Lately, the world has fallen into a stressful mess. The incoming updates about the Ukrainian war has people worried about the future emotional, economical, and political ramifications it could bring, as well as the injustice of war in an innocent country. The new mandates finally removing masks brings worries about health and safety, and the possibilities of incoming viruses. Not to mention Florida’s interest in preventing young children from learning about sexual equality is creating a new generation of people who are unaware of the importance of acceptance.
Unfortunately, while all of this is going on, the issue of climate change increases. Currently, climate change activists have noted several new environmental problems that can see an increase in severity.
In a recent article by The Conversation, it was noted that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) found out that even if nations follow through with their latest promises to reduce greenhouse emissions by 2030, the planet will still warm by at least 2.7 degrees Celsius rather than the intended 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next 8 years. The Emissions Gap report found the difference between where the projected greenhouse emissions are to be in 2030, and where they should be to avoid the worst climate change impacts by 2050. As many countries did change their policies to be more ambitious, the changes made are still trying to reach a goal underneath the emission projects of 2010. Plans made over a decade ago don’t allow us to reach the universal goal of decreasing the planet’s heat. With this in mind, there are other consequences that could become more severe to our livelihood if we don’t take action.
If we are unable to decrease total emissions by 2030, climate change could put coastal cities underwater. Sea levels will rise due to melting sea ice, and would displace billions of people. A small example would be water rising onto the base of New York’s Statue of Liberty as well as onto the boards of the Santa Monica Pier in California. In response to the rising sea levels , some of the major coastal cities, especially in Asia, will need to build seawalls or abandon the area closest to the coast. The lives of billions of people will have to change in order to accommodate the rising sea levels if measures are not put in place to slow the effects of climate change.
Now, this isn’t an article meant to scare you. Rather, it’s to warn you that we still have a chance to change the planet for the better, but we have to put in more efforts into reaching the big corporations that are lying to the media about their green efforts, such as Facebook and BP who are no longer disclosing their emission statements to the public. We must be more aware of the little things that we can change. As dramatic as it sounds, our planet is the only thing we have and living elsewhere is not as possible as some might think.
Please, please, please make an effort to take awareness of the issues for climate change. What future will you choose?