What Would Happen to the World If We Don’t Do Something About the Climate Change?

(Photo : Reuters)

When Greta Thunberg dropped her controversial speech on the United Nations summit, she was subjected to intense media scrutiny. Some politicians and private individuals even threatened her life online, like Matt Baish, a teacher from Iowa who claimed he will not attend Greta's rally because he did not have his sniper rifle to assassinate the Swedish activist.

But Greta's impact on climate activism is no joke. After she called out the world leaders for prioritizing profits over making the environment sustainable for human life, multiple rallies have taken all over the world. 

The nonprofit conservation group Extinction Rebellion has been conducting a series of demonstrations on the past months, including a man who glued himself on the top of an airplane and a replica of a suburban house found floating at the River Thames in London. 

Greta also inspired the trend of emergency climate protest every Friday and the "Greta-shaming" in Israel which involves putting her pictures near the single-use plastic station.

But what exactly caused these people to take the matters about climate change more seriously?

The Catastrophe of Climate Change

The average world temperature has been increasing by 0.9 degrees since 1906, causing the ice sheets and glaciers to melt. And their meltwater increases the sea level by at least 3.2 millimeters yearly. If this remains consistent, the scientists feared that it will displace millions of people living near the shore since the sea level will increase up to 2.1 meters at the end of the century.

Climate change is also the reason behind the frequent appearance of wildlife. As of this Sunday, the New South Wales in Australia is still dealing with the bushfire that harmed not just its citizens but also caused the koala to be "functionally extinct" after it burned their sanctuary.

Reports claimed that the drought worsens the situation in Australia. The same natural disaster is also killing the people and elephants in Zimbabwe. 

But climate change does not just dry up the land, it also causes typhoons to be stronger. Remember how the Typhoon Hagibis had wreaked havoc in Japan last October? Or the Hurricane Lorenzo that was considered as the strongest typhoon ever recorded in the Atlantic region?

ALSO READ: Half is Drought, Half is Freezing: How Crazy the Weather in US?

"Listen to the scientists!"

Before the month of October ended, Greta rejected a prestigious award that recognized her global effort because she thinks the world does not need more awards but more people to take the warnings of the scientists.

Earlier this month, at least 11,000 scientists consolidated their thoughts on a study published in the journal BioScience. Much like what Greta said in her viral speech, they criticized the annual global climate forum of taking no serious actions to address climate change in the last 40 years.

The study also mentioned the agenda that must be addressed immediately: replacing fossil fuels, reducing climate pollutants, decreasing meat consumption, restoring and conserving the ecosystem, carbon-free economy, and population control through proper education.

The authors said that if the leaders still will not do anything, the future generations will only remember the current leaders for their incompetence and selfishness. 

"There's no more wiggle room," said Phoebe Barnard, one of the lead authors, and it resonates with Greta's "We will hold you accountable."