Jose Gonzalez-Campelo/The Cougar
Despite years of climate education, the general public has a habit of disregarding climate change. Some even rebuke the notion that it’s happening at all. Considering not only what it’s projected to cause, but what it already has caused in both Texas and around the world, it should be much more of a pressing concern.
In Texas particularly, there has been a very clear increase in extreme weather. It’s become a new standard in this state for temperature records to be broken, both on the high and low end. We have seen severe heat waves and frequent natural disasters and it’s projected that by 2050, millions worth of Texas land will be below sea level. By the same year, global temperature is expected to increase by 2.7 degrees.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the issue of climate change, it’s the furthest thing from an individual issue.
Not to sound too gloomy and doomed, but we as individuals will never be able to cut carbon emissions or change our actions enough to save our planet from climate change ourselves. On an individual level, we are simply not the problem.
Now, this isn’t to say we can’t do something, or we shouldn’t bother making an effort at all. Quite the opposite, actually.
While yes, our singular attempts at things like cutting down on how much we drive, making switches to renewable energy, reducing power usage and a myriad of others can only do so much, our real power lies in our voices. Continuing to reduce our energy output is important! But it’s not the most integral step we should be taking.
China, The United States and India are the top three leading countries when it comes to carbon emissions per year, and this isn’t because of individuals. The vast majority of carbon emissions come from corporations, and the fault lies not only with them but with lackluster policies preventing this by our governments.
So, what can we do about this?
Remember your right to protest, and keep up initiatives to pressure our legislators to act. This is especially the case in places like universities, where there are masses of students who can manage massive coverage if we make enough noise.
Even if protesting isn’t your thing, you can still take action by contacting legislators and reminding them that their constituents not only want, but demand action to be taken. Remember that we are able to advocate for stricter policies regarding corporate emissions, and remind our government that we care about things like The Paris Agreement and other things relating to climate change.
While climate change is absolutely more of a governmental issue, something we can do as residents of this planet is educate ourselves. Do your research! Find out what you can do to help the planet, no matter how small, but take care to remind yourself that you are not the problem.
Our planet cannot save itself. Climate change is real, and it has already shown devastating effects. We must use our voices and remind our governments that something needs to be done before we see even more devastating effects.
Parker Hodges-Beggs is a journalism sophomore who can be reached at [email protected]
