Who gives a flying Fahrenheit about Climate Change!?
Realistically, do any of us really care about climate change or even know that much about it? It seems that we’re all wrapped up in more scandalous and eye-catching world news and hedonistic selfish pursuits.
In recent times, the current news “climate” revolves largely around major crises, with most news stories concerning things like: ISIS, Ebola, party conferences, UKIP, health services. And even minor, trivial stories such as, Jennifer Lawrence’s leaked nudes, George Clooney’s elaborate wedding, Mary Berry’s latest outfit.
However, it is often easy to forget about issues like climate change, as they are slow-burners. Literally. It won’t have an immediate effect on us, and so consequently, we tend to ignore and overlook the issue. No doubt, we are all culprits of this.
Whilst I know that climate change is an issue; I hadn’t ever really stopped to think about what this “catch all phrase” was about. It wasn’t until recently when my dad got a new job at an NGO company called “The Elders” (http://theelders.org/) that I had put any thought into this.
Presently, we are all immersed in “personal statement this” and “university choice that”, making it hard for us to actually focus on much else. But we will inherit the world that our parents and their parents have screwed up for us. We will be living with the consequences of their plunder of the earth’s resources and neglect of the rock we live on. Climate change has been an issue for over ten years…but five years of that was wasted by with arguments that it was just freak weather, and conspiracy theories against it.
Now we know that global carbon emissions, created through the manufacture and use of fossil fuels, are causing a rise in temperatures, the melting of ice caps and a rise in sea levels. This is causing low-lying island nations to have to evacuate their homes. Life’s a bitch.
But if water levels reach over 2 degrees Celsius even the scientists don’t know what will happen. They just all agree that it’s going to be bad for everyone.
So, here go the stats: Carbon Dioxide levels are at their highest in 650,000 years. Nine of the ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2000. Global forest loss between 2000 and 2012 would cover more than twice the area of Texas. The golden Toad is the first species to go extinct due to climate change. Climate change is linked to an increase in disease-carrying pests that lead to the increased spread of diseases such as, malaria. Due to the greenhouse effect, the average temperature of the earth is 15 degrees rather than -18 degrees without the greenhouse effect. According to World Food Program (WPF.org), by 2015, the number of people affected by climate change disasters could reach 375 million per year.
Shocking right?
So what can we do? Well, you can change your lifestyle to reduce your carbon footprint and you can let leaders know that they are not doing enough. Recently, I attended the People’s Climate March in London, along with 40,000 others with the aim to make aware to governmental powers the prevalence of climate change (just two days before UN Climate Summit which was held in NYC).
I know it’s hard to think beyond University and UCAS and having a good time, but most of us will have children and they will inherit a world where people are clamouring for higher ground and overpopulating areas of fertile land. Our parents had an excuse — they didn’t know. We don’t have that luxury.
Sources:
· http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-climate-change-facts-php
