The infamous coronavirus, as we all know, is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening disease that is impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people on an international level. Like wildfire, it's spreading rapidly, posing a devastating threat to the health and well-being of our people, our economy, and our environment. As the pandemic gains steam, the public grows more and more panicked.

Something I'm learning from this experience is that politicians and media respond predominantly to what the public demands. COVID-19 poses a very immediate threat to just about every person with a pulse, so we all demand prompt and accurate updates on its spread so we can try to keep our cool.

With that being said, climate change poses just as much, if not more, of a universal threat to those same things -- public health, economic growth, and our environment. Because it's not as immediate or quick to spread, though, the public doesn't seem to be as worried about it. We can see the disastrous effects of the virus right in front of our eyes, but climate change is much more of a gradual process, so many of us simply leave it lurking, influencing our sea levels, frequency and severity of droughts and precipitation, quality of animal habitats, and more.

For a century, Earth has been experiencing warming, and it's extremely likely that human influences have been the dominant cause for such a drastic shift in our climate. Because of us, and because we aren't doing enough about it, our glaciers are melting, ocean temperatures are rising and becoming more acidic, rainfall is becoming more frequent and intense -- the list, sadly, goes on. (More information on this can be found here.)

Since the outbreak, we've made extreme changes in our daily lives. Schools and businesses are shutting down. Public gatherings are severely restricted. The national guard has been activated. We're limiting the number of times we go out to buy food. We've banded together in a time of international crisis. We've proven we can do it. It hasn't been fun, but it's absolutely beginning to make a difference.

So, what would happen if we reacted to our shifting climate with as much force as we’ve used in the war against COVID-19? Climate change is an issue that's been discussed for decades, and it's moving in faster than we may realize. We're starting to see some of its damage already, and it's only a matter of time until it starts influencing everyone's daily lives, just as the virus has done. Responding to our earth's cry for help with the amount of passion we've used in our response to COVID-19 would not only prolong the life of our planet, it would enrich the lives of our children, our grandchildren, and so on.

When it comes to climate change, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. We can't carry on like we have been. Just like we've changed our behaviors to combat the coronavirus, let's consider making some more sustainable, efficient changes to combat climate change. It will take a village, but I know we can do it. And in all honesty, we don't have a choice.