Dear Editor,

For years, people have talked about climate change. However, we are getting close to reaching the critical threshold.

How long will it take for us to get there?

According to an article published by BBC, in 2020, the amount of the planet-heating gas, Carbon, released, fell by 5.4% during the pandemic. However, a scientific report by the Global Carbon Project predicts that Carbon emissions will rise by 4.9% this year.

An article published by newscientist.com says that in the next 20 years, the earth’s temperature will rise to the critical threshold of 1.5°C warming.

Why does this matter?

According to an article published by NASA, at 1.5°C warming, almost 14 percent of the earth’s population will have severe heatwaves at least once every five years. At 2°C warming, it becomes 37 percent. In some regions, warming has already exceeded 1.5°C.

More than ⅕ of all humans live in places that have already seen warming higher than 1.5°C. If we were to limit the warming to 1.5°C or less, it would reduce the number of people exposed to extreme heatwaves by about 420 million.

What can we do about it?

Even if what we do is small, it still contributes to helping fight against climate change. A lot of our electricity and heat is powered by fossil fuels. Since climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, if we stop using fossil fuels less, it would lower the warming by a lot. 

What can I do about it?

There are many things that you can do at home to help fight against climate change. You can speak about it and empower other people to help as well. You can make changes to your house and how you live. If we changed to LED lightbulbs or replaced our appliances with energy-efficient electric appliances, you would be using environmentally friendly energy. You can also power your home with renewable energy, which helps the environment and reduces the amount of fossil fuels being used.

Sincerely,

Angela Luo, 12, on Legacy