While debate about different solutions we should put in practice are being assessed, greenhouse gasses are penetrating the atmosphere creating holes that become bigger with time, and rivers are being contaminated with deathly substances. Somewhere in the Amazon animals are losing their habitats because of a fire or deforestation, fish continue dying because of petroleum, while trash in seas and beaches keeps increasing.
If you are from gen Z, or you were born around the 2000’s, you should be used to reading articles or watching videos about climate change. But, are we all disposed to make a decision about it? How many people do you see involved into cleaning a beach? Why do people still throw plastic bottles or glassy objects into the sea? The majority of us at some point have heard about the decomposition time of all of these materials, which is estimated at a minimum of decades to hundreds of years. That’s the reason why it is necessary to choose, what we are going to do? Keep watching or start acting? My position supports acting.
A majority of Americans support prioritizing the development of renewable energy sources.
Data collected from the article by the Pew Research Center shows that “Two-thirds of U.S adults say the country should prioritize the development of renewable energy, like solar and wind, over expanding the production of oil, coal and natural gas.” This means, the majority of US citizens stand for protecting the environment and are conscious of how much damage has been caused. Although, sometimes conscious knowledge is not effective if it’s not used or put into practice. A simple example is here in New York, a remarkable, famous and one of the most traveled cities worldwide. Have you seen how much waste is thrown on the streets? This takes away from the golden picture of skyscrapers and huge screens promoting superstars with the colors of fairy tales. Walking through Times Square at 12:00am is the same as walking at 12:00pm and all because of the amazing structures and architecture of New York City. We should take care of that singular beauty and this way we also care for the planet. Little steps to get big changes. The government can establish laws to prioritize the development of solar and hydraulic energy.
We Gen Z are not the only ones responsible for what is happening in our generation.
The article by the United Nations states, “Fossil fuels- coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change.” According to the author, the real deals and main sources of pollution are the big businesses, companies, the huge factories who generate energy through the burning of fossil fuels, and the creation of manufactured products. An important point is that young people are not necessarily the ones who caused this issue.
What are we specifically experiencing related to this topic?
The air is worsening time after time, also water quality, and the alteration of some frequencies of extreme weather changes are here. Glaciers are melting, rivers are drying, the sea level is rising, acidification and temperature of oceans are growing up and up as a result of the impacts in the water cycle. Look at it this way, oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and concurrently oxygen levels are decreasing.
We have enough evidence to make a choice about our future. We can’t eliminate climate change, but we can prevent more damage to nature and to ourselves, to our home, the planet Earth. You can start with little actions, like planting a tree or promoting more information about the situation . Your heart is going to be grateful and also the living environment around you. Flora and fauna are mourning, but there is still hope.
Who knows… maybe that’s one of our missions during this short life, to preserve and be good stewards of what was given to us for free and that was here a long time ago, way before us.
So what… are we going to keep watching or act?
