It's Time We Get Serious about Climate Change

 It's Time We Get Serious about Climate Change

     Take a look back. Back on our millions of years on this planet we call home. Earth. Back in the day, we started small. Building walls to stop war and revolt before eventually we got bigger and bigger, making boats to conquer the seas, tools to build homes and slowly a population began to grow. In 10000 BC, we began to farm, the crop type and the animal type. Civilisations turned to towns then to functioning cities across the world. We conquered the Atlantic, Pacific and explored the vast swarms of land. The Romans, Franks, Byzantines, Egyptians and more, went around to fight for more. As technology advanced globally we dug for iron and gold and hunted fishes and more. The Ice, Bronze, Iron Age. Until we reach maximum hold, Europe began to take control. From the British to the French and the Spanish and more, we advanced collectively as one kind. But then, we made our biggest mistake ever. Today, it kills millions worldwide and covers our air. That is our modern problem.

     As I was saying, we always have problems. From plagues to natural disasters. We got through that before. But today, we are tackling a problem that our ancestors would have never thought would ever exist. That is the inevitable problem of Climate Change. It is our first problem that all 7.8 Billion of us NEED to solve together as a species. But first, a small sidenote to our overwhelming problem.

The Sidenote - The Doomsday Clock

     In the 1940s, the word 'Doomsday' was regularly associated with 'End of The World'. It is maintained by the famous 'Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists'. Every year, this clock ticks depending on the world. For example, in 1991, the clock was at 17 Minutes to Midnight (midnight means Doomsday basically) after a number of treaties between the US and USSR helped to ease tensions. Whereas in 1984, the clock ticked 3 minutes to midnight after the USSR boycott the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Games in response to a boycott the US did 4 years prior when they did the same thing and boycotted 1980 Olympic Games.

     In 2020, the clock set a record to the closest it has ever been to Doomsday. It ticked 100 seconds to Midnight. Giving reasons such as the Pandemic, the Nuclear Treaties and obviously, The Climate. Alright, now back to Climate Change.

The Spark of Climate Change

     So how did we get here? What lit the spark to begin Climate Change and our world as of now? After 1 Hour of Intense Research, I can up with three reasons

The Spark - Industrial Revolution

     The answer was the Industrial Revolution. This revolution began in around the 1760s and ended in the 1860s. It began mostly because of a wider connectivity and communication between cities and people and a lot more. Like Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin which revolutionised farming in the south or James Watt's Steam Engine and Samuel Morse's Telegraph and Morse Code Communication and Louis Daguerre invention of the camera. These new inventions revolutionised the world. We began to harness electricity using coal. And then in the late 1800s, we lucked out and with our inventions like Thomas Edison's Light Bulb in 1876 or Karl Benz' Automobile in 1888 or Alexander Graham Bell's Telephone invention in 1876. All these and more revolutionised the modern world we currently live in

The Spark - World & Electricity

     Electricity is now the world's lifeblood. In the 1880s, the world found 'Black Gold'. Oil fueled everything and still does. From planes to cars to machines to even our power! We found it in Texas in the 1890s before the North Sea found its oil in 1920s only for the Middle East to find its Black Gold in the 1930s. The Oil economy began to explode and oil prices would soar thanks to crisis in Middle East. Today, the world economy is almost dependent thanks to oil. Now moving on to another source of power, fossil fuels.

     Fossil Fuels. When burned, will generate power and release nitrogen oxides (Bad Air Stuff). According to various statistics, fossils can last us another 50 years. We first began burning this bad stuff in the 1880s and clearly we have not stopped. Today, the three of the world's most popular countries, China, India and The United States collectively burn 54% of the world's fossil fuels. 

The Spark - Connection or Climate?

     120 years ago, the Wright Brothers flew the world's first flight at Kitty Hawk, NC. In 2019 (before the Pandemic), roughly 100,000 flights take off every day around the world. It is estimated that in the next 20 years, air travel will double and in 50 years it will triple. Then there is the Automobile. Private Transportation has taken over the world especially in the United States. While there is a sustainable solution for automobiles which are Electirc vehicles, cars still emit a huge ton of carbon emissions. 

