For the past couple of years, the world’s population has heard of the so-called “climate crisis” and how it has already been affecting nature, ecosystems, and human life. The climate crisis has gone by other names throughout the years like “global warming” and “climate change” but in reality, it is all the same thing; a race against time before everything on Earth as people know it faces irreversible damage, to put it briefly.
The climate crisis has been around for years, but as another year goes by the crisis has gotten worse. Effects of the climate crisis are rising temperatures and sea levels, changes in weather patterns, droughts and heatwaves, stronger hurricanes, and melting ice caps, but this is only the beginning.
Many of these effects are slowly becoming more of a reality in today’s society but scientists predict that Earth will cross a dangerous heat threshold as early as 2027. These high temperatures can be extremely dangerous for not just humans, but wildlife.
In fact, the effects of climate change are affecting every country in some way. For instance, Madagascar is already seeing effects on not just humans but also wildlife due to the effects of climate change. The biggest effect being a nationwide climate-induced famine. The climate has gotten so bad for the environment that it’s disrupting ecosystems.
Terms like “climate change,” “global warming,” and “climate crisis” have been around for a while, and while many know the meaning of these terms and potential threats, not everyone believes in them.
According to a poll ran by VICE News and Guardian, 45% of Americans don’t believe that humans have had any cause in climate change. This means that 45% of Americans don’t think there is any correlation between human activity and global warming.
The thing is, this isn’t a problem that affects just Americans, but people from all countries. This may be why people are starting to hear more about country leaders attempting to address the problem.
From Sunday, Oct. 31 through Friday, Nov. 12, the United Nations (UN) held the 2021 Climate Change Conference, where many country leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, attended, to talk about the effects of climate change and come to an agreement on what needs to happen in order to prevent any further damage.
Biden, who has made promises on fighting climate change in the past, made many points during the conference about how it shouldn’t be a problem for future generations but instead one that needs to be tackled today. He also stated his plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions “50-52 percent below 2005 levels in 2030.” These are just a few of the things in Biden’s plan to fight climate change.
The thing is, people can’t just rely on Biden and our governments, both state and federal, to help stop the effects of climate change from getting worse. There are many things people can do that, while they may be small, can have huge effects.
- Limiting pollution in the air – either carpool to work, use public transportation, walk, ride a bike, or switch to a hybrid or electric car.
- Limiting land pollution – recycling is the easiest thing to do for this or switching to more sustainable products like a reusable water bottle or a bamboo toothbrush.
- Consider a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle.
- Plant a tree.
Climate change is becoming more of a threat to Earth each day, but if everyone plays their part, it can be a fight we can win.
Harley Johnson
Managing Editor