By: Olivia Visser, Opinions Editor
Over the decades, popular media outlets reporting on climate change have appealed to readers by pleading with them to consider future generations. The idea that current generations may not suffer, but future ones will, is one we’ve seen plenty of times in the media. This notion isn’t entirely untrue — people should care about the Earth’s future. However, framing climate change as a long-term problem allows individuals and corporations to get comfortable with complacency. Climate change is currently destroying the planet. Predictions about the Earth’s future are important, but the most convincing evidence that we need to act now is our collection of current climate crises.
Last year, Western North America experienced an extreme heat wave. Lytton, BC broke records with 46 C weather, before being almost entirely destroyed by a wildfire. This past June, the United Kingdom suffered a series of severe heat waves. England reported 2,803 “excess deaths” among those 65 and older due to the heat waves. India and Pakistan also had their “hottest March since record-keeping began 122 years ago,” according to a report cited by the World Economic Forum. Everyone’s been feeling it: the Earth is changing. The Earth is changing, and people are literally dying.
Not only are humans dying, but animal populations are dwindling as a result of climate change. During record-breaking droughts this year, salmon in BC experienced difficulty spawning from low water levels. The salmon spawned at nearly half their predicted rate of 9.8 million fish. William Housty, conservation manager for the Heiltsuk First Nation, says the full effects of such a loss won’t be known until 2026. Declining animal populations are significant because they affect many Indigenous peoples who rely on “traditional sources of sustenance.”
Joseph Koostachin, who lives in the Cree community of Peawanuck, told Human Rights Watch he noticed a considerable decline in food sources over the years. With “fewer caribou and geese migrating to the area,” community members must rely on expensive imported food that costs about 30% more than food in Toronto. Koostachin said his family can’t afford healthy food like vegetables as a result. Animal loss is closely linked with human-driven climate change. In fact, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reported that two-thirds of the Earth’s wildlife has disappeared within the last 50 years. This has devastating effects for the ecosystem and for humans, many of whom rely on sustainable sources of meat for food.
The Earth and its inhabitants are suffering, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. Climate change has been a present-day problem since the moment temperatures began rising from an uptick in emissions. It’s time we move beyond the narrative that frames climate change as a generational crisis, and recognize that people are in current danger. Organized climate activism is needed now more than ever. If you’ve been waiting for the time to act, the Earth isn’t getting any younger.
