Editorial: Yes, Climate Change is a Real Thing

Around 78% of the United States’ population believes that climate change is a real life phenomenon, and that it is caused by human activity, according to a research survey conducted in 2016. It is believed that if we continue to contribute to the change in our climate, global warming, rising sea levels, the lack of natural resources and the displacement of our very own people, are issues we will soon be facing. For that other 22% of Americans, climate change is only a figment of our imagination. Climate change is not something we should take lightly, as it is caused by human activity, and in consequence, will cause harm to our home planet. 

Driving your car, taking the bus, flying across the ocean and the inadvertent emission of greenhouse gases are all day-today human activities, which contribute to climate change. Believe it or not, a sixteen year old,such as myself, is responsible for these contributions during their daily routine. People like myself, are the reasons why we will soon be dealing with the burden of climate change. I believe, that if it weren’t for huge industrial factories, the use of fossil fuels and our regulated use of automobiles, climate change would not be a reality for us, nor would it be something we fear. It is because of us that our planet is dying, however, there is hope in the human race, as we are the only ones who can resolve our own problems.

 In my lifetime, I have been affected by the consequences of climate change. To be more precise, I am a victim of global warming, which is caused by climate change, which is caused by human activity. In fact, I remember four years ago, during my first year in high school, how cold it was during the month of November, compared to this year. I remember during my third year of elementary school, there being snow on the ground on the night of Halloween. Over the years, I have noticed the difference in seasonal temperatures. It has been proven that our very own home, planet Earth, is being destroyed by the emission of greenhouse gases. Daily, we destroy our atmosphere and create a more thin layer, allowing the radiant heat from the sun to make its way into our planet, and slowly destroy it. Melting glaciers lead to rising levels of water, overheated crops can lead to lack of food and the increase in temperature can shorten our life spans, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. These are all unfortunate consequences of global warming. 

 You may be asking yourself, as I am right now, how can someone not believe in something that is factual. I can say that I don't only believe climate change is actually occurring because it has been a very controversial topic in the last few years however, I have both experienced and contributed to it myself. On the other hand, we have people who do not understand the consequences of their actions and who do not believe in this real world issue. People need to understand that; yes we do help destroy our planet when we use our cars daily and when we throw our plastic bottles into the garbage instead of the recycling, unfortunately our little actions can have long term affects. NASA states that our daily actions, such as our use of cars, are often times what lead to bigger problems without us even realizing them, which we need to address to act.

 Often times we do not think before we act, which in my opinion, can be the root causes of our problem. Together, I believe we can raise awareness and we can help fight against the destruction or our planet. In other words, by understand what we do and how we do it, we can be the change we need.

 Change seems to be the one thing the human race is accustomed to. It can be both positive and negative, however, in this case, change is a necessity. If we do not act we can guarantee ourselves a worsening planet by the end of this century. For that 78%, we need to devise a plan to help eradicate the daily destruction of our homes. The other 22% should take the time and think before they act. Together, the world can realize that maybe we don't need to emit so much harmful gas into our atmosphere, maybe we don't need to contribute to the destruction of this Earth, maybe we can stop harming ourselves.

 For those of you who do not believe the concept, take the time to understand it and learn how you can progressively help remedy our mistakes. Remember that there is always room to change, especially in such cases where we will be killing ourselves in the years to come. I would like to leave you with this one thought; you may not see the effects now, however, you will one day, and if you don't your children will, and you will be the only one to blame.

By Lucas Diacoumacos