Climate Change and Why It Is Important To Stop It
Do you like polar bears? As we all know, climate change is one of the biggest problems of our time. Polar bears, along with many other natural organisms, such as humans, are all affected by it.
Researchers now say that we only have four years before the effects of climate change are irreversible. As a generation, it is our duty to put a stop to climate change. If we want to create a better world for us and future generations, we need to put in the effort.
There are so many factors that contribute to climate change. Things such as greenhouse gas emissions, trash pollution, industrial factories, deforestation, AI usage, shopping fast fashion, and so much more are affecting the health of Earth.
The most common of them all though, is AI usage. Whether it is using AI to help with school assignments, generating “funny” photos, and even quick Google searches, all of these are contributing to the downfall of our environment. When AI is used, it takes up a lot of water, electricity, and other resources to run its programs. ChatGPT alone can take up to 519 milliliters of water per 100 words. That may not seem like much alone, but look around at how many people use ChatGPT every day. Your own friends, family, maybe even you, use it. Now, you may think, “It doesn’t matter if I use AI once or twice”, “I won’t make a big difference”. But you can make a difference. It is your responsibility to stop using AI, encourage your friends, family, and peers to stop, and most importantly, educate people around you to make better choices.
Another widespread issue that causes damage to our environment is fast fashion. Companies like SHEIN, Temu, Fashion Nova, and Cider have an insane effect on the world. I constantly see people buying and wearing clothes from fast fashion companies. People will come up with excuses on why it’s okay when they shop fast fashion because it's “easy” or “cheap”. Just because something is easy to get and cheaper than other products, doesn’t make the huge impact it has on our environment magically disappear. Fast fashion products often are made with unreliable materials that break, tear, and get worn down very easily. This leads to the clothing being thrown away or wasted. There are many alternatives to buy clothing that are cheap, easy, and won’t leave a massive carbon footprint. Places like thrift stores, consignments, online second hand shops, and local businesses. Not only is fast fashion bad for the environment, many companies are linked to unfair labor practices, child labor, very low wages, and unsafe working conditions. As a community, we should come together and stop buying from fast fashion companies to lessen the land and ocean pollution, landfill, carbon emissions, micro plastic shedding, unfair labor and much more.
This is just the tip of the iceberg on the factors that contribute to climate change. If we want a better future for generations to come, we need to work together to put a stop to climate change. Spreading awareness is extremely important as one of the first steps to bettering our own lives. Stop using AI, stop shopping fast fashion, and share your opinions! If we don’t stop this soon, Earth may never be the same.
