The Science
The world’s leading climate scientists have warned there are 10 years left to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5C, beyond which even half a degree will wipe out entire ecosystems, and bring apocalyptic droughts, extreme heat, fires, and disastrous weather events. If we don’t take action now, there will be food scarcity, water shortages, power outages, increase in disease, and some of us won’t make it. It may sound dire, alarmist, or political, but scroll the Instagram photos of the latest hurricane disaster in The Bahamas and you'll see: the climate crisis is not a bad science fiction movie – it’s real, and it's already happening.
The gap between science and politics is money. Our politicians’ power exists in the here and now. So it's hard for youth to get them to put our future ahead of theirs. But the cost of doing nothing will be far higher in the long run.
Unfortunately, the latest science reveals the 2018 goals of the IPCC to keep climate warming to a maximum of 1.5C are already obsolete. The 2019 IPCC Report states that doesn't even begin to include the new reality of tipping points of glacier ice melt after the latest summer heatwaves, that now spiral the planet toward an irreversible point of no return.
The climate crisis didn’t happen overnight. America is the world’s biggest historical source of carbon emissions. America can lead on climate change. Science and technology have shown the climate goals necessary can be met with physics and chemistry. What’s missing is public and political will.
To ensure our survivability as we know it, everything must change. But here’s the ticker–everything can change.
Technological solutions in renewable energy, manufacturing, carbon sequestration, reforestation, population education, and more are already possible. Forces of Nature is calling for action by our politicians now: this session, this term. We are out of time.
We should all take a science lesson from Mother Nature;
she pays no attention to politics.
- Lily Paden, co-founder, Forces of Nature