There it was, minding its own business, 6.8 million miles away from Earth. Dimorphos, the asteroid, did not mean any harm to us. It was not going to collide with the Earth. We still send a spaceship to space, especially one made to crash, hoping to change its orbit. The mission was called DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test), and the impact was successful.
YES! YES! I know we are not meant to be the villains in this story. NASA did this to study if they could prevent another Chicxulub from hitting the Earth. Chicxulub is the asteroid that annihilated the dinosaur species from Earth 66 million years ago.
Humankind today dares to think they can prevent the apocalypse. I think it is inevitable. Can we divert a hurricane storm surge with all its might, a high magnitude earthquake, the worst of tsunamis, or any other factor that can destroy us? Even if we manage to recuse ourselves from them, who is going to save us from ourselves? There will be nothing left to be saved as countries are going to destroy each other through war and politics. We have learnt nothing from history.
We are destroying our own planet. We do not think of the carbon footprints we leave behind. For many reasons, we can put most of the blame on capitalism. Firstly, falling for the marketing tactics and buying things we do not require, generating more waste. Almost 50% of pollution is created by industries and manufacturing, releasing carbon monoxide and methane. Vehicles, heating and air conditioning, meat, etc., leave carbon footprints. According to data from the Environment Ministry, 76,72,337 trees were cut down during 2016–2019.
Rising heat waves cause health issues and even death in many places. This year, Canada, where weather is normally cooler, recorded a 50-degree temp this year, causing deaths. Heat waves sparked forest fires that destroyed 90% of Lytton Village in Canada. Extreme weather conditions lead to asthma, heart disease, and other health issues.
How do we tackle this together?
The few things we can do on our level are:
Protect the trees that are already gasping to maintain oxygen in the atmosphere and plant many more. Try to reduce pollution by reducing unnecessary fuel wastage, banning crackers, stopping stubble burning, saving electricity, etc.
You will find a lot of jokes and memes about vegans, but their choice of veganism comes with a sacrifice (meat and dairy products). They are trying to protect our planet from carbon emissions as breeding and slaughtering animals requires natural resources and produces a lot of waste. My cousin Sarika and her husband turned vegan last year to reduce their carbon footprints, protect animals, and also live a healthy lifestyle. Ignorance often leads to criticism like vegan food is expensive, which is not true. Food items like beans, pulses, grains, vegetables, and fruits are inexpensive, healthy, and cheap. There are some other lame arguments like, “Plants have life too.” We can just give them an eye roll and ignore them.
On a funny note, I came across a tweet from comedian Sriraam Padmanabhan, “All my friends who do not want to have kids are also the ones who, oddly, are the most climate conscious.” which is true.
Well, it is too late for individual actions now. Actions are to be taken on a global level.
- Countries need to maintain the average temperature. Policies should be made at a country’s level. The government should give incentives for companies taking a green initiative.
- Electric vehicles need to be promoted.
- A carbon tax needs to be introduced so that companies use fewer fossil fuels and move towards renewable sources of energy. Carbon emissions can be reduced to a great extent if countries are successful in making a low-carbon economy.
In 2015, 196 countries committed to the Paris Climate Agreement, with the goal of limiting the average global temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius, with efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. India has committed to reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030 as a goal to reach net-zero by 2070.
The most effective would be nuclear energy, as it is a zero-emission clean energy source that uses less land to produce massive amounts of carbon-free power.
“Global warming is happening with a rapidity that leaves me speechless.” — Peter Kalmus
Only scientists and activists seem to be fighting against climate change and global warming. They are concerned that there is going to be no future for future generations to come. People are generally unconcerned about the consequences. Living with the flow is what is happening to the world right now. It has always been our human nature to procrastinate, to not take any action until the worst comes. If only everyone individually made an effort and spread awareness among themselves and others to take precautions and take care of these issues, they could be controlled if not stopped. It has turned for the worse, that’s true.
Published on www.medium.com
