Everyone has a home. When things break or require fixing, no sensible person ignores the problem or believes that the house’s repairs are fake. One does what they can, and cares for the home that shelters them. One would not let their home whither away into nothingness. 

Why can’t the same be said for the home we all share? Why can’t the same be said, for Earth?

Earth is being pushed to its limit, on a constant and daily basis. The human race must collectively understand that we are not and never have been able to take more from the Earth than it can provide. However, we still do, and what is worse? We do it at a rate faster than the Earth can replenish itself. 

According to Dr. Mathis Wackernagel for National Geographic, overshooting Earth resources are the gateway to “struggling fisheries, accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, soil erosion and deforestation.” We live in a state of excess, and in order to appease that, we take in more fossil fuels, cut down more trees, and release more carbon into the atmosphere. We ignore the more ecological options like clean energy and sustainable living paths because we come from a society that thrives off instant gratification. 

Most people in the world are self-interested. So when it comes to talking about trying to regulate climate change by way of introducing more clean energy, changing the way one eats, rebuilding the forests that have been destroyed, everyone is up in arms against it. 

Furthermore, by everyone, we are looking at big fossil fuel companies backed by the current president, and from what we have seen, when Trump says something is terrible, his followers consume it blindly. In an article for Sky Water-Earth, L. Hobart Stocking writes, “those that want to kill renewable energy and roll back sensible environmental regulations are those who stand to gain the most from fossil fuels.” 

Considering the ties the current president seems to have with leaders of companies that thrive off of fossil fuels, it’s no mistake why he argues so heavily against cleaner energy production. Quite frankly, why he argues the very idea of climate change, and any attempts to reverse the lasting and damaging effects. 

While there is an initial cost to set up renewable energy systems, the cost will be paid back ten-fold in a short amount of time, considering the amount of power that can come from the sun in one day alone. 

However, change comes, for the most part, from people in positions of authority. Sadly, the authority at the present moment does not see the urgency and gravity of making drastic changes to help reverse the human population’s damage for decades upon decades. 

Earth is running out of time, and it is our job to start making changes in our own lives, however significant, and however small. Nevertheless, it is time to start focusing on candidates and individuals in positions of power with more aggressive climate change policies. There is no Planet B, and this is not a problem for the future generation. Climate change is a here and now issue that is progressively worsening. 

Our home is at her breaking point, and in desperate need of repair. Why is fixing her a debate?