What is climate change?

We all know what is climate change, right? Ever since school we have been talking about it. There have been endless debate competitions, endless essays written and many times we studied it in our geography textbooks when we were kids. Even after having heard, spoken and written about it, we are now actually facing the effects of climate change. So what actually is climate change, and what exactly went wrong over the past 10 years? Come on, let's find out!

• Climate change is the change in the seasons we experience every year, due to increase in the average global temperature rise of the planet.
• Winters are no more as cold as they were in the past, there's no specific time for rains to pour, seawater level is rising and underground water table is decreasing.
• We can't assure ourselves and our future generations : clean drinking water without filter, clean and fresh air to breathe and food without chemicals.

Effects of Climate Change

Now, let's have a look at something which we conveniently ignored by saying "Oh, this is just happening due to climate change, climate changes over time, it has been changing, it will change, forget it!!" Do you see how casual all of us are when it comes to climate change? But when we'll see the following effects, that casualty will go away, and we'll dream of a hospital casualty instead!

• Assam had a huge flood situation.
• Nepal had a landslide and flood due along with ice and rocks falling in the rivers.
• Los Angeles witnessed a huge forest fire, 40,000 acre land was burnt.
• 2024 was the hottest year, with an average global rise temperature rise of 2⁰C
• Canada has a temperature between 17⁰C to 24⁰C, but from June'24 to Sept'24, Canada experienced heat waves.
• Sahara Desert, South Africa, witnessed unusual rains in Sept'24 for 2 days, which lead to floods.

Who is responsible?

• Are the industries responsible? - "NO"
• Is the government responsible? - "NO"
• Are the humans responsible? - "NO"
• Then who is responsible???
  "I" am responsible!!
  Every human being who is a user of energy, has changed our climate! And that's why I am responsible.

Why am "I" responsible?

As stated above, every human being is responsible for climate change. Let's see how.

• Let's ask a few questions to understand why am I responsible:
  • Who requires a chair to sit? - Me
  • Who requires a table to work? - Me
  • Who requires a vehicle to travel? - Me
  • Who requires clothes to wear? - Me
  • Who requires a toothbrush / toothpaste? - Me
  • So now who is responsible for climate change? - Me, but how??
• Let us take an example of brushing teeth, how it requires energy?
  • For brushing your teeth, you need the following: toothbrush, toothpaste, basin, tap with water in it, bulb and mirror
  • A toothbrush and toothpaste are manufactured in the factories → they are packaged in a plastic → they are transported → they reach the malls / shopes, where they are stored → "I" go by my vehicle to the shop and buy it → come back home by my vehicle.
  • This whole transaction requires energy, and look carefully, each step has some amount of carbon emissions in it! Now moving to the next story.
  • Now I visit the bathroom, put the bulb on → I use water to wash the brush and rinse → I see my face in the mirror.
  • Look let's list the carbon emissions happening here:
    Bulb → electricity consumed
    Basin → made up of ceramic, it requires energy to produce it
    Mirror → made up of glass and some part of wood, it requires cutting trees and energy for production
    Water → water needs to be transported by a pump, it requires a lot of energy
    
  • I used so much of energy just to brush my teeth, can you imagine the amount of carbon emissions we do in one day?

How to correct climate change?

Till now, we understood what is climate change, who is responsible, and why. Now we will see how to take corrective action against climate change. Now, to take some corrective action, first we should understand that energy use is causing climate change. So what should we do, should we stop using energy? But we will not survive if we do so! To solve this problem, let's understand something called as AMG policy, which is similar to the three R's (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle). AMG means Avoid, Minimize and Generate.

• A - Avoid
  • Avoid switching on lights and fans of an empty room.
  • Avoid using a vehicle for shorter distances.
  • Avoid using gas when you can heat something using the already heated pan.
• M - Minimize
  • Use a bucket to bathe instead of a shower.
  • Use a pea-sized toothpaste instead of covering the whole area of brush with paste.
  • If a room has 5 lights, switch off 1 or 2 of them if possible.
  • Open the curtains instead of switching on the lights at day time.
• G - Generate locally and limited energy
  • Use solar panels to supply electricity instead of coal-based electricity which requires long wiring installation to reach your home.
  • Buy things locally available near your home, instead of buying from another state or from overseas.
  • Support decentralized local production so that transport reduces.