Life on Earth was said to have begun 3.5 billion years ago,
and humans were thought to only have existed for 6 or 7 million years.
We have always lived with our own traditions and cultures, staying in equilibrium,
living in time with the Earth,
and then all of a sudden, the world started becoming smaller. Not literally
of course,
but technology made miles seem like inches,
and hours seem like seconds. No more do we coexist with Mother Nature and all
her children,
we own them.
Modern life is not anything we could have imagined. Sea levels are rising
past the extreme levels.
Animal populations are disappearing at rates unimaginable to man.
The oceans have become toilets that do not flush. Climate change is
rapidly increasing due to bad decisions about our energy plans.
The very nature of our planet, the one and only Earth,
is now changing.
It is predicted that by 2050 urban air pollution is set to become the top
environmental cause of mortality worldwide.
The number of premature deaths from exposure to particulate matters is
projected triple
from just over one million today to nearly 3.6 million per year in 2050,
and more than 40 percent of the world's ozone linked to premature deaths
are expected in China and India by 2050.
By 2050,
global warming could create 150 million climate refugees.
About one-third of global freshwater biodiversity has already been
lost,
and further loss is projected by 2050. Climate change will replace
agriculture as the fastest-growing driver biodiversity loss by 2050.
Already, the human impact on our environment
are starting to show. Glaciers are melting, lands are corroding
and the atmosphere is in a dangerous state. Our future is rapidly rushing up to meet us.
"Man was innocent until he discovered the difference between good and evil.
When he was no longer oblivious of that knowledge,
he became a fallen creature. We are not alone on this planet.
We are a part of a community, upon which we depend on absolutely."
"We're destroying the world because we are, in a very literal and deliberate way,
at war with it," as author Daniel Quinn writes.
So what can we do about this? What can YOU do?
We, to start off, need to educate. We need to educate everyone around us,
and tell them what's happening. Then, we need to take
action. It's the journey itself that's going to change you, and the
the destination is the goal of equilibrium. Whether you're an adult or child,
male or female, rich or poor, everything counts.
There are so many things you can do, big or small.
Well, the most, utmost vital problems we're experiencing
right now are the need for sustainable energy
of the future, because
it determines the conditions of our children.
Just the whole future of society depends on us and our decisions.
And we really realize that we needed to confront
this whole sustainability out, once the
price of oil topped $147 [a barrel]. These
fossil fuels that we're using, they're obviously nonrenewable,
as they're a finite supply, but also they're
ruining our Earth. We're taking them from the ground
and we're burning them.
To confront this issue, we need to use
our fossil fuels while we have them to build a more sustainable future
by building wind farms, solar farms, uh, just many
regions. Well, some of the results of global warming
are the melting of our ice caps, where 98% of the world's freshwater are located, which is a
major problem as water
fresh water is a finite supply as well.
Well, partly the Arctic ice is melting, and melting fast.
What we've done with the air pollution and
and building up of greenhouse gases, we can't deny it,
the planet's getting warmer. And the
consequences of that are endless. One of the one's we're seeing right now
is the Arctic ice melting, and of course that throws off the whole ecosystem.
Just one little change in such a delicate habitat can
kill many species, and we're seeing that, we hear that everyday, we hear the
polar bears are dying, we see the videos of the polar bears falling off the ice
and it's real, it's happening. And
we have to change now, for us to fix it.
By 2050, Montana's
National Glacier Park is going to be glaciers.
So, what's a glacier park without glaciers?
In Shanghai,
the environmental authority last month weakened its air pollution standards to
reduce the number of health alerts.
Meanwhile, the central government has drawn mockery for
recently classifying smog as a natural disaster,
but when it's been severe enough to hamper air traffic,
even some officials have to be wondering whether pollution can suffocate
Shanghai's ambitions
of becoming a global financial centre. I think another
important thing about climate change that must be addressed is
cities. Recently, the United Nations came out
with a report saying that
the fight against climate change will be won or lost in cities.
