The Death of Earth: Who’s Responsible?

Currently, the future of both the human race and the environment is currently in a state of limbo. The reason why it is in a state of limbo is because Earth and its climate are on the verge of a point of no return, this point being the state at which the damage that all of humanity has caused towards the Earth, cannot be undone. 

And so, humanity as a whole can fulfill only one of the following endings. Number one, stop the acts that are damaging Earth and the environment within and hopefully allow her to heal to a healthy state. Or number two, continue at this rate of climate destruction and not only ensure a scarring blow onto the Earth but ensure the misery and suffering of not only the people present on Earth right now but the generations to come after us.

But wait, how did not only we but Earth as well get to this point?

It starts with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution around the middle of the 18th century in Great Britain where the steam engine, factories, and many more inventions were made that allowed the production of goods at a cheaper and at a faster rate than ever before. However, these new advancements did not come without a cost in the long run. These factories were fueled with coal, which at the time was very abundant and considerably cheap, perfect for factory owners who wanted to save every penny they could. 

However, there were unknown consequences with using coal that we now know about. When coal is burnt as fuel, it releases heat but lots of gasses that we now know pollute the environment. One of these gasses is called Carbon Dioxide or also known as CO2, which is a greenhouse gas. The reason why it is called a “greenhouse gas” is because it traps heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, not allowing it to escape and letting it slowly but surely heat up the temperature of the Earth. With more CO2 and greenhouse gasses being released into the atmosphere, it will get hotter and hotter every year. But this isn’t all, coal releases other gasses and heavy metals. These other gasses are Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide and they both can cause health effects like irritation to the lungs, eyes, nose and throat. With more exposure it can lead to damage to the pulmonary and cardiovascular system which can lead to lung disease and heart attacks. And with an extremely high level of exposure to either of these gasses it can lead to death. However, these are not all of the possible detriments to human health that can be felt with exposure to the gasses. The effects of both mercury and lead on human health, particularly the central nervous system can range from behavior and mood changes to even serious neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s as well as severe behavioral and intellectual disabilities in both children and adults. [1][2][3][4]

But how can humanity avoid using coal and coal power? As a whole, we can switch to sustainable, climate friendly, and more efficient power options such as nuclear, wind, and solar. In addition, the average person can make a change by researching if their electrical provider uses coal and if possible to switch off to one that doesn’t. They can also try to make the switch on their own by using solar or wind in their home.

Another cause of the current climate crisis is plastic. Plastic is found and used in everyday life everywhere, from shopping for your groceries to the clothes you’re wearing right now. The reason why plastic is used everywhere is because of the following reasons: it’s lightweight, cheap to mass produce, and can and is easily used for a wide range of things like clothes, toys, your grocery bags, and even the device you’re reading this on. However, its “benefits” are its downfall and the reason why it is a villain to the climate. Immediately, the creation of plastic is an environmental concern as oil, which is an ingredient of modern plastics, is used and extracted in a way that is already detrimental to the climate and ecosystem. Furthermore, plastic does not biodegrade and lasts in an ecosystem and the environment for decades to even thousands of years! And even then when it does degrade, it does not disappear into natural materials, it just decomposes into microplastics! What are microplastics? You may ask. Microplastics are essentially their name, they’re microscopic particles of plastic materials. They spread through the water and the air. They’re found in anything bottled in plastic, in nearly every water source on Earth, and the most horrifying, in the human body, from the blood to the organs, it’s there. In every single person on Earth there are some microplastics within their body, no matter if they avoid or frequently use plastic. However, even if microplastics are microscopic, they still come with negative health effects, particularly increased risk of cancer, chronic inflammation, and many more health effects. [5]

How can humanity as a whole avoid and stop using plastics? We as a whole or an individual can switch to biodegradable alternatives depending on the use case and scenario. Examples include the following: Glass, paper, cotton, linen, metal, wood, etc. Individual people can recycle plastics with their local sanitation department as well.

My final example of a cause of the current climate and ecological disaster is the destruction and privatization of nature and by extension the ecosystems where animals and plants reside. Examples of the destruction of nature can be seen nearly everywhere on Earth, from the Amazon Rainforest to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But how and why is the destruction of nature happening? In my opinion, there is a spectrum including on one far end being the purposeful destruction and the acquiring of land and nature in beautiful, endangered, and delicate spaces for the sake of “land development” so more homes and businesses can be built but of course for the sake of the profit quota. And the spectrum ends with the negligence of governments, organizations / corporations, and ordinary people who simply don’t care about what their actions will result in for their future self and the future generations that are yet to come.

How can humanity avoid having a detrimental impact on the climate and the ecosystems around us? As a whole, we can avoid needless waste and be aware of our impact on the Earth with our actions as well as holding those who purposefully and/or negligent desecrate the nature and ecosystem around them and around us. An individual can still be aware of their actions and how they impact the Earth and try to avoid any actions that would have a negative impact on the Earth while still spreading awareness on how any people or organizations could be negatively impacting their Earth themselves.

The main reason I wrote this blog is not to share how the climate is changing currently, in fact that part of my blog was only a smaller portion in my reasoning on why I wanted to write my blog about this topic. My main purpose behind writing this blog is to show who and what organizations are primarily contributing towards it and to spread awareness of who they are and what they’re doing. So I will now begin to fulfill said main purpose.

The parties that are responsible for the majority of climate change are not the average person like you, or me, or your family, rather, it is the megacorporations with billions of dollars of assets, the board members of said companies and all who benefit from the actions that these companies take like shareholders. In fact, from this 2017 report, just 224 companies are responsible for 72.1% of greenhouse gas emissions. 72.1 PERCENT. [6] They tell us to manage OUR carbon footprint while THEY live lavish lives filled with waste and having whatever they wish for, regardless of how it will hurt others. We can see how in 2019, BP, an oil and gas giant, suggested that the average person should watch their carbon footprint, [7] while in just 2023, BP released 314.9 MILLION TONS of CO2 into the atmosphere. You read that right, 314.9 tons. And this is confirmed by a report they themselves released [8]. However, the average person who resides within the United States produces 15.2 tons (according to this 2021 report by the World Bank) [9]. People should of course still be aware of their carbon footprint, but it is a disgusting illusion by a dirty magician to compare the amount an average person releases to even one megacorporation. The amount of CO2 a person releases is NOWHERE in terms with what just BP alone produces. To put these statistics into perspective, BP alone produces more than 20 MILLION times the amount of carbon than an average American. Now imagine this disparity for hundreds of companies and organizations, not just one. 

So, what do I hope to say by showing these statistics? I want all of us, the person reading this very blog right now and the people who have nothing to gain from the suffering of Earth, to hold these companies and people accountable. Spread awareness to your friends, family, and people you don’t even talk to. Petition your government. Do ANYTHING! Do not forgive them for what they’re doing right now and what they’ve done in the past. Get mad at them, tolerance does not extend to the openly intolerant, and they’re not tolerant towards ANY of us who are not pilfering the Earth. The defense of our home, our ONLY home, is much more important than the profit quota of corporations who are apathetic to our cries. If getting an extra dollar for their already massive hordes means killing everyone else on Earth besides themselves, they’ll chase that dollar to the end of the Earth.

Mykola Martinez-Vytvytskyi – Lake Forest Academy – DMSF Class of 2029

Photo Credit: Kyle Miller, Wyoming Hotshots, USFS – Flickr