Let’s Talk About Climate Change
Climate change is a growing topic in today's society, climate change activists would say we are on the ¨brink of extinction¨ and if we don't do something about this there will be no future. Climate change is nothing new and we have experienced this before but this is the first it is caused by humans. We are responsible for this and some of the things we are doing to cause this include: the burning of fossil fuels, the fast fashion industry (the making of clothes,) this has a bigger impact on our climate than any car or plane we use, and deforestation, by cutting away our source of oxygen is not making matters any better and those are just a few reasons as to why our environment is plummeting.
Our global surface temperature has increased by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880 and about two-thirds of the warming has occurred since 1975 at a rate of roughly 32.27-32.36 degrees Fahrenheit per decade. The Ozone layer is protecting us from sunlight, by polluting the earth our Ozone layer grows weaker as time goes on, it acts as a shield and without that, we would be exposed to harmful UV rays, as the planet heats up the Ozone layer begins to disappear which is crucial to our survival.
Every Friday there is a movement called Fridayś for future which is a school strike for climate; these are happening mostly in Europe including countries such as France, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Norway, along with some in New York, LA, and San Francisco. It is slowly becoming an international project and youth all around the world are skipping school every Friday to be apart of this powerful movement.
Greta Thunberg is the founder of Fridayś for future, she has led a massive climate strike in over 150 countries, which she calls a ¨international protest.¨ She demands more action from her government on climate change, by doing this she hopes to inspire young people in following her footsteps. By choosing not to acknowledge the growing concern to prevent climate change we are putting the future of our earth in danger.
If nothing is done about this we are looking at catastrophic results, as the earth begins to heat up we will experience shorter and less cold winters, heavier rainfall for longer periods of time, or could cause worsening droughts due to the global surface temperature growing hotter. There are several ways we as a nation can do to help slow down the process of global warming including, using your energy wisely, consume less and waste less, eat for a climate- stable environment (such as eating less meat,) and getting politically active and voting for someone you believe will do better things for our environment and is serious about climate change.
Desmond Tutu says, ¨Twenty-Five years ago people could be excused for not knowing much, or doing much, about climate change. Today we have no excuses.¨ The question I leave with you is, are you going to step up and take responsibility for what we as a nation are doing to our environment? Or will we wait until it is too late?
The data referenced in this article was pulled from the NASA website.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/DecadalTemp