Change is an Opportunity, not an End:

A Reflection on Climate Change

We are bound to take the hit of every dire consequence caused by our own
irresponsible actions. This can be specifically applied to the environment. Although the
effects of climate change might be unnoticeable if details weren’t that exposed, slowly,
we are directly and collectively involved and affected by this phenomenon. The
consequences of human-caused global warming are already being felt, are irreversible
in the lifetimes of those alive today, and will continue to worsen in the coming decades.
How can we make progress if we've been stuck in the same endless cycle inside our
heads for years?
The new IPCC climate change report was released. It was bad news, as
expected. Every environmental report has always been negative. To avoid the worst
possible effects of climate change in a few decades, the world has about three years to
significantly reduce emissions. Droughts, more powerful storms, flooding, landslides,
and other natural disasters will occur as sea levels rise (1-8 feet, displacing millions in
the United States alone). As is customary, this would disproportionately affect the
marginalized. A large portion of the global population already breathes polluted air on a
regular basis. Videos discussing and demonstrating climate change cherrypicks data
and always lead to blind optimism without radical change. People will be less willing to
cut down on consumption and continue living an unsustainable lifestyle if with damaging
optimism that doesn’t even make sense.
Personally, our family has been changing our routine by waste management,
reducing plastic consumption and investing in solar powered lights. I’ve spent my life
practicing a new lifestyle to live on, fearing and panicking for the possibilities of the
worst outcomes and nothing has seemed to change. Suddenly, a strike of realization
had hit me that nothing I do can change anything and it’s still the same for my life, for
the world and for others for the next few years and the other decades later. I am living
responsibly, and voted for people who were environmental advocates and prioritized
environmental changes. But it seems like it was rather lonesome and despairing that I
might just sigh it all with a shrug. Hopelessness. The trap was set in its right position
and I willingly let myself inside. It was a sheer moment of disappointment clouded within
a murky abode. Hopelessness made us give up and roll over. Completely using
ignorance and apathy to control us.
However, after the facts shown on the video of “We WILL fix climate change”
backed with evidence and statistics, I was relieved to think that I was not alone in the
movement. There are still people, corporations, and countries living in a sustainable
manner and dancing their way for a better planet with a better routine. Climate
doomsday is the equivalent of giving up, even though you can still avoid not only the
worst-case scenario, but also most of the negative consequences, make changes in
time to better adapt, and protect the poorest. If the previous, in many ways wasted
decade has taught us anything, it's that progress is being made and that doomsday
scenarios are just that – predictions.
“Don’t let them win.”
The message is a gun pointed directly on my head and every word is a bullet
piercing through my body. It was a whisper, but it was powerful enough to be a tumult. It
was not just an intense bright light that could blind us, but a clear sky. We can’t give up.
Not now. Not at this point of our lives. Not with so many people involved and fighting for
environmental protection. Because it dominates the world's agenda from left to right,
some politicians even willingly listen. To continue to sell their products, the economy
and producers in general must become more carbon neutral. Humanity can overcome it.
We must not give up hope, but rather continue the movement we started. Maintain your
course and improve your performance because, while we may not notice it right away,
we can gradually progress to higher levels together. Whatever the case may be, small
steps like 3 degrees are significant and shouldn’t come to pass.
Climate change is real and it is dire, but we are not doomed. Giving up because
of hopelessness only helps the corporations that get profits from the fossil fuel industry.
Giving up means tolerating the greedy and abusers of nature. There is still time. We
have to keep our heads up, inform ourselves about the issues and make a positive
change while maintaining information intake at healthy levels so we can’t overwhelm
ourselves and overthink. “If we want the world to change, we first need to believe that
change is possible.” So, can the world be a better place?