The future is now: taking action for the planet

by Gabriella Gatchalian

The teen-organized movement, the sunrise movement in a bay area rally for the sake of shining some light in the dark issue of climate change. Source: The sunrise movement training program (no credited photographer)

     The effects of human degradation in the environment affects the everyday life of every human being on this planet. Even the innocent, with deep care and sympathy towards every living creature, are not safe from the consequences of a deeply polluted ecosystem. Various scientific research has warned humanity about this continued parsimonious and down-right selfish act of ignoring the consequences of unsustainable living. The most recent scientific research was a report released by the U.S. Global Change Research program on November 29, 2018, in which they explained the alarming effects of humanity’s inconsiderate actions. It is no surprise that a change is needed and required if people want to experience the high-quality of life that nature provides. Such change needs to be enacted by every single person, but most importantly, the future leaders of the world.

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Ignorance in regards to the effects of climate change is leading to the misconsideration of the effects of such tragedy to all living creatures. Source: Crowson Cartoon

     Awareness of the challenges that are going to affect future generations is no secret. The effects of human degradation is rapidly affecting the lives of current and future generations. The amount of action that the world does for the improvement of humanity now solely depends on the new era. Selfishness and focusing on temporary wants instead of what the world really needs is no longer an option.Various teen-organized movements have formed for the sake of providing both awareness and action about ways in which society can change for the better. For example, the sunrise movement is a group that is “building an army of young people to make climate change an urgent priority across America.” However, even though forming an organization is an impressive step to take in figuring out a solution, it is not required, for example, even the most simplest acts, such as changing light bulbs to either LED or fluorescent is also a step to contributing to the solution. Being aware of the problem is a step to figuring out the solution, however, without further action, the change that is severely needed will not occur. It is easy to become aware, the difficult part is changing the cycle.

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     The modern-day lifestyle makes sustainable living extremely challenging, even with the new technologies that are created for the sake of sustainability. The prices for such advanced technology is often deemed unaffordable, however, it is extremely attainable. The amount of air pollution that oil-powered vehicles produce is damaging and a significant contributor to the pollution in certain areas, however, a switch to an electric vehicle is an option to reduce the amount of pollution. Because of the amount of attention and overall advertisement that certain pricey environmental companies receive, companies with the same quality of advanced technology are often left out of the spotlight. In order to change for the better, research is required. Search for alternative solutions, because there is no such thing as following one path to figuring out a solution to climate change. Belonging in the era of great advancements should lead to further advanced thinking to finding ways for making sure every living creature will have a future on this shared planet. ​

     Climate change is unpredictable, but its effects will be tremendously damaging to the lives of future generations. The distorted perception of viewing the solution in one way needs to be altered, as several solutions and changes can be done to help prevent the worsening of the global situation. Waiting for a sudden epiphany in order to start acting for the betterment of the world is from now on, an option from the past. Scientific research stating the future consequences can be read anywhere, the predicted effects are now occurring in various regions of the planet. The accelerated effects of climate change is caused by human degradation, however, the way humanity prioritizes many idle events over a single serious event that will greatly damage the future is in itself a great evidence of the human greed and ignorance that caused the problem to both begin and worsen. An alteration in the way humanity thinks is needed, however, no matter how much research and statistics is served in the screens of people, a simple act of change is impossible. Humanity needs to start considering every living creature that will be affected by this horrendous event. Humanity needs to start being human.