Significant Numbers

Climate change affects everyone in some way. Evidently, everyone can do something

about it in some way too, however, this would come down to who we are, or so

as stated by Rebecca Leber (2022) in her report. Reading her thoughts

confirmed my initial opinions that there are no causes or acts that are considered

insignificant, when in fact, one way or another, they can prompt or influence

others, later on, creating a much greater movement. The only question that

remains is whether will individual solutions be enough to combat climate change

effectively and in a long-term kind of sense?

As previously stated, everyone can be a hero in their way, as long as their actions

match their social and financial standing. Taking into consideration what Leber

and Irfan (2022) had to say in another report, those who are wealthy need to step

up their game since they are, in fact, the world’s greatest polluters. Investing in

and switching to renewable energy is a start, all they have to do is to act now,

but, they alone do not solve the problem since the bottom 50% of households are

responsible for the 15% of the global carbon emission. Furthermore, as much as

we recognize, embrace, and patronize individual approaches to decreasing

carbon footprints, we cannot deny that there are still people who are uninformed,

ignorant, or worse, in denial of the gravity of the situation at hand (Andi & Painter,

2020).

Ironically, however, instead of the top households, it is the marginalized, the indigenous

communities who make the most contribution in conserving the environment and
 its biodiversity. In an interview with climate activist, Archana Soreng (2022),

conducted by the United Nations, it was found out that despite being only 5% of

the world’s population, the indigenous communities are actually the MVP of our

communities when it comes to being green. This, furthermore, made me think,

what more could we achieve collectively if we acted globally.

As 14-K (1968) has sung, “together we stand, divided we fall”, this global crisis calls for

a global movement, and that a global movement will only be possible with the

cooperation of all. Although it may be impossible for all the people in the world to

work hand-in-hand, surely it does not mean we would not try. There is strength in

numbers and this is proven by the fact that a rise in population caused a rise in

crisis as well (Dover & Butler, 2015). Why not turn the tables and utilize our

numbers to spread and inform the rest? If two heads are better than one, now

imagine what 7.8 billion people can, theoretically speaking.

Andi, S., & Painter, J. (202). How much do people around the world care about climate

change? We surveyed 80,000 people in 40 countries to find out. THE

CONVERSATION. https://theconversation.com/how-much-do-people-around-the-

world-care-about-climate-change-we-surveyed-80-000-people-in-40-countries-to-

find-out-140801?msclkid=60ccffd4c18f11ec810395d38d78394f

Dionisio, A. (2010). Yesterday's Dream [Recorded by 14-K]. Alpha Records

Dovers, S., & Butler, C. (2015). Population and environment: a global challenge.

Australian Academy of Science. https://www.science.org.au/curious/earth-

environment/population-environment?

msclkid=1f06e53cc19511eca5841b594711a379

Leber, R. (2022). What can you do about climate change? Depends on who you are.

Vox. https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/what-can-you-do-about-

climate-change-depends-on-who-you-are/ar-AAWsanS?ocid=BingNewsSearch

Leber, R., & Irfan, U. (2022). What’s really holding the world back from stopping climate

change. Vox. https://www.vox.com/23009894/un-ipcc-climate-mitigation-report-

ar6-summary

Soreng, A. (2022, April 21). Voices of Change: Our voice matters | Climate Change |

United Nations [Video]. Interview by United Nations.

Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOb6ek0M5f4