It’s 2097 and the blaring of your alarm wakes you up. You peak out the window and reminisce on times when people could spend their time outside to play, eat, and soak up nature. Now, you view the outside world with envy because you know that if you expose your skin to the fiery sun, it will burn you. To take precautions, you suit up in fully covered clothing to leave your home. As you go to the kitchen to get a bite to eat, you put on the news and see that the beloved island of Bermuda and the island city of Key West have been submerged by water and become a new addition to the growing ocean. You wish that you were more in shock by these events, but you realize it is just another day living on a planet that is dying.

It is so difficult to understand how people have known that we’ve gradually been causing the Earth to deteriorate and display its harmful effects. For instance, CO2 emissions have nearly quadrupled since 1960, and since 1880 the sea levels have risen eight inches. Carbon dioxide emissions have caused the average global temperature to rise 0.13 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880. These effects may not seem like much but over time this increase will become detrimental to life on Earth. A common reaction of the Earth is climate extremes, which are natural disasters such as floods, wildfires, intense hurricanes, and earthquakes. Extreme weather conditions could potentially cause crop loss and difficulty in producing crops on a global scale because fungi, pests, and weeds thrive in warmer conditions. It has brought humanity to the realization that we cannot be proactive about this crisis to prevent detriments to humans because it is simply too late. We must come up with ways in which we can reverse the damage we have done, not only to save the Earth, but to also save humanity now and for future generations.

Many environmental activists express their opinions on the reasons for global warming, but society has made the topic merely cliché. The topic has been discussed and addressed so many times in the news and media that people have disregarded it and have given climate change less value. There should be more attention and much more effort being put into this issue so that resolutions can be made. Greenhouse gases are fossil fuels such as coal and gas that millions of people burn every single day. Activities such as running a car or creating electricity are capable by burning gases that get emitted into the atmosphere. Solutions like electric cars and renewable energy such as wind, solar, and hydro energy have become more popular in the past decade than ever before. Although they are significantly more costly than old methods, their impact on our climate can be revolutionary. As the production of electric cars and clean energy increases, the cost of these products decreases as technology advances. An example of this is Tesla cars because when the company released its first models, they were very expensive, but as they continue to produce and advance their equipment, the prices decrease.

The factors of global warming are deforestation, which contributes to 20% of global greenhouse pollution, and farming, which contributes to 16%. These activities release an enormous amount of CO2 and methane into the environment to pollute atmosphere. Resolutions have become more popular such as going vegan or making lands protected by law, but in many places, it doesn’t stop companies from cutting down forests or breeding large herds of cattle. To stop the progression of global warming, we must make law makers, law enforcers, and our population fully aware of the effects it has on humanity. We must also make clean and affordable alternatives for pollutants that are accessible to people and companies around the world.

A result of global warming is the sea levels rising, specifically eight inches since 1880, with three inches being over the last twenty-five years. As the temperatures rise from greenhouse gases, the ocean water is warmed which causes it to expand. Glaciers and ice sheets are melted by the rising water temperatures which contributes to ocean expansion. As the growing ocean runs out of room, it will claim the land many people now call home and decimate the life there. Resolving this issue must start with reducing the emission of greenhouse gases by using alternate energy sources to power our machinery.

Another issue that results from global warming is difficulty in growing crops due to the uncertainty of rain and rising temperatures that will disable crops from growing. It is predicted that crops like rice, corn, and soybeans will be unsuitable for higher climates, and they will affect the farming industry as well as consumers. Also, the demand for water will increase, thanks to global warming, and the accessibility for natural water will decrease, specifically for poorer regions. It is quite frightening to think of living in a world where food and water is scarce or difficult to produce, so solutions like changing the ways that the agricultural industry works is significant to the future.

In a future world where human skin is unable to have direct contact with the sun, or where beautiful tropical islands diminish regularly, people would wish they could go back in time and change their ways. People might dream of living with less fear and uncertainty from the natural world. It is when individuals are directly impacted all over the world, that they demand change in the way we live. The harsh truth is that most people do not care for things unless they themselves must suffer from the consequences. Does it have to get to the point where the sun is lethal to us? The answer is that we wish it does not, but each person has contributed to this disastrous world, and it will take each person to get it back to the way it was. If we all do not work together and confront climate change, it will be too late and it will take generations upon generations to restore the balance between humanity and nature. We must take a stand and consistently work towards finding more solutions to the problems that we’ve created. It will be a long and difficult battle, but we can only hope that the terrifying predictions of the future will inspire people to make a collateral effect now.