Let's handle climate change the smart way!

The global temperature is set to rise by 1.5 °C to 2 °C within this century, and there’s no one else to blame but us humans. Even if overall agricultural productivity has increased, the frequent and extreme temperature shifts have reduced our food and water security and have hindered our goals towards sustainable development (IPCC, 2022). 

Related is what’s happening in Brazil, where the future of the Amazon Rainforest literally depends on its citizens' ballots (Pagliarini, 2022). Brazil’s current president, Jair Bolsonaro, believes that deforestation is the key to his country’s prosperity (Adetunji, 2022). The Amazonia is one of Earth’s most important carbon sinks, but now, forest fires have emitted roughly three times as much carbon dioxide as the forest absorbs. When the Amazon shrinks, not only Brazil is affected, but the entire planet. 

It’s hypocritical how rapid urbanization and technological advancements have forsaken everyone’s future for some people’s future; where the only time sustainability enters the conversation is when used as a marketing ploy. With the political and environmental concerns posed by the rapidly rising global temperature, we desperately need to take action by dramatically decreasing our greenhouse gas emissions and planting more trees to offset existing emissions.