Extinction Level Event, No Worries Right?

By Jair Martinez

We have all heard about it before, the phenomenon that puts every living thing, especially us, in danger. It’s the reason why sea levels are rising, animals are being put in danger, and why, very soon, it could put most of the coastal areas under water. Whether we notice or not, we see its effects every day and we hear it on the news all the time. Droughts, floods, and heatwaves are all caused by this, but they never really seem to mention that this is all caused by this phenomenon. Some might still be wondering what phenomenon is causing all these horrible, life-threatening events. The phenomenon that puts innocent human lives in danger is global warming and it is caused by no one else but us. No worries right? We caused it so we must be able to fix it. We could only wish it were that simple. The problem is that to be able to fix the damage we have done, there will need to be an effort from everyone like we have never seen before, but the reality is that most people couldn’t care less about global warming.

Some people are aware of global warming but chose to ignore it and some actually don’t believe it exists even though they see its effects every day. You might have heard statements like “It’s cold so global warming isn’t real” or “global warming is fake, I don’t see it happening”. Statements like those are said by people who don’t have any idea of what global warming really is and sadly they are the majority of the people in our society. In reality, global warming affects every corner of the earth including the oceans. Mr. Day, a marine ecology teacher said that “global warming changes the water chemistry” and “when you’re changing the water chemistry, it’s taking the corals ability to survive so they die off. When those die off, there is no more of those small fish that feed on it, [which means] there is no more of those large fish and it becomes a dead zone, [and now] there’s more and more dead zones in our oceans”. Is it really fair that other animals, including marine life, are the ones dying and suffering from the effects of a phenomenon that we caused? We see the destructive effects of global warming all the time, and as environmental teacher Ms. Mackessy said, “There are areas that are having droughts, areas that are having floods. We’re all part of the problem, but we’re also all part of the solution”. If two science teachers, who have dedicated their lives to studying the earth, both are worried of the devastating effects that global warming has on the planet, don’t you think that we should be worried too?

Nowadays we find out about everything through social media, and most of the time, even before the news can make a broadcast about it. So why is it that most people still don’t know about global warming? Who better to ask than teenagers, who nowadays most spend a lot of their day on social media. High school Junior Jonathan Bazan commented that, “People don’t really post about global warming on social media. Most of them are more concentrated on celebrities’ lives”. This is one of the most self-explanatory reasons why most people ignore global warming: people are too concentrated on celebrities lives or a new video that is trending about the silliest stuff. Is that really what people prioritise over an occurrence that can end all life on earth as we know it? Keyla Rodriguez(another junior in high school) brought up a good point: “People should be more aware of global warming due to the fact that this generation, most importantly, has the technology and methods that could potentially put a stop to this problem one way or another.” However, she also said, “I’m not aware of any projects that are being done to fix the damage of global warming, although I should be more aware.” This isn’t her fault at all. How can we be aware of any projects being done if most of social media is filled with celebrities and other things that simply don’t matter? We the people have control over the media. We can choose what goes viral with enough influence. For once, something should go viral that concerns and informs of such a severe situation we have put ourselves into.

Global warming is something that we can’t afford to ignore anymore. Every living thing on this planet is in danger because of it and it’s simply not fair that the whole planet is suffering from something and we are responsible for. It will take the effort of all of us all over the world. Talking about this topic more often, make it known to people who aren’t aware and remind those who have forgotten. Talking about it on social media and don’t stop until it goes viral. Inform the people about the dangers of global warming and let them know that it affects everyone. There are projects being done that can help fix the damage we have done but we need them to use the influence over social media to make them known and to help them get more fundings to put an end to global warming once and for all. Let’s all do whatever we can to create a better and safer future for every living thing on this planet.

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