One of the biggest threats ever known to humans is climate change. Why so? Because the effects that it has on our planet are profound. More than profound, they are immense. We see how the glaciers are melting. Also, the temperatures are rising. Winters are warmer. Summers are hotter. On the one hand, one could say that this is not a big bother, humans will learn to adapt. On the other hand, we should not forget that everything is intertwined. Animal and plant species are substantially affected by the changes. The food chain is distorted by the climate change. Processes start taking place in the environment that hurt numerous species at once.
It is the greatest threats that approach us quietly, without us noticing them. They are difficult to notice. However, the level of penetration of such threats is beyond any measure. In particular, climate change is something that came to us gradually. It is with time that humans started seeing that something was “off.” In particular, lasting changes in the surrounding environment caused people to pay attention to what was causing them. It did not take long to realize what was actually taking place.
Today, numerous recommendations exist, telling humans what to do in order to reverse the climate change, to turn it around. However, these recommendations must be enacted on numerous levels. This is very difficult to do. It is like stopping a train that is moving at full speed. The speed of the train must be reduced and only then can it be fully stopped. Here, the train is a metaphor, a parallel, to all those destructive processes that have been taking place, eventually leading to climate change. The petroleum, the pollution, the factories, this list goes on forever. It is only by tackling one challenge at a time that we can handle the growing threats of climate change.
However, this is easier said than done. When we see the devastating effects of climate change and pollution (the two are connected by the way) via documentaries and TEDTalk speeches, we walk home (or go to bed) full of confidence that we will do everything possible to stop this nonsense from continuing further. We will recycle. We will stop buying things produced in Chinese factories (or other factories that are absolutely not sustainable; this is just an example). Yet, when we try to really implement these things, it is more difficult than we think. And we just go back to our old habits. It should not be this way. There are the brave ones who show us that we can live differently, act differently, choose differently. We must, if we wish for things to truly, really change. Companies like Starbucks show us the way and others follow in their footsteps.
You might ask why I believe that climate change is the biggest challenge society faces. I feel that this is so because when I look at the videos and read the article, there is no longer any doubt left. Because I do not choose to live in the comfort of my own ignorance and, rather, choose to open up to the raw facts. There is an increase in floods. The number of droughts has increased. Hurricanes are more common and more intense. This is just to mention a few. One can only imagine how all of these natural phenomena affect humans and animals alike.
It might seem like nature lives separately from us. Yet this is a misconception that only the modern-day human being could choose to believe in. The technology savvy, industrialized homo sapiens. Our ancestors knew that nature and human beings are one. I also side with this fact. Thus, we must do something to stop killing ourselves and our surroundings. We must not see ourselves as separate any longer. We are one with our planet.
