Our generation are the ones going to protests and leading the fight against global warming. A lot of us care about the environment, but still, climate change can be confusing. I understand that climate change is real and that we need to do something to stop it. But I’ve never really understood why we haven’t made enough progress on climate change. It seems like we should be able to stop the damage by putting up more solar panels and switching to electric cars. Why aren’t we making enough progress on saving the environment?
In all honesty, I was a little nervous about reading this book because Bill Gates is a billionaire tech genius, and I’m a college student who doesn’t know nearly enough about climate change. However, the book was written in a very clear and easy to understand way. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster is centered around one clear goal: getting to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Most of the book also talks about the five main ways we release carbon: how we plug in, how we make things, how we grow things, how we get around, and how we keep cool and stay warm. It was interesting to learn about the cool technology that could help with these areas, like biofuels and lab-grown meats.
If you’re thinking that the middle of a pandemic is the last time to be thinking about climate change, I hear you. The last year has been exhausting for everyone, and the idea of confronting another global crisis sounds difficult, to say the least. However, we can’t wait any longer to start thinking about climate change. If we want to avoid more damage, we need to start now. As Gates points out, experts knew that a pandemic was coming, but the world didn’t prepare properly. We need to learn from this lesson and properly prepare for climate change. Our future depends on it.