Editor’s Note: Voices is a weekly opinion column that showcases the viewpoints of the students at OA on a variety of topics.
By Emily Han
I’ve only been alive for 18 years, which compared to the scale of humanity is miniscule. But that also means that I will be alive longer than most of the population on earth right now. My generation will be the ones to survive to see the world, or lack of, in 75 years. There is a huge threat to our world, and we all know that it is coming. The fear of the coming is real and we can only do so much to prevent it.
Carbon emissions have been exponentially increasing since the industrial revolution. The ever developing new technologies and demand for products is causing companies to spew more and more carbon into the atmosphere every second. Carbon emissions are responsible for the overall increase in global temperatures and extreme weather events that are increasing every year. Countless studies show that the best way to ensure our future on this planet is to stop producing the emissions as quickly as possible.
The Paris Climate Accords attempted to address this issue by showing graphs of what goals needed to be met in order to achieve no more than 1.5 degrees C of temperature increases. “In 2017, experts identified six key milestones that mankind must hit by 2020 if the Paris climate goal of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) is to have a fighting chance of being met.” Some of these goals were close to being met, such as renewable energy making up 25% of total energy, with the planned goal being 30%. However, coal consumption, as well as other non renewable energy sources increased, despite the climate accords trying to stop building new ones and retiring old ones.
One point of climate deniers is that there is no visible evidence of climate change happening. There is no way anyone can make this argument anymore. 2020 was a year of many disasters, but the climate ones were some of the most severe. In January, the Australian Bushfires were the worst on record, with 4.3 million hectares of conservation land burned from a total of 17 million hectares burned. Estimates of animal deaths are on the low end of 1 billion vertebrae, with estimates of 100 billion invertebrates too. On the other sides of the earth, the worst wildfires in California ever, and in South America one quarter of the largest wetlands have burned.
On the opposite end of the spectrum of climate disasters, there were more named storms this summer than ever before, creating the question of what to do when you run out of storm names, resulting in using the greek alphabet. These ever more prevalent storms combined with the higher sea levels also from climate change, have destroyed millions of people’s homes and land.
We have seen every year “Hottest [Month] on Record”. The data shows that there is no sign of stopping or slowing these events without massive change. Every year, these are going to get worse and worse. 50 year olds and up while going through some of these events, are not going to get the worst of it if there is no change now.
This is an issue that should surpass money and political beliefs. Despite what some government officials say, science doesn’t lie, and all the graphs and reports are showing that this is going to kill us all and the world if nothing is done, yet even those who believe in climate change are not making this the main priority. Use the current unemployment due to the pandemic as a way of switching from the old non-sustainable economy to The Green New Deal. Subsidize green energy and new forms of biodegradable plastics to encourage businesses to use them.
While this is something that makes me mad, I am hopeful for the future. It is impossible to be an environmentalist and not be an optimist. I believe that there is hope for change. President-Elect Biden has goals to reduce emissions to net 0 and have a 100% clean economy by 2050. To me, this is a little slow, but it is a goal that can help secure our future. He also believes in science which is a huge improvement over our current president. There is a need for climate protection and we are on our way to a better future.
There are little things that we as individuals can do to reduce our impact. Don’t idle your car in parking lots. Incorporate plant based meals into your diet, for example meatless mondays. If everyone on the planet went without meat for one day per week, we could reduce emissions by an estimated 1.0 gigaton per year. That’s equal to taking 273 million cars off the road. Leave your reusable bags in your car so you don’t forget them. Every step makes a difference in the fight against climate change.