The Globe’s Point: Climate change is already upon us

For as long as most of us can remember, climate change has been something that was waiting around the corner. It’s always felt like it’s one of those things where the general opinion on it is “it’ll catch up to us eventually” mixed with “well we still have time.” Regardless of how long we have to stop or slow the effects, we are now very clearly experiencing the effects of climate change in real-time.

It is undeniable that climate change played a large impact on the strength of Hurricane Ida. As our average temperatures have risen, so has the number of natural disasters. The wildfires in California have been directly linked to climate change, and they’ve left not only a path of destruction but a wake of uncertainty.

And that uncertainty is the scariest part of climate change. There are so many initiatives, coalitions, organizations working to stop, or at the very least minimize and slow the spread of climate change. But at the end of the day, there’s only so much that we can do. An estimated one hundred corporations are responsible for 71% of global emissions. There is, unfortunately, very little that we can do to actually slow the effects of climate change. This can be disheartening, but Pioneers, please do not lose faith. There are certain inevitabilities that are unavoidable, and we are probably going to have to learn to live with and adapt to the changing world.

Is it scary to have impending doom looming directly in front of us? Obviously. But don’t let that stop you from living your life. Certain things are simply out of our control, and all we can do is hope and advocate. And if we fail to stop it, so be it. It’s only the end of the world.