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