Climate change is an ever growing issue in this day and age that needs to be addressed. It is a very important topic and more young people need to get involved in in order to help solve it.

Climate change is defined as a change in the usual weather found in a place and in the Earth’s climate. These changes could be in the Earth’s temperature, the amount of rainfall in an area, or the amount of snow. While the Earth’s climate is and has always been changing, it has now become a big problem because of the rate at which it is changing. According to NASA, the Earth’s temperature has increased by one degree (in fahrenheit) in the last 100 years. While that may not seem very significant, the effects can be devastating. 

Sarah Mead, a sophomore at Penn High School, expressed her concerns. “ I’m a part of my high school’s Environmental Awareness Club, and I find it really disheartening that a lot of people have turned away from learning about climate change because of how much it has become politicized.” The warming of Earth’s climate has caused many complications. As the climate continues to change and the temperature of the Earth continues to go up, more and more snow and ice will continue to melt, which will inevitably cause sea levels to rise, islands to be flooded, and dozens of people to become homeless.

It will also cause more irregular weather patterns. For example, more hurricanes will occur in some areas, some places will face more extreme temperatures (both hot and cold), and there will be a lot more rainfall in some places  and barely any rain in others. Climate change affects everyone all over the world in myriad ways, and as of right now, the problem is only getting worse. As Mead mentioned, many politicians have denied that there is a climate crisis going on because of the money that they have wrapped into companies that produce and use fossil fuels (a key factor in why the climate is changing so rapidly.) So, they have made an effort to change people’s opinions by buying the words of environmental professionalists and spreading false information. This is causing more and more people to become misinformed. Luckily, there are people like Mead who are fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who truly understand the extent of the problem. ”I am very grateful to have been taught by my parents and some good teachers about the dangers of climate change,” she went on to say.

So, what actually causes climate change? Now, some of the factors of climate change are natural, but those factors aren’t the problem. Factors like using too many fossil fuels, spreading toxic emissions from vehicles like cars, and deforestation are all the real problems. They are also all human induced and can potentially be limited to the point where they won’t affect climate change as badly, but the world has a long way to go before that can become a reality. As of right now, the future seems bleak.

In order to help fight the climate crisis, people can focus on signing petitions, becoming more informed, and trying to reduce their carbon footprint. A person’s carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that they have contributed to. Although that may sound confusing, there are dozens of easy ways to reduce it. Mead communicated this: “To reduce my carbon footprint, I take the lessons my fellow club executives and I present at each Environmental Awareness Club meeting and try to incorporate at least one of those elements into my daily life.” Elaborating further, she adds, “This includes recycling as much as possible, avoiding producing more clothing waste by upcycling my current clothes and using hand-me-downs, using a Wi-Fi Network instead of Data all the time, etc. I also try to be environmentally conscious when making all of my purchases.” While those are all great tips, there are still unlimited other things that people can do to help the environment. People can also reduce their meat intake (particularly beef), drive less, or even plant a tree!

It is extremely important for more people to become aware of the climate crisis that is taking place so that more can be done to prevent the unthinkable. It is especially crucial for more young people to become involved so that the new generation can help plan and work towards a better future when facing this problem. Just like Sarah Mead says, “It’s important for our generation to learn about climate change, because we have to acknowledge that the sustainability of the Earth will impact us–sooner or later. Because, in reality, it is more sooner than later.”