September 26, 2022
The Future of Dinosaurs
Imagine standing by a lake or a river, looking at the scenery in front of you: the day is sunny, and mountains, tall trees, and large ferns adorn the landscape. You want to take a selfie, but suddenly you notice your arms can't reach the camera. Then you realize that not only are your arms shorter, but they have claws, and when you pay more attention, your body is no longer your body, it's a dinosaur!
What would be the first thing that comes to your mind? Possibly, once the surprise and uncertainty of your trip back in time to the Jurassic have passed. It will occur to you to look at the sky to check that the famous meteorite that extinguished the species is not close. So far, we have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. On the one hand, you know the future: a meteorite will fall and cause a great mass extinction. On the other, there's not much you can do to prevent what's coming.
Now let's go back to 2022. The landscape is different; we are organized in cities, settled in houses, producing and consuming food, clothes, and objects. But where can we look to see the future? What is threatening us today?
For decades, scientists around the world have been warning about climate change. It is a global phenomenon resulting from human activities that affect the environment. This produces variations in the Earth's temperature, heat and/or cold waves, floods, droughts, and the death of animal and plant species. Since millions of years ago, changes in the climate have been frequent; this time, it is happening much faster. The main reason is human activities: to produce our food, clothing, and the objects we consume, we emit gasses into the atmosphere that retain heat on the planet.
Today, to discover the threat, we must look around us: we will all suffer the consequences of climate change daily, but the sectors with the most inequalities and the fewest resources still have the least tools to mitigate the impact and seek solutions. In this case, we also know the future, but unlike our imaginary Jurassic scenario, we can take action to try to change it. While individual actions such as recycling, reusing, or planting native trees are very important, the real power of change lies in collective efforts. This time, our arms are enough if we join them to fight and demand world leaders take action to prevent the situation from worsening.
If you want your voice to be heard in decision-making, you can join “Youth for Climate” in your city. They are youth groups organized worldwide that mobilize to fight for the environment and environmental justice. If you are in the area of Cordoba, Argentina, you can join “Youth for Climate Cordoba” and fight to change the course of our future!