How humans
and countries and non-state actors can be able to solve climate change,
or at least address it,
perhaps a more comprehensive international agreement can be made, and kind of
helping all countries to see past a
carbon-based economy and perhaps,
beginning to engrave more sustainable
development initiatives in their own regions.
So the way that cities are designed in the future, the way that
people have the resources
delivered to them in the cities, the way governments use
energy policies in cities will be a huge,
huge issue in the twenty-first century. In that case,
individuals can
use fewer resources. Perhaps, beginning to change the way that we
live our lives and the modes in which we move ourselves, and the way we
we could reduce our effect on climate change.
Right now, one of the biggest problems is overfishing.
There's so many different sources of
life in the ocean, so many fish and so many species and so many
different animals and we as one species seem to be
wiping them all out.
We are completely exploiting this
beautiful source of life and we
are overfishing, we can't control what we're doing and
we're not just taking fish out of the ocean, we're taking all these other species,
all these crustaceans, and jellies,
are sponges are getting caught up in the trolling nets and it's terrible.
Tons of marine mammals are dying in these nets
daily as we overfish our oceans. Mainly we need to spread awareness.
Within our generation, it's our responsibility
to take over this in a couple years
In a couple years, we'll finally get rid of the conservatives that are our
parents and it's our turn, it's our
time to make a difference. We can't sit around any longer and say,
"Oh, it's the government's fault, oh, the politicians need to take action."
It's our time, and so we need to learn
this home, and we need to learn about our
responsibilities for it. We can't just sit back anymore,
we can't let people exploit and destroy
our home. We need to speak up.
In your community or in your school, with your family or with your friends, do something on your own.
Even the smallest thing has an impact.
Well, today we're here for the International Beach Cleanup and
we have a lot of trash. What have you found so far?
A lot of cigarette butts, some interesting stuff you wouldn't normally see, like in the seaweed,
a lot of plastic. It's good we're picking it all up.
What have you found so far? Lots of cigarette butts, and
plastic and bottle caps.
We found a cellphone, socks,
and a comb. And we found
a pair of flip-flops in mint condition,
rope, some corncobs,
a condom packet. So why do you think we need to clean up the beaches around the world?
Because I think as people we don't have the right to destroy other creatures' environment, we have to respect our world
and respect the creatures
we share it with.
So, why do you think it's important to clean up
the beaches around the world?
Because if any animals eat them,
like turtles, birds,
it could kill them,
it could be very deadly, especially if it's wrapped around their necks or anything like that.
Right.
So, what will you be doing in the future? Will you be doing this again?
Yep, there are many dates for the ICC and just come out to the beach on your own or in a group. It really helps, every little piece helps.
It's really fun, too.
The weight of our trash was 3 pounds and 15 ounces.
7.8 ounces for recyclables and
1.3 ounces for trash. Five pounds and 1.5 ounces.
It was 23 ounces. Mine was 12.5 ounces. Mine was 12.5 ounces.
12.4 ounces.
9.5 ounces.
What do we want? No Arctic drilling! When do we want it? Now!
2050 is our deadline before the consequences of our actions come back to hit us
at full force. Already, global warming is causing
unnaturally strong storms in places such as Philippines and Japan.
Millions of yet undiscovered species are threatened as a result of the loss of
rainforests
and the pollution of our oceans.
Population will be at an all-time high by 2050
while each and every person causes irreversible damage.
We will suffer losses that are presently unfathomable to
mankind.
World War III could break out over the clean water supply,
or the last hundred barrels of petroleum.
Entire populations could be decimated due to air pollution
or rising sea levels.
The year of 2050 will most likely be the last year that Earth
can handle all of the abuse, neglect, and total disregard that humans put
out for her before she finally crumbles.
However, the future isn't totally grim.
If we decide, right here, right now to help up our Earth
rise up out of the manmade ashes we nearly buried her under,
2050 may just be another year that life goes on,
rather than the one that ends civilized life as we know it.
Together, we all will be able to halt our actions