The Continued Spark - Our Modern World

     Today, every human emits a stupid 740 grams of carbon every day. In 2019, our world emitted 36 billion tonnes of Carbon Dioxide. And after so many campaigns to educate the world, only 1 out of 190+ countries is carbon-neutral. Bhutan. Which in itself has been suffering from the effects of climate change. 

     Climate Change has caused effects around the world. Hurricanes and Earthquakes are more common than ever, air quality has been lower than ever, the number of deaths from pollution has grown in the last 20 years and all this problem just for a better life.

The Fight against Climate Change

     Climate Change is not a solvable problem. It is a problem that will continue to face for generations. As the saying goes, 'When something is so big and powerful engulfs us, it takes generations to find a way out of that'. Climate Change will be problem for every generation down this road. But if we scratch a single scar on this monster that is Climate Change, it will influence all down the road. Let's find out the marks and the scars that we have made on this monster.

The Fight - Paris Climate Accord (2015)

     Probably the best example of the fight against Climate Change is the Paris Climate Accord. Almost every nation signed on to this agreement. The goal? To maintain global temperature levels from increasing beyond 2°C. Stating that if temperature levels go beyond that 2 degrees, it will cause a severe level of mass migration and extinction along with severe climate change and natural disasters to the extent that the world had never seen before. However, instead of the climate accord setting the goals for countries to meet, countries had to set their own goals for them to meet themselves. This meant that most countries were just too ambitious and so far only certain countries are still on track to achieving their own goal. 

     This led to a real down in 2017 when former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord. After that embarrassing retreat, most countries were unable to meet its goals. So the Accord has definitely been met with a huge blow of criticism from funding to progress and even to completely disbanding the Accord, while Joe Biden has brought the United States back into the Climate Accord and has created the new title of 'Special Presidential Envoy to Climate' giving it to John Kerry (a cool politician), a good friend of his. Kerry had help start up Paris Climate Accord back in 2015 and has been famous for his work with the Climate. 

The Fight - Fridays for Future (2019)

     In 2019, Greta Thunberg organised a strike in Sweden, demanding the government to sort out the climate issue. She held the cardboard sign which read (spoiler: I don't speak Swedish) "Skolstrejk för klimatet" or translated to English as "School strikes for Climate". This school strike movement became global. The youth from age 13-21 began widespread strikes from the deserts of Australia to the winter of Europe and onward to the hills of America. This inspired her to start Fridays for Future (FFF), she urged students to skip schools on Fridays to instead protest on the streets on the issue of Climate Change. In September, the Fridays for Future saw 5 million young activists demanding their head-of-states to pay attention to the Climate. This movement has definitely impacted the Fight for Climate Change and always has. Looking at data, strikes are most common in Europe and in cities across the world like New York City or Stockholm and Berlin. While due to the Pandemic, Fridays for Future (FFF) has gone virtual. Fridays for Future Virtual, while less popular, is still having strikes and still demanding leaders to take control on Climate Change. 

The Fight - Go Great and Go Green!

     In 2011, Steve Jobs (Apple's founder) appeared on a stage for the last time before his death. He described plans for a park, a natural refuge and introduced the company's new headquarters, Apple Park. After $5 Billion USD and a year of construction later, Apple Park opened and housed the office of 12,000 employees. It is designed with a massive rim and in the middle, a small pond and a plantation of 9,000 trees. Making the neighborhood around Apple Park look like a green village. This is the idea of Biophilic Design. The idea of incorporating nature into cities or man-made design. This can be traced back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon incorporating plants hanging or Jewel Changi Airport with a number of forest trails and a huge waterfall acting as incorporation. My favourite use of Biophilic Design is the famous Central Park, squished in the dead middle of New York City. This idea helps to keep carbon-levels of buildings as low as possible. Biophilic can also be an indirect incorporation of nature. For example, in Airports around the world, there are huge glass windows, helping for the incorporation of natural light into buildings. So instead of doing large-scale projects involving hydro dams or mass-building of solar panels, start small, as small as the walls and ceilings of our surroundings.

