Photo by Enoch Leung on Flickr
In terms of threatening issues affecting our way of life, climate change stands as one of the biggest threats of the modern age. In the last few months, climate change has been attributed to a number of major incidents. These include a series of floods causing widespread devastation across Canada, the Arctic Circle being devastated by its worst wildfire season to date, as well as Greenland losing over 200 billion tons of ice in the span of a month.
In the recent federal election, nearly 30 per cent of Canadians saw climate change as one of the top three most important issues in determining a vote. In terms of the most important reasons to act on climate change, one of the most important reasons that spur adults to actis to ensure a better future for their children.
As it stands youth from all over the globe, have started taking the lead in the fight against climate change. Most recently, young people across the globe took to the streets in protest, demanding that bolder actions be taken to address the issue of climate change. In Canada, it is estimated that over 1 million people across eight major cities, as well as in small towns participated in this climate strike. The city of Montreal had the biggest number of protesters in the country, with the number of protesters reaching over 500,000 people.
The initiatives taken by young people acting against climate change does not stop there. Earlier this week, multiple Canadians youths filed lawsuits against the federal government for failing to take action against climate change and putting their own wellbeing and security at risk.
This represents one of many instances where groups of youths have attempted to file lawsuits their governments for failing to act to prevent climate change, putting their lives, their liberty, as well as their security at risk.
We stand at a critical turning point in history. Thanks to social media, youth possess a powerful tool that allows their voices to be heard. With climate change growing worse each year, it is vital that we listen to the concerned voices of our youth and take immediate action to ensure that we can still provide them with a future worth living. This is the only world we have, and it should be one where our children and their descendants can thrive and grow without fear of worrying about the looming threat of climate change.
References:
Emma Marris (Nov.3 2018). “US Supreme Court allows historic kids’ climate lawsuit to go forward”. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07214-2
Emma Marris (Sept. 18 2019). “Why young climate activists have captured the world’s attention”. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02696-0
Emma Paling. (Sept. 27 2019). “Canadians Prove No Town Is Too Small For A Climate Strike”. Huffington Post. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/canadian-small-town-climate-strikes_ca_5d8ea09ee4b0ac3cdda8d930?ncid=tweetlnkcahpmg00000002
Erick Lachapelle & James Boothroyd (Sept. 12 2019). “From Fires to Floods, Extreme Weather May Be Shaping Canadians’ Views on Climate Crisis”. The Tyee. https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2019/09/12/Fires-Floods-Canadian-Climate-Crisis/
Floodlist News (July 18 2019). “Canada and USA – Storms Cause Urban Flooding and Traffic Disruption” Flood List. http://floodlist.com/america/canada-usa-storms-flash-flood-july-2019
Ipsos (Oct. 9 2019). “Four Weeks In, Climate Change is Fastest-Moving (29%, +4), but Health Care (35%) Still Top Issue to Make a Difference at the Ballot Box”. https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/Four-Weeks-In-Climate-Change-Fastest-Moving-Health-Care-Still-Top-Issue
Jeff Tollefson (Oct. 25 2019). “Canadian kids sue government over climate change”. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03253-5
Kat Eschner (Apr. 30 2019). “Canada: extreme floods show climate threat as experts warn of further tumult”. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/30/canada-flooding-quebec-montreal-justin-trudeau-climate-change
Lisa Belmonte (updated Sept. 28 2019). “More People Attended Climate Strikes In Canada Than Donald Trump's Inauguration”. Narcity. https://www.narcity.com/news/ca/canadas-climate-strike-numbers-show-just-how-big-the-protests-were
Meilan Solly (July 29 2019). “The Arctic Is Experiencing Its Worst Wildfire Season on Record”. Smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/arctic-experiencing-its-worst-wildfire-season-record-180972749/
Rafi Letzter (Aug. 1 2019). “Greenland Lost 217 Billion Tons of Ice Last Month”. Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/66082-greenland-dumped-197-billion-tons-of-ice.html
Rhianna Schmunk (Oct. 25 2019). “Young Canadians file lawsuit against government over climate change”. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canadian-teens-lawsuit-federal-government-over-climate-change-1.5335349
Somini Sengupta (Updated Sept. 21 2019). “Protesting Climate Change, Young People Take to Streets in a Global Strike”. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/climate/global-climate-strike.html
By Matthew Guida
As a native Montrealer, I graduated from Concordia University with a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Film Studies. I am currently studying for my master’s degree in Journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa.
My interest in journalism began while attending Concordia. I was a frequent contributor to the university’s independent newspaper, The Concordian. I further honed my skills and experience by working as a List Writer for the entertainment news website Screen Rant.
Since I started attending Carleton University, I have strived to further improve my skills as a journalist in not only print, but also in the fields of data, investigative and broadcast journalism. In the past year, I have also developed a growing appreciation for radio journalism and podcasts.
My current interests lie in studying the future of the journalism industry, writing and researching pop culture and social media trends, as well as furthering my career in the field of journalism.
