The Earth is exhausted

A cold reality has been revealed. As humans and the dominating species of the world, we experience many luxuries that other species cannot, simply due to our intelligence. For example, we can roam many parts of the world freely due to us destroying the natural order that is the wilderness and making places suitable for human life to thrive. In place of forests and natural greenery, we now have concrete jungles we call cities. It is a wonderful thing to see how far humans have come since the stone ages but at what cost? Moderation doesn't seem to exist when greed takes over. Humans have already cleared half of the world's rainforests and we have driven many species to extinction. These animals are gone forever and never coming back. Climate change and habitual destruction are both consequences of our doing which is leading to our planet's demise. 

When explaining the severity of the situation in his documentary: A Life on Our Planet, David Attenborough said, "We rely entirely on this finely-tuned life support machine and it relies on its biodiversity to run smoothly. Yet the way we humans live on Earth now is sending biodiversity into a decline." You may be wondering why this is an issue? The most noticeable effect is on the ecosystem. We are exhausting the world's resources by massively overfishing, overfarming to the point where in the future the Earth's soil will be rendered useless due to exhaustion by overuse, and we are not living sustainably. The world's resources are finite and they will disappear if we do not change the way we live.

We invented farming, and this was only able to be done because we relied upon the living world to deliver us the conditions we needed for crops to grow. However, now conditions are changing.

Our doings on this planet have caused the Earth to be 1 degree Celcius warmer than it was 100 years ago. This is a speed of change that exceeds any other in the last 10,000 years. According to the New York Times, "The world’s oceans, which absorb 93 percent of the heat trapped by the greenhouse gases that humans send into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, are warming up 40 percent faster on average than scientists estimated six years ago." The oceans have absorbed so much heat to the point where coral reefs are dying which is killing marine life and disrupting the ocean's natural rhythm of life.

If we continue this way, it will be certain that the extinction of many more species will follow. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, just a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase in global temperature would put 20-30 percent of species at risk of extinction, and in the ocean, it would bring near-total decimation of the coral reefs.

Forests are an integral component of the recovery of our planet. They are the best technology nature has for locking away carbon and they are centers of biodiversity. The two go hand in hand; the wilder and more diverse forests are, the better they are at locking away the carbon we so desperately need to keep from our atmosphere. The incentive to cut down forests is two-fold; people benefit from the wood then benefit again from farming the land left behind. However, trees are essential in our battle with climate change as they absorb carbon dioxide but release these emissions when cut. According to National Geographic, forests account for over 80 percent of all plants and animals that live on land. 

By destroying these habitats we are diminishing biodiversity and risking the plants and animals that this world relies upon to function. The biggest driver of deforestation is agriculture as farmers make space for palm oil plants, soya, and cocoa, or to make room for livestock. Forests are also destroyed as a result of urban sprawl to make more space for our ever-growing human population. I personally use Ecosia as my search engine as it donates at least 80 percent of its profits to non-profit organisations that focus on reforestation. 

Plastics contribute towards global warming too. When plastics are exposed to sunlight they begin to degrade and emit greenhouse gases such as methane and ethylene. It is a well-known fact that methane has a considerable impact on global warming. However, not only does the degradation of plastics cause global warming but their creation, too, contributes. According to the Guardian, nearly all plastic (99 percent) is made from fossil fuels.

The World Economic Forum estimates that by the year 2050, plastics will be responsible for nearly 15 percent of global carbon emissions. This would make it a bigger polluter than aviation, which is presently accountable for 12 percent of global carbon emissions. 

We need to make a change. So what can we do? You may be thinking that one person cannot make a change but that is not the case at all. If everybody notices the gravity of this situation, not only for you but for future generations, then change will certainly be underway. First of all, we can reduce climate change greatly by being wary of our carbon footprint. There is already too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Try to drive less and if your city offers public transportation use that instead. If you have to drive, try to use electric cars or hybrids as those eliminate or reduce the need for fossil fuels. If possible, fly less because as I've said, aviation is accountable for a great number of global carbon emissions. 

You can also reduce your plastic use and recycle as much as you can. The UK is tackling this by the newly introduced bans on plastic straws and cotton buds. Even though it is the most irritating thing ever when your Starbucks paper straw becomes soggy and soft, think of the greater good. Single-use plastics like plastic straws do more harm than good as they're used once then thrown away and plastic does not decompose. Using less heat and air conditioning would also help to prevent further damage from global warming. As reported by ThoughtCo, setting your thermostat just 2 degrees Celcius lower could save around 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. Powering your home with renewable energy and using energy-efficient appliances would definitely help a great deal. Saving water reduces carbon pollution, too. This is because it takes a lot of energy to pump, heat, and treat your water.

Going vegan has been debated by many for years, mainly due to its positive impact on the environment. I am not asking you to go vegan as I, too, love a good Sunday roast. However, if we all had a largely plant-based diet, we would need only half of the land that we currently use. This would make space for biodiversity to make a comeback and revive the ecosystem. The United Nations says that meat and dairy account for 14.5 percent of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions. You wouldn't have to cut meat out completely, just lessen your intake and in turn, we would reap the benefits for years to come. If every person took these small steps explained above we would notice a great improvement in the climate of our planet.

Countries across the globe have realised the weight of the situation which is why the Paris Agreement was signed in 2016. It is described by the United Nations to "strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change."

Governments are taking steps to save the planet but there is only so much they can do- the rest is down to the public, people like you and me. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) previously reported that to keep the rise in global temperatures below 1.5C this century, emissions of carbon dioxide would have to be cut by 45 percent by the year 2030. We use more of the Earth's resources than it can renew. Multiple steps are being taken to heal the world, even restrictions on fishing have been put in place to reduce overfishing. Several of these problems are being targetted but it is not enough.

Scientists have warned that we could soon be entering the sixth mass extinction, with the decisions we make now likely to determine the future of humanity. The other five mass extinctions include the asteroid strike that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. We don't want to reach this point nor do we have to. The world is at the brink of an unstoppable and terrifying turn but it is not too late to reverse the damage. We only have 10 years left to prevent irreversible damage from climate change. The question we should be asking ourselves is not if we can reverse the damage but will we?