The Fight - The Power of the Powerful

     On 25 October 2019, famous YouTuber Mark Rober and Jimmy Donaldson better known online as MrBeast started TeamTrees, urging people around the world to donate for the plantation of trees. The idea is that for every dollar donated, Team Trees would plant a tree. The goal was to hit the number of 20 million trees in 2 months which was accomplished in December. So how did the two create such an impact on the world? The answer was power. Both MrBeast and Mark Rover had a combined subscriber count of 45+ million in 2019, not to mention dragging other YouTubers to help raise funds as well. MrBeast has mentioned that the TeamTrees project will not stop and the page is available for donations right now. For those who want to donate the link is right here > (https://teamtrees.org/)

     Its not just YouTubers though, others making small impacts are people like Bill Gates, who recently wrote a book titled 'How to avoid a Climate Disaster' where as he title suggests, writes about a Climate Disaster. I must point out that not everyone is sold on Bill Gates' book though and it has been met with a considerable amount of criticism.

The Fight - The Green New Deal (2019)

     Lastly, the Green New Deal. This 'deal' was put together for the sake of the United States. Before the Green New Deal, the US had little or no plan at all to solve the growing issue that was Climate Change. So a few representatives and activists came together to write one. It explains that a greener America is hard to achieve and will take generations. But America has to act fast to solve this. Joe Biden modified the Green New Deal into his own Climate Plan in his 2020 campaign and has spoken openly about the climate as well. Overall, the Green New Deal is very very ambitious and while Biden's plan is ambitious as well, it is more achievable.

Farren's Opinion Corner

     To answer the easy question. Climate Change is a problem. And the question is are we ready to solve this problem? The answer is yes. As a world, we can solve this problem. But are we willing to solve it fast? No. We are slow in every way possible. At this rate, we'd die! So the question is now brought to you reader? Are YOU willing to solve this problem for generations after you? Or are you willing to risk the extinction of all beings on Earth? (Yes this is how in depth we are going). If you are, it's time we get serious about Climate Change.

Happy Reading!

     Thanks to my Geography Teacher for suggesting this article and for her very interesting geography lessons! 

Other Information

- Some information from this article is loosely based of David Attenborough's 2020 feature documentary 'A Life on our Planet'. Just watching the trailer is amazing. Go check it out.

- This article was once again inspired by American geologist, Jared Diamond. His book Guns, Germs and Steel published in 1993, is a book I recommend all to read.

- Bill Gates' 'How to Avoid a Climate Disaster' published in 2020 is a book I haven't read but when it comes to Singapore libraries, I will definitely read it. I recommend all to read it as well.

- The Doomsday Clock is a 'thing' created by Martyl Langsdorf in 1946. Her husband Albert Langsdorf founded the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. For further information on the Doomsday Clock, I recommend a video by Vox which go in detail on the clock. The link can be found here > (https://youtu.be/jCnWPbn-ZKo)

- I should mention that the three reasons of The Spark of Climate Change are the main reasons, there are obviously other factors.

- Most of my descriptions of certain topics are usually summarised as I don't like for readers to read my article for long hours. I want readers to read an article in less than 10-15 minutes. So check out videos or related articles online on topics I discussed.

- Vox has a great video explaining the Green New Deal which helped me in writing this section of the article. The link can be found right here > (https://youtu.be/GxIDJWCbk6I)

Other Topics I didn't include for reasons

 1. Worse Natural Disasters

 2. Africa 

 3. Plans from various countries

 4. Other plans to 'Greenerise' buildings

     So this article was completed on March 4. But was published on March 7 after I almost accidentally deleted this article and took 2 days frantically trying to get it back.