.