Climate Crisis- The Importance of Immediate Climate Action
- Sisters of STEM
- Oct 19, 2021
- 2 min read
I am 19 years old, and I have been listening to the media talk about recycling, saving energy, and reduce emissions for as long as I can remember. How come we haven’t solved this crisis? How come nobody is even talking about it and no changes have been made?
While speaking on the climate crisis can be emotionally draining and even painful, to not do so is deadly. In 2021 (as of July 9), there have been 8 weather/climate disaster events in the United States. These events include droughts, floods, wildfires, and severe storm and winter storms. They have caused the death of 331 people and each event has caused losses of over 1 billion dollars to the United States. Increasing global temperature causes droughts and severe storms. On one hand, there are droughts and wildfires caused by a lack of water; on the other hand, due to an increase in temperature, more water evaporates, and it serves as fuel to more powerful storms. Ice melting in the north and south pole causes an overall rise in sea levels, which exposes higher surfaces to tsunamis, erosion, and even flooding of coastal cities. The increase in catastrophes that we have seen in recent years is a result of the rise in global temperature that has averaged 0.13 degrees Fahrenheit every decade since 1880. So what does all of this even mean? It means that we must take action.
If we fast forward to the year 2050, with a global temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius (3.16 Degrees Fahrenheit) terrifying consequences will start to take place such as, ice-free poles in the winter months, changed population (extinction and relocation) of marine life which leaves indigenous communities increasingly compromised due to lack of food. Forced migration would be common as well as water-born disease and invasive species that change our ecosystems. These are only a few of the multiple consequences of our lack of actions. I know this all sounds so dense and even conspiracy theory-y, but this is our reality and the only thing to do now is to face it and change it. Let’s listen to climate scientists and activists and study the issue to later share it with our communities so we can all work together to fix this.
“… instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will come.” Greta Thunberg,
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