The Burden of Climate Change

(photo by Sippakorn Yamkasikorn on Unsplash)

Every summer, I am alarmed by the changing state of the planet, as increasing fires and floods and major storm events pepper the landscape and cause mass evacuations. Humans are largely spending more and more time indoors using air conditioning because it is simply getting too hot outside. Everyone’s present day number one concern should be climate change.  

In 2015, most of the world’s countries signed onto the Paris climate agreement with its goal of reducing carbon emissions to prevent the global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees because a two degree rise would start to have devastating consequences for human and animal welfare. Even China and Russia have since signed onto this plan.

Governments are scrambling to implement laws to prevent any further ecocide from occurring. Each nation’s environmental protection agency must closely monitor every sector of production to ensure clean and safe production methods are followed and impose heavy fines for any breach.

Ordinary citizens complain about carbon taxes being imposed, seeing large industry as the real problem. I also see it as a personal responsibility at the grassroots level. We must all do our part in reducing our carbon footprint. I applaud those who are growing their own food, avoiding the use of plastics, choosing safe cleaning products, and getting rid of their gas-powered vehicles. Every little bit counts and our children are holding us accountable.

I try to remain optimistic by following positive trends, such as the current switch to renewable energy sources. Nevertheless, I have to admit that I am fearful for the future. While I would love to have a grandchild, I am secretly afraid of what further climate progression their lifetime will bring. Do you worry about climate change? Please subscribe/ share a comment below.