With all the change the world has seen over the last century it baffles me that we have yet to put in place safe guards to help maintain the land in which we live. There is little hesitation when it comes to production and even less thought put into consumption. This becomes even more apparent when we look into the effects of climate change. After taking an in-depth look at climate change I realized I, like the majority have chosen to ignore how the change in climate is affecting everything around us, from the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the longevity of our land.
Episode one of “Years of Living Dangerously”, is something more people need to see, its impact on me was unprecedented. I started discussing it with others, even evaluating my own life in hopes of making some positive changes.
The visual NASA presented on the green house effect was intense. It was a conservative projection of the massive Temperature increases that are to come, because of pollution, especially deforestation. He compared the rising temperatures in Arizona and how they could become more of a norm if we continue to progress in the current trajectory. Interesting point was made that all the transportation in the world emits the same amount of emissions as deforestation. This proves there is a clear disconnect between consumers and the production process. As a consumer driven society something has to be done. Federal regulations and limitations should be imposed. Knowledge is power and the more people know the more (in most cases) they tend to be involved. Our fast paced lifestyle has exceeded current climate change projections with no sign of slowing down. I’m curious as to what a large scale solution would be and is it too late to make a significant impact on the damage we have already done or will the impact of climate change continued to be ignored?
I’ll admit that unfortunately, I’m still a consumer of goods that may harm the environment but at least the knowledge I have gained is helping me make a more conscious effort to reduce my carbon footprint.