“Our own greed and stupidity are taking away the beautiful world of Arctic Ocean sea ice, which once protected us from the impacts of climatic extremes. Now urgent action is needed if we are to save ourselves from the consequences” (Wadhams). The author of A Farewell to Ice, Peter Wadhams, is a scientist who has studied the Arctic for a number of years. He is one of the millions of individuals who are worried about climate change and sees the potential dangers from it. The definition of climate change is the change in the Earth’s weather systems. This change can range from decades to millions of years.The recent climate change is a cause from humans overusing our resources. Some major effects of climate change are deforestation, species conservation, and pollution of many kinds. These are only some of the many effects of climate change. The change happening today, is predicted to be irreversible within the next 10 years, unless we make drastic changes.

Recently, at the 2019 UN Summit in NYC, there was a guest speaker addressing the climate crisis.

This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be standing here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to me for hope? How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you! (Thunberg)

Greta Thunberg is 16 years old. She is traveling the world, speaking out against climate change; instead of going to school. She spoke at the UN Summit this past year, talking about how something has to happen now about climate change before it’s too late. Previous generations did not believe in climate change until now; and they expect my generation to fix it. My generation's duty is to fix what has been wronged to our world for so many years. Instead of having dreams, my generation has to be the fighters of climate change. Climate change has taken away my generations future. Thunberg is the first of many centennials making a different in today’s world. Her first steps of talking against climate change has made it possible for many other teenagers to make a difference. She is paving the road for a generation of environmental activists and hope for a better future. 

A deadly effect of climate change is deforestation. Deforestation is the act of cutting down trees for personal use, such as for profit and urban housing. Trees produce oxygen and absorb mass amounts of carbon dioxide. One tree is predicted to produce around 260 pounds of oxygen per year. As well as a single acre of trees absorbs roughly 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide per year (Tree). Trees are a necessity on a global scale. Not only do they produce oxygen; they stop the soil from eroding, provide habitats for many other living organisms, and purify rainwater. 

The Amazon rainforest holds about one-fifth of the world’s freshwater (Tree). The Amazon rainforest is the largest and most diverse forest in the world. It is approximately 1.4 billion acres of dense forest; also about half of the world's tropical rainforests (Amazon). It is also home to one in ten of the species on earth and home to over 40,000 plant species (Amazon). However, this great rainforest is being destroyed due to deforestation and modernization. As an effect of modernization, the amazon rainforest is on fire. The Amazon has been known to catch fire every few decades, but this is the largest fire ever recorded (BBC). The fire is still supposedly burning, last recorded on August 30th, 2019. The fires endanger the thousands of species that live their, especially the river systems. “This flood pulse is the driving force governing all the ecological functions and interactions along the river basin, and it creates flooded forests that are crucial for the survival and reproduction of hundreds of fish species in the Amazon,”(Lovgren). The fish of the Amazon are in danger from the fires of the Amazon. The fish greatly affect the forest(s) ecosystems. The Amazon is being broken apart from deforestation. 

The species of the Amazon are in grave danger, as well as every other species as a whole; due to climate change. “20-30% of plant and animal species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 1.5-2.5°C”(Global). If an increase of 20-30% of plant and animal species approach extinction, that will push the pre-existing 7-18% of species, in the United States alone (Extinction), to extinction. Before the end of this century, 30 to 50 percent of all species are predicted to be headed towards extinction (Extinction). The mass increase in extinction rates are a result from climate change. Specifically, deforestation. Deforestation is destroying ecosystems and taking homes away from millions of species. The climate crisis is causing an extinction crisis; and we are next in line. 

Climate change is very real, and very deadly. A cause of  deforestation is greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are the number one cause of climate change; specifically being human’s overuse of them. The main gas being carbon dioxide. These gases trap heat which heat up the Earth to an unnatural level.

Earth's average temperature has increased by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 20th century...Earth's climate record, preserved in tree rings, ice cores, and coral reefs, shows that the global average temperature is stable over long periods of time. Furthermore, small changes in temperature correspond to enormous changes in the environment (Effects).

The Earth heating up is dangerous. Ecosystems of all kinds are dying. Ice is melting. Land is sinking. Our planet is dying. In the lifetime of 2000’s babies, climate change could reach the point of irreversible. In my lifetime, climate change is a very realistic threat to my future goals. My future, along with my family, friends, and many others futures will be affected by climate change.

If something isn’t done about climate change, the results will be deadly for us and our planet. “As we inflict violence on the planet to the point of its mortality, we inflict violence on ourselves, to the point of our mortality. A dead planet will result in dead people, and a people and/or its leaders who are psychologically and/or ethically desensitized to the consequences of this Terran violence have no chance of long-term survival.”-Professor Robert P. Abele (Wadhams). 

Works Cited

(BBC) "The Amazon in Brazil is on fire - how bad is it?" BBC, 30 Aug. 2019. BBC, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49433767. Accessed 18 Oct. 2019.

(Effects) "The Effects of Climate Change." Nasa, 16 Oct. 2019, climate.nasa.gov/effects/. Accessed 17 Oct. 2019.

(Extinction) "The Extinction Crisis." Center for Biological Diversity, www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/.

(Amazon) "FACTS." World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/places/amazon. Accessed 18 Oct. 2019.

(Global) "Global Warming Will Accelerate Species Decline." Gale in Context: Environmental Studies. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=MultiTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=2&docId=GALE%7CEJ3010131238&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-MOD1&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE%7CEJ3010131238&searchId=R1&userGroupName=nhais_htbo&inPS=true. Accessed 18 Oct. 2019.

(Lovgren) Lovgren, Stefan. "Amazon fish species at risk if fires destroy river habitat." National Geographic, 16 Sept. 2019. National Geographic, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/09/amazon-fires-brazil-threaten-fish/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2019.

(Thunberg) Thunberg, Greta. "f world leaders choose to fail us, my generation will never forgive them." The Guardian, Guardian, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/23/world-leaders-generation-climate-breakdown-greta-thunberg. Accessed 18 Oct. 2019.

(Tree) "Tree and Rain Forest Facts." Growing Air Foundation, growingairfoundation.org/facts/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2019.

(Wadhams) Wadhams, Peter. A Farewell to Ice. Google Books, 2019.