We’re no longer living in the era of climate change; we’re living in the era of the climate crisis
On September 20th, youth-led movements calling for climate action launched globally. From Australia to South Africa to Germany and here in Canada, people are demanding that governments and corporations take responsibility for their roles in global warming and vow to mitigate their disproportionately large carbon footprints.
The strikes have garnered widespread media coverage and accolades. School boards and universities have supported student strikers by excusing their absence from class. And Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old activist credited with starting the movement, has become a household name.
There is, however, much more to be done. According to a report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released last October, if we don’t act now, we will face the effects of severe climate change such as food shortages and extreme weather as early as 2040. In Canada, despite alarming reports and science-based recommendations, our government hasn’t legislated policies that are efficient or ambitious enough. Putting that aside, the Canadian government is in a constant contradictory double bind. Prime Minister Trudeau keeps asserting that Canada is a leader in climate action while continuing to support pipeline projects that will not only increase Canada’s fossil fuel production but will also cut through thousands of miles of Indigenous land—without consent from Indigenous peoples.
A single-use plastics ban is nice and a step in the right direction, but Canadians can’t say we’re leading the fight against climate change if we aren’t willing to commit all the way.
That’s why we’re doing a Green Issue. With the election coming up next month and the increased demand for climate policy, the global youth-led climate strikes happening on the 20th and 27th, and media outlets all over the world dedicating a week to climate coverage, it finally feels like people are listening. People know that the Earth is warming rapidly and that if we don’t do anything about it, we’ll be living in a Margaret Atwood-esque apocalyptic universe. In fact, we’re already seeing the effects of climate change. Take, for example, the horrendous fires in the Amazon. We are letting corporations and governments burn the Earth’s lungs. All for what? A profit?
This isn’t just climate change anymore; it’s a climate crisis.
Beyond the economy and the livability of our planet, we need to see climate change as an issue of equity and inequity. Indigenous people worldwide, the original caretakers of the land, are disproportionately affected by climate change. For example, Grassy Narrows, an Indigenous community in Northern Ontario, has been plagued with mercury poisoning because of a nearby paper mill dumping their chemicals into the community’s water system. In addition, poorer countries in the Global South will be affected the most by climate change as drought-prone areas become drier and tropical regions become warmer and wetter.
It’s easy to be disillusioned about climate change: why does it matter when it feels like we’ve already tipped over the edge? For one, we haven’t. If we act now, and if we act decisively, we can turn things around by 2050. It won’t be easy, but it’s necessary. Literally. We don’t have a planet B.
So, thank you for reading The Strand’s first ever Green Issue. This is just one speck in the global movement to bring awareness to the climate crisis and demand climate action. We hope you learn something, and we hope to see you on September 27th at the Global Climate Strike in Toronto.
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