“Climate change has my city in flames”- Climate change and why it is so important we do our best to prevent it.- Ana Dumbrava - KA.
Briskly and viciously, global warming becomes more of an issue every day. With carbon dioxide levels in the air at their highest point in 650,000 years, polar ice sheets losing mass, Arctic summer sea ice shrinking to the lowest extent and global temperature increasing every year, it is evident that our future is in jeopardy and we need to act. Now.
Why is this all happening you may ask? Well, the answer is quite simple actually. We live in a Greenhouse. What this means is that life on Earth depends on energy coming from the Sun. 'About half the light reaching Earth's atmosphere passes through the air and clouds to the surface, where it is absorbed and then radiated upward in the form of direct heat. About 90% of this heat is then absorbed by the greenhouse gases and radiated back toward the surface.' That is all good, however, over the last century, human activities have begun to have an impact on the natural greenhouse.
It was the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is formed of 1,300 independent scientific experts, that concluded there's a more than 95% probability that human activities over the past 50 years have warmed our planet.
According to the third and fourth National Climate Assessment Report, this is what will happen if change doesn't occur. The temperature will continue to drastically rise which can lead to forest fires. Fires which have burnt away more than 10% of Portugal's forest cover and have nearly hit the capital. Even more concerning, the warming Atlantic has caused Europe to face its first-ever category 5 hurricane. London's flood area is expanding and hurricanes reaching Ireland and the UK is said to become the new norm. Yet this is not normal.
This is an emergency.
There are many things you can do to help. Yet what you cannot do is stand by idly watching everything happen. This is our future! We are inheriting a dying planet and it is our responsibility to make a change.
Whilst speaking to Daniel, a seventeen-year-old individual who is deeply involved in the YouthStrike4Climate Movement, he has stated that " ultimately, we cannot fix this problem with individuals making changes and whilst that is important and should be encouraged, the emphasis needs to be held upon the government. If we don't take action now, then we will be fighting for our existence later. What people can do is join us on the campaign, in whatever way possible. Whether that is joining the strikes, listening to the people from the indigenous and diaspora communities and most importantly voting for whom you think is supporting the most radical green agenda, that is advocating for a green new deal and investment on December 12".
"This is not the future. This is right now. This is not tomorrow. It was yesterday and today"
