Global warming is one of the hottest topics in the modern world, and nearly everyone is talking about it. From news outlets to politicians, the words “global warming” have become so ingrained into our brains, but many have yet to comprehend what it really means for the planet Earth. Some believe it is a real and dire issue, while others take a much more casual stance on it, some even to the point of believing it is some hoax created to distract the world from other issues. More than anything, the issue itself is very much acknowledged, yet nobody wants to take any steps to change it. It all boils down to the denial that people have for global warming, they think it won’t impact them, so, therefore, they refuse to take any course of action. We, as a whole, must understand that our lifestyle choices and lack of attention to this issue are ultimately leading to the extinction of mankind, and all inhabitants of planet Earth.
Global warming is no new phenomenon, scientists have been warning us of potential crisis since the 1970’s, and since then, their estimates of danger have only proven to be much more immediate, and severe than once thought. Even with scientists and politicians warning us of the consequences of our actions, very few steps have been taken to fix this problem. It is easy for the older generations to say, “it doesn’t matter because we won’t be around by the time it would impact us”, which is a large sense is untrue, as the repercussions of climate change have already begun. An article in the New York Times Magazine states that “a group of scientists convened by the United Nations to guide world leaders, describes a world of worsening food shortages and wildfires, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040.“ These are real issues that have already begun, as the ecosystem of 29% of the oceans coral reefs have collapsed, which is very important, as they not only are of a large importance to marine life, but they also protect coastlines from waves and tropical storms. The death of the coral reefs would result in mass extinctions, as well as mayhem for coastal areas, and a considerable amount of this is irreversible.
Another pressing concern is a little more close to home and involves the impact of climate change on our, and our children’s health. The environmental conditions are contributing to the deterioration of health among children. As Steingraber explains in the article Despair Not, “chronic childhood diseases linked to toxic chemical exposures are rising in prevalence”. To just name a few, 1 in 11 U.S. children has asthma due to outdoor air pollution and traffic exhaust gas, 1 in 8 U.S. children are born prematurely, which is the leading cause of death in the first months of life, which is also caused by air pollution, and finally 1 in 10 U.S. children has a learning disability due to these conditions. These not only are very expensive health issues to have in our society, but they also are being known as the “new morbidities of childhood”. Due to these terrible circumstances, many youths do not want to reproduce, as the world is rapidly becoming a very unsafe place for their children, and in a result, they do not want to subject them to such.
Even though climate change is an extremely scary and seemingly impossible issue to fix, it isn’t too late to attempt to reverse, or at least stop some of the consequences we have set ourselves up for. In the article Why Bother?, author Micheal introduces that, “In the judgment of James Hansen, the NASA climate scientist who began sounding the alarm on global warming 20 years ago, we only have 10 years left to start cutting—not just slowing—the amount of carbon we’re emitting or face a ‘different planet’”. This was said by Hansen over 2 years ago, which means the timer is ticking if we have any hope to save our planet. There are many reasons to ”not bother” with this issue, as it is a large one to tackle on our own, however, “if you do bother, you will set an example for other people. If enough other people bother, each one influencing yet another in a chain reaction of behavioral change, markets for all manner of green products and alternative technologies will prosper and expand”. There are many things you can do to make a difference, whether it be biking or walking instead of driving everywhere, or even investing in a hybrid. A large impact we can have is through our food consumption, our carbon footprint can be significantly cut by growing our own food, or buying local, Pollan states, “It is estimated that the way we feed ourselves (or rather, allow ourselves to be fed) accounts for about a fifth of the greenhouse gasses for which each of us is responsible”. It really isn’t hard to make a change, and as Gandhi said, “a thousand candles can be lit from the flame of one candle” so if you make a real effort to change, and encourage others to do so as well by lighting their candle, it is possible that a real impact can be made into reversing the detriments of global warming on our Earth.
With every controversial issue comes a contrasting viewpoint, which in this case is the denial that climate change even exists, or is of any concern to our society. Many people believe that since they can’t physically see the impacts climate change is having, or is precedented to have, that it is of no concern to them. This is a fair point of view as many people often need to see something to believe it, as that’s what we have always been taught to do. Even though this is an understandable occurrence, we can’t as a society wait until we can physically see the implications global warming is set to have. Think of it this way, there is a fable that when a frog is placed into a boiling pot of water, it will immediately jump out, however, when they are placed into cool water that is slowly being heated, the frog will not perceive the dangers of the situation like it did when it was boiling, and will ultimately be boiled to death. In a way, this is what is happening to the world, we aren’t perceiving the dangers of the world heating up, and don’t yet have the urge to jump out, as we do not believe anything is truly wrong.
The issue of global warming on our environment cannot be stressed enough. It impacts every living being on this earth in an astronomical way. From the destruction of natural domains to the deterioration it has on our health, it is clear that something must be done, and fast. If not, mankind will have to face an early extinction that very well could have been prevented. To paraphrase Vaclav Havel, we should conduct our lives as if we were to live on this earth forever and be responsible for its condition. We have the power to change our fate, but it has to be done soon.