Counting Down The Climate: The Earth Has a Deadline
Source: Climate Clock
The world has approximately seven years left until it’s too late. No, not for doomsday to hit, but for the issues with our climate to be irreversible. The art installation called “The Climate Clock” sprung up during the middle of Climate Week at One Union Square South; inevitably, New Yorkers had yet another anxiety attack amid BLM protests and coronavirus woes.
Created by project co-founders Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd, the clock counts down the years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds left in time to curb greenhouse gas emissions to allow Earth to retain a 67% chance of keeping the planet under 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. The clock currently says there is just over seven years to make a change.
Source: WWF UK
Now viewable on their website, climateclock.world, the clock shows two numbers on the top. The red number is a timer which states how long at the current rate of emissions it will take to burn through the amount of CO2 we can release into the atmosphere while limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Meanwhile, the green number tracks the growing percentage of the world’s energy gotten from renewable energy sources. Therefore, the planet must collectively come together to get the percentage at 100% before the timer runs out or we are truly doomed.
Seeing that there are only seven years left is a massive wake-up call. By avoiding an increase in global temperatures, scientists say that it will help avoid the problems associated with climate change. Rising sea levels, flooding, melting of the ice caps, coral reef depletion, and wildfires like the ones in Australia and California are just some natural disasters plaguing our planet.
Source: The New York Times
Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest
While many people all over the planet deny climate change for various reasons—whether it is personal, political, or economic—there is no denying we don’t have much time left. And there are hard facts and proof to back the claims up.
According to NASA, “The planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 2.05 degrees Fahrenheit (1.14 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.” The effects of climate change are just as drastic. As one example, NASA says, “It is projected to rise another 1 to 8 feet by 2100. … In the next several decades, storm surges and high tides could combine with sea-level rise and land subsidence to further increase flooding in many regions.”
Source: The Washington Post
Dead coral reef in Kiritimati, Republic of Kiribati
While many initially thought the pandemic would cause a small reverse in our climate change crisis, that is not the case. In fact, in some areas people have taken advantage of the coronavirus to further harm the planet for their own gain. According to The New York Times, “Illegal loggers, miners and land grabbers have cleared vast areas of the Amazon with impunity in recent months as law enforcement efforts were hobbled by the pandemic.”
In April 2020, the UN Secretary-General outlined six actions that governments should take to help rebuild society in a post-pandemic world:
Green transition: Investments must accelerate the decarbonization of all aspects of our economy.
Green jobs and sustainable and inclusive growth
Green economy: making societies and people more resilient through a transition that is fair to all and leaves no one behind.
Invest in sustainable solutions: fossil fuel subsidies must end and polluters must pay for their pollution.
Confront all climate risks
Cooperation: no country can succeed alone
Governments and corporations are key factors in reducing the impact of climate change; however, people also need to demand accountability in the biggest fight of our generation. While there is still hope, there are massive changes that must be implemented by all for Earth to survive.
Source: Scientific American
Melting glaciers in Antarctica