Climate change is the result of the accumulation of long term impacts on the environment, combining choices, made by the human race for thousands of years.
All of the smaller, seemingly less significant actions have amalgamated into a much larger issue, which is commonly seen to be spiralling out of control.
Consequences of the poor environmental choices made throughout history include: escalating natural disasters - such as earthquakes and hurricanes; rising sea levels - which are resulting in island nations, that are close to sea level becoming submerged; and global temperatures rising to new heights.
People are becoming more aware of the dire consequences of climate change, and subsequently, ignorance is dwindling in the population.
2023 set a new record for the number of natural disasters.
This amounted to a total of 399 natural disasters, alongside over 85,000 fatalities.
Perhaps, we need to simplify our approach to climate action, and shift our focus to enable us to make minor, but no less tangible changes to our lifestyles, that will protect the environment, and halt the damage to the natural world, in which we are so greatly dependent on.
Easily applicable measures to better preserve our environment could include properly sorting your rubbish, to ensure that everything that can be recycled or reused gets to the right place.
As small a change as it may seem, your plastic making its way to a recycling centre, makes an immeasurable difference to the bigger picture, than simply discarding all of your waste into one bin, leading to landfill or incineration.
As a society we need to flip the narrative.
Collective responsibility has only undermined our understanding of the individual impact on our natural world.
By making responsibility our own, and shedding light on the utter significance of our own actions, we can pave the way to a brighter future.
If climate change is made to feel more personal and individual, then people may be led to a greater understanding of actions and their consequences.
This would in turn lead to more widespread change, in both the attitudes surrounding climate action, and the deterrence of further negative impact.
Let's defend our natural world, and encourage progressive action in order to preserve, enhance and protect our planet.
