Today marks the 55th annual Earth Day — and yet the risk caused by global warming increases each year. Jua Choi, 12, wants to inspire you to act now to save our precious planet.
Did you know that 22 April is Earth Day? Not many do.
Why do people care more about the days like 25 December, 14 February or their own birthday, if those days wouldn’t exist without the Earth to protect and comfort us?
It took a long time for us to wake up to the fact that climate changeLong-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Human action is a major cause of climate change. was happening. And now that we can feel the heat, we are too busy to take care of it. As early as 1896, a Swedish scientist called Svante Arrhenius predicted that some changes in atmospheric carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a colourless gas formed during the combustion of any material containing carbon and is a significant greenhouse gas. could alter the Earth’s surface temperature through the greenhouse effect. And in 1938, Guy Callendar predicted the increase of carbon dioxide could raise the temperature of the Earth rapidly.
But when did we try to stop climate change? On 21 March 1994, the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) entered into force to stop the climate change and was ratified by 197 countries. This is a full 98 years after Svante Arrhenius’s prediction. We were extremely late.
By the 1990s, we knew that the Earth was heating up. But we didn’t take actions as individuals. We thought it would all be okay if the others like the UNFCCC, NRDC (Natural Resources Defence Council), EDF (Environmental Defence Fund) and more, took actions. The organisations worked hard to stop global warming. But there are eight billion people on Earth. We need everyone to do what they can, but we are still using plastics and fossil fuelsFuels made from decomposing plants and animals, including coal, natural gas and oil. These fuels release carbon dioxide, causing global warming.. We must take this seriously.
According to the World Economic Forum, countries such Norway, Finland and Sweden are the most active countries working to stop climate change. But the countries that have the biggest populations – China, the United States, India, etc – are not even in the top 10. Those countries should be the most diligent countries, because of their population and the amount of pollution they produce. But they are not. We need to try.
Countries like Nigeria, Chad and Ethiopia are already experiencing extreme and unpredictable weather. For now, many in the West feel like climate change is yet to affect them. But when climate change has fully reached us, it will be too late.
So, how can we protect the only home we have?
We can start with the smallest things such as collecting rubbish, and gradually move on to bigger and bigger actions such as campaigning. We can decide on how we value the Earth.
What kind of future do you want to make for the next generation? It’s time to think and act now.
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Keywords
Climate change – Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Human action is a major cause of climate change.
Carbon dioxide – Carbon dioxide is a colourless gas formed during the combustion of any material containing carbon and is a significant greenhouse gas.
Fossil fuels – Fuels made from decomposing plants and animals, including coal, natural gas and oil. These fuels release carbon dioxide, causing global warming.
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