Climate change is not a myth, as some would like to believe, it’s a frightening reality and we have satellite images to prove the same. The glaciers have shrunk, the ice on rivers and lakes is melting sooner and plant and animal habitats have shifted or been destroyed by development.
Effects that scientists had predicted would take place a century later are already occurring - loss of sea ice, rising sea levels, flooding and more intense heat waves. Climate change is by far the biggest threat that we face, for life, as we know it, may cease to exist. If that happens, then our other selfish issues of politics and power become secondary. Global Warming is the mess that we leave behind, for the next generation to endure. Every year, animal and plant species struggle to survive and their extinction threatens so many of our ecosystems. For example, at the rate our Arctic ice caps are melting, our future generations may not ever see polar bears on the planet.
Factory and automobile emissions have released toxic gases like carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. They have caused the greenhouse effect, which is making our planet get hotter. These gases are trapping more of the sun’s heat and do not allow it to escape into space. As a result, the Earth becomes like a hothouse or greenhouse and global temperatures rise. In fact, rearing cattle for meat consumption is also destroying our planet, as methane is a greenhouse gas. Due to the Global Pandemic – Covid-19, greenhouse emissions have gone down by 8%, which is the equivalent of 3 billion tons of carbon.
The Population Explosion is one of the crucial factors that contributes to climate change. Every single person’s carbon footprint is a burden on the planet. More people means more demand. An age-old habit in our country is burning garbage to disintegrate it. This sends poisonous fumes into our atmosphere which are exceedingly toxic for us and our environment causing the greenhouse effect
Either people live in denial and bury their heads or they know it’s a major issue and say “what difference will I make.”
But every drop adds to the ocean. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
We may be at the top of the food chain so we exercise power over other living things, but at this rate, there will be no food chain. There will be nothing left for us. Nature exists in perfect balance and harmony. All animals only consume for their need and not their greed. However, we human beings have destroyed that balance. We as humanity need to protect and preserve this one planet that we have been given.
Climate change is the greatest threat faced by humanity. There is a major rise in natural calamities because we have caused an imbalance in nature. And we cannot hide under a rock anymore. Vice President Al Gore’s life-changing documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth” awakened an entire generation to a new reality - The reason it’s called inconvenient is that it gets in the way of our comfort, luxury and need for instant gratification.