The Countdown to Climate Change
It’s no secret that our planet is dying.
In the past few years, the dangerous reality of global warming has been taking up more and more of the spotlight in news and social media. Experts on the topic are now taking measures to warn our generation that we won’t have the opportunity to live the lives we might have in mind simply because time is running out. In fact, many environmental professionals and scientists have published statements that the planet won’t be habitable by approximately 2050. I don’t know about you, but after hearing all of this, I’m kind of freaking out.
When I was younger, I would hear whispers about scary climate change reports. As a kid I shrugged and assumed it would all work itself out eventually, just like most things did. My elementary school explained to me that recycling was a good idea and that wasting food was a “no-no”, which was pretty much the extent of my environmental knowledge at that age. This may have been an acceptable mindset for a child, but as it turns out, if young adults continue with this illogical reasoning, our world is going to be gone sooner than the estimated 2050 mark. Now that I’ve personally matured and have been paying more attention to the warnings and reports in the media, I find myself questioning just about everything. Why am I even in school? What will a degree do for me if my dream job isn’t going to exist? Why do I plan my dream wedding in my head? Why am I brainstorming my future kids’ names? Why do I daydream about the different cities I want to live in and the different places I want to travel? What’s the point if I’m not going to be living that life?
Now, let’s break this down a little bit. These thoughts aren’t the easiest to cope with, and since global warming and other environmental issues have taken a front seat, they’ve only become harder to ignore. Society has finally recognized that this problem isn’t going to fix itself and as a result, there have been strict precautions taken to extend our planet’s life expectancy. For instance, our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just announced the ban of all harmful single-use plastic materials by 2021. In two years from now, you won’t be able to purchase plastic bags, cutlery, or straws anywhere in Canada. If Trudeau had the “this will work itself out” mindset or simply thought “what’s the point if we only have 30 years left?”, this ban wouldn’t have been created. Hope is what’s driving political leaders to enforce environmental change; hope is what’s driving numerous protests for better treatment of our planet. The second we give up on mother nature, she will settle the score.
All in all, I still think that there is a point to going about life as if it isn’t going to end in 30 years. Let’s be realistic here: we all have a due-date anyway, the only difference now is that our planet does too. If we don’t pay attention, or if we wallow in worry, our time constraint is going to become shorter and shorter. There is a point to being alive on this planet, and we have to live whatever time we have left to the fullest.
In short, always remember to seize the day. Help save the planet now, because your future and dreams still matter.
Header Image Credit: © reuters of Nele Azevedo’s ‘melting men’ 