The Death Toll of Our Earth.

Every winter, a little less snow falls. Every spring feels a little more dreary. Every summer feels a little less inviting. Every fall feels more like a delayed April. I’d have to rack my memories for the last time I got to throw a snowball on Christmas or curl up by the fireplace on a chilly December evening.

Sometimes I believe that my world got a little dimmer as I grew up. I remember the delightful song the birds would sing every morning and the beauty of the trees when they bloomed.

Where I stand right now, I can’t see the future. I can tell you, however, that it’s not going to end well if we don’t do something now. Climate change, global warming. Both are dangers that threaten every single one of us. 

A more straightforward question: how does climate change happen? It starts simple. Some radiant energy from the sun bounces back into space, the rest absorbed by our atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is, essentially, a blanket in our atmosphere. A sheet composed mainly of carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, and nitrous oxide. A flaming cover that raises the Earth’s temperature about 33 degrees Celsius higher than that of the atmosphere.

Climate activity is changing thanks to, you guessed it, us. When humans produce large amounts of carbon dioxide that isn’t absorbed by trees or other plants, it gets trapped in the atmosphere, allowing less heat to escape Earth. This process is called “Global Warming.”

In the past 20 years, 82 gigatons of CO2 was emitted and absorbed by our atmosphere. The last time CO2 levels were this high were prehistoric times. 

Despite this evidence, people still refuse to believe that climate change is a real thing. Look outside. Check the news. Listen about the wildfires that plunge Australia into darkness. Watch as the grassy fields of your hometown dissolve into a barren wasteland. Count the lives that have been lost in this fight.

It’s not my Earth, it’s not your Earth. It’s our Earth. And it’s our job to protect it. 

Throughout the years countless research papers have overwhelmed the internet with information. Yet not enough has happened.

Our duty as the protectors of this planet is to make sure that Earth survives. 

Everyone has heard it a billion times. Switch to electrically powered vehicles. Stop using so much plastic. Plant trees. It’s fundamental, but it doesn’t need to be complex to work.

I understand we’re all trapped in quarantine right now. However, if you reuse that old grocery bag, or plant a tree, then you’re making a difference no matter how small. But it’s up to us all to make sure this generation isn’t the last.

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6 thoughts on “The Death Toll of Our Earth.

  1. I really like this piece! I like how you started with your own personal experiences to show the change of our planet. Maybe add the links to the story of where you got your information. Otherwise, great work!

  2. I like your editorial a lot. I like how you immediately hooked the reader at the beginning with your title and how you make them want to see what your going with in the first few sentences. I also really liked how you ended it, saying how this shouldn’t be the last generation. Its a very strong piece.

  3. Deandra your writing is so good. I absolutely love your introduction snd your personal connection. (in the second paragraph). Also I love you how put the quarentine in the end paragraph! I think it helps connect everyone because you find s common ground – we’re all stuck at home!

  4. The amusing thing is that the hole in the ozone layer has gotten smaller while we have been in quarantine, and the pollutants from oil has gone down, because people aren’t using their cars as much. It seems that while people are dying from SARS-CoV-2, its been indirectly healing the earth.

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