What we don't know does not hurt us, until we reach the point, where we have to end up reflecting on our position. The environment and climate change were the same for me.
As a young student going to school, and engaging in activities with my friends it was not always a priority to think about how the world had its great challenges and the machinations behind it. Yet, the subtle murmurs of things going wrong around me always existed. From the inability to go out in the afternoon sun, without getting more and more sunburned, to the issues of existential effects of natural disasters — it was all a reality, one which I was dissuaded from. For one, I was a with little to no access to information about these aspects of climate change, and also secondly, my persuasion and convictions from things around me also did not promote any climate conversations in this space.
Climate Change And Growing Up
As a child, in my formative years of childhood spanning from when I was 12 to 15, I was fond of a few activities, playing outside, visiting places around my home - traveling, as well as writing and reading. These activities were changing subtly all in a way that was making me own up to my shortfalls. My playing hours shifted to a later point than before; I was using more air-conditioning in my home, and the heat, well, over decades has come to become unbearable.
A few years back, summertimes with drawn shades and in the home's shelter, with fans running at full speed used to be fine. Now, with soaring temperatures, increased humidity, and detrimental effects all around, the afternoons and even the nights, need the house to be cooled.
The Changing Homefronts
I have shifted around many towns and cities as I grew up, and they spared none of these spaces the ravish of change that climate change has dictated around the globe. From Bhubaneswar to Australia, and to Dehradun, Assam, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bhubaneswar on the full circle, the cultural and physical changes, as well as environments were widely different, yet accommodating. You might recall my initial draw into the problem, I was unaware, but I was also a voracious reader as much as I enjoyed playing outside.
As a reader and amidst unending curiosity, and the growing involvement of the internet in our lives, I had a scope to read the vast breadth and scope of the issues and developments around the globe. I read about pollution; I read about climate awareness, and I was drawn in. It is a far greater global concern that needs a discussion including the local issues that we get a chance to view and discuss often.
Youth And Focus, A Climate Necessity
As a young generation, we are often misaligned with our immediate vicinity. However, climate change is real. Climate change is affecting us over decades, slowly and surely. The adversities that come from centuries of human evolution and work are what we in our generation will face the music for. There are many interesting stories that can open blinders for individuals who are typically distant from these causes.
One such good example is the story of the island nation of Kiribati, and their closeness to losing their livelihood and belongingness to their home was not an alien feeling. It raises the question, of our own community spaces, in places that are going to be the most affected by climate change. People near the sea will lose their homes because of a rising sea level, and people inland face consequences that mount year after year. With increasing humidity and irate climates.
Our Home, Our Lives, And The Climate Concern
My home state, Odisha, has been battered with cyclones, and other climatic events often. This has left a wake of destruction and concerning challenges to development in the state. Port areas and other low-lying regions in the sea-side state are also a rising concern.
I remember my childhood summers in Odisha, coming in from the Coromandel Express in Chennai, visiting my grandparents here, and later on, through the bus rides from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar. I have now been a resident here for eight years, and I can be certain, it gets warmer every summer, more humid every summer, a growing pain. Personally, I have faced many issues, from going through skin rashes to depravity in the heat as I carry out my daily task, Constant feelings of dehydration and discomfort in the summer, are all just small indicators. There is so much going on, and I am just one story among others who are affected negatively by the heat.
As with heat, so does come an increase in our consumption, to become comfortable. There have been more cyclones arriving each year, more drastic weather patterns, and disrupted monsoons. The deaths from heatstrokes are drastic and depressive as they continue to affect daily commutes, workers, individuals toiling hard under the sun, and everyone else. Where we are heading with these conditions is what is the terrifying scope of continuously deteriorating human consideration.
Where Are We Headed?
Like Kiribati, a lot of countries, island states, and communities will be losing their spaces of life and their livelihoods due to the adverse effects of the climate concerns that we have spiraled ourselves into. But why should we care about Kiribati? Kiribati is a small nation near Australia and New Zealand. They have been fighting for years to combat the effects of climate change. Since they are situated not that higher than the sea around them, the risk is the loss of an entire nation, swallowed by an entire sea. No home, no work, no sustenance, and no nation. That is what certain communities starkly face.
Thought And Actions
Do we take any action on our thoughts, however? Have we, as a community, and as a human race, done enough to combat climate change? Thus, I am, a climate hypocrite as well. Many of us might be. We fail to lose on our creature comforts even when the greater dialogue shows us the need for doing this. The need to make conscious choices and the need for the assessment of our daily routine.
Those summer shades that I escaped from and the cooling that the Air Conditioning brings, all have a footprint in effecting climate change. While of course, people argue about their roles, as to what can a small impact make on the broader picture, there are a whole lot of things wrong with that stance.
We as a community need practical awareness, we need more constant education as to where we are heading and how our world becomes if we allow that direction. Unending dry spells, loss of cross, skin diseases, one which you and I both can feel, with dry irritable, itchy skin and rashes taking hold. Where does this stop and when does this change?
Next, Present
Is dialogue the only aspect to move ahead a requisite motion? Or is there a need for action now? We have had leaders in Climate Conferences, and political meetups stuck in climate negotiations. There has been progress, but the feeling is, that there is a lot less movement, and it is yet very late.
An activated citizenry, the voice of the youth, the generation to be most affected by the adverse effects of climate change, need to take into consideration. Observe the spaces around you, know the changing tides, know where spaces exist where you can contribute, and do your part. Without awareness, and without united action, there might be no time left.
You can look at these list of resources that you can use to make a valuable impact on climate change:
- Actions for a healthy planet | United Nations
- 9 things you can do about climate change | Imperial UK
- What You Can Do About Climate Change | US EPA
- 18 Simple Things You Can Do About Climate Change | UC Davis
- How You Can Stop Global Warming | NRDC
- 10 ways you can help fight the climate crisis | UNEP
- Top 10 things you can do about climate change | Davik Suzuki Foundation
- Ten simple ways to act on climate change - BBC Future
- What You Can Do To Fight Climate Change | WWF
- Tips for Preventing Heat-Related Illness | Natural Disasters and Severe Weather | CDC
- 7 Tips to Avoid Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke | Medstar Health
- Heat Rash | NHS UK
- Heat Rash Treatment and Prevention Tips | WebMD
- How To Prevent Heat Rash