Earth is dying. Period. To care about the environment doesn't make you a hippie or tree-hugger, but to live in a place where the air is toxic and the waters are so polluted to the point where children can't enjoy a nice swim on the beach is horrible. I want my children to be able to enjoy the beach without finding paper or glass in the water.

There's a lot of predictions, philosophical and scientific, about when Earth will officially kick the bucket. 2012 was a big deal and I remember parents didn't let their kids go to school because they wanted to spend one last time with their family before the end of the world. The world didn't end in 2012, but if it had, would it be as polluted as it is now?

According to Will Gore, we only have 12 years to fix the damage that's been done. 12 years. It's not just Will Gore who says this; everyone says this because all over social media people are coming out with new theories to support the idea that we have one decade and then some to try and make things right, but one person or group can't do it. Everyone needs to come together collectively to make this change happen.

Ironically, everything in this world is political, so major change is going to start in Congress and all the other twigs on the branches of government. Small change, however, begins with us.

I don't want to see headlines like this on my timeline anymore. They deserve to be here just as much as we do.

I took a quick survey to see how many people believed that we should 100% care about Earth. Only 88.3% of people who took the survey said we should absolutely care about Earth. Those same people all had the same consensus that we should take care of Earth because it's our home and we'll die if we don't. The majority of those who took part in the survey are Gen Z.

There are people and organizations that are doing their best to help preserve Earth before it's too late. 4oceanBracelets recently did a coastal clean-up in Bali and they fund their work through money raised when people buy their merch. Environmental Working Group mainly dabbles in getting healthier options into the homes of consumers than outside work, but it's still a start. If you want to work with a group of friends, you can start a coastal cleanup with Ocean Conservancy.

If you say that it's all fake, climate change isn't real, the pollution around the coast is just put out for pictures and then cleaned up right after, you are wrong. It's all very much real and you can either be part of the solution or add fuel to the fire and continue to kill the one place we can call home.