Why are we living on a timer?

Why does no one seem to care? Truth be told, we’ve been desensitised to it all. Some of us have grown up with news outlets telling us that we have “about ten years” to “ten years” to “less than ten years”, whilst others have heard it for so long, they’ve become used to hearing of our “impending doom” on the news, and others again are simply too old or young to care.

So, what do I mean by “living on a timer”? Well, the fact of the matter is that climate change is being accelerated by humans making rash decisions which are harmful to the environment. Consequently, we have less than ten years left until climate change has been accelerated to the point of “no return”.

Why isn’t anyone panicking? Why aren’t we doing anything about this? You may be asking, and you’d be quite right to do so. The fact of the matter is- ordinary people can only do so much. Yes, we can recycle, yes, we can turn the lights off and not leave the taps running, and (for some of us) we can switch to renewable or carbon neutral energy resources. Wouldn’t that help? Yes. It would. But the government is where the big changes can (and need to) happen. They control the law including what comes in and out of the country. We simply have to abide by these laws and the police must execute them. This is where major changes against climate change, global dimming and global warming can be made. If the government were to (hypothetically) make a law which quickened production of carbon neutral and renewable energy resources and slowed down both the income and distribution of non- renewable resources, such as oil and coal, then the effects would ripple into renewable and carbon neutral energy becoming more accessible to more of the country and, eventually, the cheaper these resources will become. Basically, we will be able to access cleaner and cheaper energy with the help of the government.

We all want to improve this dire situation we’re in, but how? Little things, such as recycling and composting, can still be helpful- don’t stop recycling because you may think no one else higher up is doing anything! Bigger things, such as beach clean-up groups, eco committees and peaceful protests are other great ways to further help resolve the situation we have generationally put ourselves in, and restore our planet for everyone and thing to come.

In conclusion, our planet and its resources are finite. We have the collective power to not only use but abuse it. We can make a collective difference and stop the timer, with the help of the government and ordinary people working together to slow down the effects of climate change and make the world a better place.