We have all read about climate change at school and about all the unfortunate events it can lead to, but nobody actually took it as seriously as we should have. In recent years, Greta Thunberg from Sweden tried to give the world a wakeup call that Earth is dying and if we don’t do enough to protect it, it’ll just take care of itself and won’t bother about the mankind. And, that is exactly what is happening in 2020.
The year started with the Australian forest fire, Hong Kong protests, and the declaration of world war 3. There were many grave problems being faced around the globe anyway, but these were the highlights. Yes, things improved after that, until the breakout of coronavirus in Wuhan, China, and eventually everything was forced to be halted. To date, 2,564,190 people got infected of which 177,424 died worldwide.
Institutions and workplaces moved to online portals, families with low or day-to-day income are barely making ends meet, international flights got cancelled and other travels got banned, all shopping malls, restaurants, and hotels got closed down for only essentials like groceries, pharmacies, and banks to stay open, TV shows had to be ended before season final episodes and movie dates were postponed, and now everyone is ordered to just stay home for the greater good. The rate of unemployment is increasing, and the value of oil is negative for the first time in history. And, lately the protests in USA against the coronavirus restrictions are just increasing concerns.
If you look at the bigger picture, it seems like the world had enough with people not paying heed to it and now it is taking advantage of this break. Pollution is decreasing so much that the Ozone layer is starting to clear up, and the smog has also diluted and even completely gone in some areas. Water bodies are much cleaner with nothing being dumped into them and animals seem happier with the space they are getting to themselves with no intrusion.
Thousands of people have lost their lives and they will be missed. And, it should not also be forgotten how much better the environment is doing with no human invasion lately. It may take at least a year for an effective vaccine to be found, but until then, and even after the crisis is over, people need to act responsibly. From now, people in ever field should understand that it is everyone’s duty to care about the environment.
There should be a decline in the waste products of industries; forestation should be done, as well as everyone should plant at least one try and look after it; governments should carry out plans to limit populations and for a better housing system; activists fighting for animals should be encouraged and animal rights should be more prioritised, with hunting being banned in more places; Animal abuse should be banned, and unhygienic food should be fined; the use of plastic should be kept to a minimum and there should be better ways to dispose them.
People should be more appreciative of what they have and only buy what they need so that extra doesn’t go to waste. More charities should be funded to help out the less fortunate as well as the research facilities to come up with faster ways to get a cure.
Front-liners should never be considered anything less than heroes. In times of need, no corporate worker is risking their life for others, it’s the people working to provide us with our essentials, and they should be given the honour and respect that they very much earned.
Concerns regarding wearing the same clothes in Instagram photos should be replaced by ways to help one another cope in these hard times. Everyone is suffering, some more than others, and until we can walk freely, each and everything we do matters. And, hopefully, we will make it count.
