“We are single handedly destroying our planet and trashing the ocean. I just want the Earth to be beautiful but it’s being destroyed,” said, Izzy Guerdette. 

Climate change is affecting our world globally. Icebergs are melting, animals’ habitats are changing, and there have been drastic changes in weather and the temperatures of the oceans.  Human activities are changing the natural greenhouse; fossil fuels like coal, and oil, have affected the natural greenhouse greatly (“climate changed: vital signs of the planet”). Burning fossil fuels have allowed more carbon dioxide to be released into our atmosphere. Not only have fossil fuels affected the natural greenhouse, but other human activities, such as the agricultural industry, also has a big impact on climate change. NASA said,“In 2018, 1,300 independent scientific experts from countries from all over the world…concluded there’s a more than 95 percent probability that human activities over the past 50 years had warmed our planet.” Because of this, glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes are breaking up earlier, the growing season has become longer with trees flowering earlier than they were supposed to, and animal ranges are shifting due to the loss of habitat brought on by the change in climate.

Climate change was not only affecting us globally, but also locally. The BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area) in Minnesota will be affected by climate change if our Earth continues to change. If Minnesota continues to get warmer and dryer, the area surrounding the boundary waters will eventually become a prairie land instead of a forest. Photographer David Luke explained, “Hearing about invasive species and seeing the effect of invasive species were two different things,” (Seitz, 2017). In past years, the temperatures in Minnesota have drastically changed. Climate change activist Maddy Shaw recalled, “It results in the weather to be warmer so seasonal activities were thrown off. For example, sledding was not possible last January because it was too warm.” But things started to change from warmer to colder. Last winter temperatures dropped down into the negatives because of the polar vortex. The polar vortex was a harsh cold wave that traveled across the midwestern United States in 2019. All of these changes to our weather, oceans, and animal habitats were happening because of the continuous human activities that are changing the natural greenhouses in our atmosphere.

Let’s be real, climate change is happening and we can’t deny that fact. It’s going to take all 7.7 billion of us to make an impact. Some ways you can help stop climate change are by getting informed. Knowledge is power, the more you know the more you were able to speak out about a topic. Using the power of your voice is one way to make world leaders change things. Shaw said, “I think more regulations need to be put in place when it comes to manufacturing and we need to find a more efficient way to dispose of waste and clean up our planet.” 

Another way to help is by paying attention to what you buy and consume. Buying items that come in organic packaging helps keep plastic waste at bay. Growing your own food can also be a big factor on stopping climate change. By doing this you can help reduce the use of fossil fuels. Switching to renewable energy is also a great way to stop the use of fossil fuels. 

All in all, climate change is happening. It’s a real world problem that can be fixed with the help of everyone.