Make Earth Green Again
seven
years 102 days 12 hours 2 minutes and 1
second
this is the time on the new climate
clock created in new york city
that counts down how long we have left
until we set off the unstoppable effects
of climate change and run
through our planet’s carbon budget take
a second to let that sink in
we have just over seven years to
fundamentally change how we live
and take major actions on the climate
crisis in order to save earth
and really save ourselves and the other
beautiful animals that we share this
planet with
to some of you seven years might seem
like a long time
but climate change is already upon us if
you’re also from the bay area like i am
i know
you might have experienced the raging
wildfires that have burned
millions of acres of californian land
and there’s strong evidence linking
climate change as the cause of these
wildfires
some scientists even believe that
climate change might be causing the
acceleration of pandemics
like covid19 that we have all been
deeply affected by
right now we’re all living in the
comfort of our homes but if we don’t act
on the climate on climate change soon we
might not be
from floods to freezing winter storms to
wildfires to pandemics
the severity of all these natural
disasters is rising
our earth is in a fragile balance and we
are about to tip it
my name is sri lakshmi and i’m just a
high school student but as part of gen z
i’m forced to think about climate change
each and every day
my generation is one of the last in this
fight to save humanity
and we do not have the option to give up
ever since i first learned about this
crisis back in fourth grade
i knew i wanted to make a difference but
for many years
i was stuck doubting the impact of my
actions
but last year i started on my climate
journey to take action and inspire
others to do the same
and that’s why i’m here today to talk
about how we can take the most
meaningful actions on climate change and
save time
on the climate clock as i said before we
need to make
drastic changes to our society in just
seven years
governments industries and individual
people need to change to lower our
collective carbon footprint
but how do we trigger this change and
start taking action
in order to do this we all need to take
two types of
climate actions personal action and
community action
first starting off with personal actions
personal action is exactly what the name
implies
these are choices that individuals like
you and me can consciously make to lower
our own carbon footprint
it involves things like driving less not
supporting fast fashion
eating less meat conserving water and
more all you need is a simple google
search on what can i do about climate
change
to find long lists of personal actions
that you can take
but often personal actions go in one ear
and out the other
we start making excuses and doubt if
these small
actions will even make a difference but
i want you to consider the following
example
avoiding meat and dairy products
according to recent studies avoiding
meat and dairy is one of the biggest
ways you can lower your carbon emissions
this is because many animals like cows
release methane into the atmosphere
which is terrible now let’s see how a
small
personal action can have a tremendous
impact i’ve put together for
some numbers for us to take a look
so every single serving of a meat like
beef for example
releases eight kilograms of greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere
suppose that the 328 million people of
the united states
decided to eat beef steak for dinner
today using
simple multiplication that would equal
almost 2.6
billion kilograms of greenhouse gases of
course
there’s many other factors that we need
to take into consideration here
but for the sake of simplicity we’re
sticking with this number
now instead imagine if the 328 million
people of the united states
decided to eat chicken for dinner
chicken releases approximately 1.5
kilograms of greenhouse gases per
serving much less than beef which
releases eight kilograms
once again if we do the math that equals
almost 490 million kilograms of
greenhouse gases
still a lot but almost 2 billion
kilograms less than beef
also before we go on i just wanted to
mention that all the numbers i
i have so far are from these credible
and authentic sources
so if you eat red meat like beef or lamb
or consume dairy products like milk or
cheese
consider eating it less often or
avoiding it all together and you can
reduce your carbon footprint from food
by almost two thirds so you see a small
change in our personal habits can make a
huge difference
another good example of personal actions
is supporting greener businesses
when deciding between two products
consider the carbon footprint of each
for instance all of us teenagers know
about fast fashion
fast fashion clothing is so trendy and
cheap much more tempting than quality
clothing from a regular clothing store
however fast fashion clothes are made to
be worn much fewer times than regular
clothing
and are created with many more chemicals
fast fashion companies also
over produce clothing to suit the
ever-changing style of the fashion
industry
which often leads to high amounts of
waste so keep in mind the carbon
emissions of the product and companies
that you’re buying from before you
purchase
personal actions are really all about
trying and putting in a conscious effort
to deliver
more sustainable life whatever it is
that the personal action that you decide
to take
the most important part is that you are
making an effort to be greener
and inspire around those around you to
do the same
remember there is strength in numbers
the more people that take personal
action the greater impact that we will
have
now i’m going to talk a little bit about
community actions
community actions are actions that you
take on climate change
with other members in your community
this involves things like attending
climate strikes
holding letter writing campaigns calling
local officials and more
essentially the end goal of community
actions is making
local change by getting your leaders and
representatives to take action on
climate change as well
community action works hand in hand with
personal action
to create a greater impact on climate
change for us to save time on the
climate clock
we need both individual and systematic
changes from the government
i recently interviewed a climate
scientist mr johnny cruzen
on community action and he explained
that trying to stop climate change
with only personal actions is like
trying to stop a heart attack
with a diet it is way too late for that
our social leadership will define us and
our race against climate change going
forward
moreover one startling fact is that only
100 companies out of the tens of
thousands that exist
account for 71 of all global carbon
emissions
and no matter how much personal action
we take community action is vital to put
guidelines on various companies and
lower their impact on the planet
however unlike personal action community
action is a little bit more complicated
community action requires teamwork with
others in your community
an organization in order to make change
although community
although community action is a little
bit tougher than personal action
it is equally as important if we are
going to save the planet
but luckily like many other things the
toughest part about community action is
getting started
attending your first climate strike or
taking part in your first community
seminar
might be somewhat intimidating
especially if you’re a younger person
taking action
however it is important to speak out on
climate change and have your voice heard
so that those in leadership positions
know what action you want them to take
i want to end off today by calling you
to action we all know the urgency of the
of climate change and how vital it is
that we do something about it
if you’re a kid or a teenager this is
your planet
your home for the rest of your life if
you’re an adult
leave the planet beautiful for your
children or even grandchildren
right now we are in a global pandemic
and as every day goes by things are
changing
schools and offices have had to work
remotely much fewer people are traveling
especially by air and we have all
adjusted to a whole new normal
this is the perfect time to incorporate
climate action into your life and learn
to live more sustainably
personal actions can easily be taken
from the comfort of your home
and many communities have virtual
climate strikes and city council
meetings
to help you take community action yes
being a more climate friendly person
will require you to change but we’ve all
changed in the last six months
so let’s come out of the kovid 19 crisis
greener than how we entered it
so i urge you act on climate change take
both
personal actions and community actions
and inspire those around you to join in
and the words of mahatma gandhi be the
change you wish to see in the world
and let’s work together to make earth
green again thank you