Do You Want to Stop the Climate Crisis?

Starr Gralla

Picture of a cloudy sky.

If you are living by an ocean, like in Florida, you are more likely to experience climate change than someone who lives in Wisconsin. Living in Central Wisconsin my whole life I never put much thought into climate change, let alone changing my whole lifestyle for it. Besides, climate change didn’t affect me, right? Wrong. No matter where you live or who you are, climate change will always affect you. Which means you can have an effect on climate change. There are plenty of little changes you can make to your daily lifestyle that will help our planet. 

Why Should You Care? 

Climate change isn’t only affecting humans, it’s also affecting animals and other living organisms. Greta Thunberg is a youth climate activist from Sweden, in her speech she gave at the UN Climate Action Summit she says, “ Ecosystems are collapsing, we are in the beginning of a mass extinction.” With our ecosystems collapsing, animals are dying and the food chain is depleting. Extreme weather events have also been a direct result of climate change. The United Nations General Secretary states, “ The north Atlantic hurricane season has seen 30 storms, more than double the long term average and breaking the record for a full season.” Not to mention, the extreme temperatures and the forest fires caused by them. The oceans are experiencing heat waves, the ice caps are melting, our oceans are rising. With normal weather events becoming more catastrophic, we  should all be concerned. 

Will Industrial Companies do Their Part? 

Big corporate companies aren’t ready to make changes to help the planet because of “job and money loss.” In all reality, “The International Labour Organization estimates that, despite inevitable job losses, the clean energy transition will result in  the creation of 18 million jobs by 2030,” says the United Nations General Secretary. There is no excuse for big industrial companies to not lower their carbon footprint. A NRDC report says, “ It’s important to remember the equally vital contributions that can be made by private citizens- which is to say, by you.” Although big industrial companies have a huge impact on our environment, we can’t rely on them to solve all our problems. We, citizens, can make just as big an impact on climate change as any industrial company would. 

How Can You Help? 

Some people find it hard to change their lifestyle to better our environment. However it can be fairly easy to make a change, even here in central Wisconsin. You can opt for public transportation instead of self-transportation. A NRDC report says, “cities and towns with quality public transportation lead to less driving, less money spent on fuel, and less pollution in the air.” Not only does this help the planet, it also saves you money. 

However if you’re willing to give money and time you can make better changes. Having proper sealed drafts and efficient water fixtures will save energy. The NRDC report also states, “The EPA estimates that if just one out of every 100 American homes were retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, about 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year would be saved—avoiding 80,000 tons of global warming pollution.” 

If you want to take it a step further you can switch to a fuel efficient vehicle. The NRDC report states, “Americans will spend $80 billion less at the pump each year and cut their automotive emissions by half.” You may be paying extra now but in the long run you are only helping yourself and the planet. 

In a speech given by the United Nations General Secretary he says, “Human activities are at the root of our descent towards chaos, but that means that human action can help solve it.” We are the solution to the very problem we created. Helping our planet doesn’t have to be hard. Everyone has to start somewhere whether that be buying a new car or unplugging unused items. Everything you do matters.