Growing up I loved all animals, especially polar bears. Their chubby bodies and white fur strengthened the love I had for them and whenever we went to the zoo my main goal was to see the polar bears. I want my future children to experience the same curiosity and love I have for animals, but how can that happen when the animals we all know and love are dying?
Buried in the news of YouTube scandals and political disputes are disturbing images of animals, such as the polar bears, scrawny from starvation and their habitats being lost due to pollution and climate change. These images are saddening and horrifying to see, one would think that they would be the headlining news stories, but they haven't. It may even be surprising for people to learn that giraffes have been added to the endangered species list. Some of the first animals we learned to recognize as children, such as lions and elephants, are losing their lives, and we should be doing more to try and help them.
"I don't see any pollution where I live" and, "well it's really cold so clearly climate change isn't real" are phrases I have heard people say to argue against environmentalists. Some of us are fortunate enough to live in areas that have the funding to clean the beaches and roads near us, but that's only a small percentage of earth. A large majority of the planet lives in polluted areas, killing organisms, such as fish, causing a chain reaction that leaves their predators hungry. In addition to the countless plastic bags and straws in the water, the increasing overpopulation of earth is causing detrimental damage to our climate. Both animals and humans are dying from the change of climate on earth and increasing natural disasters.
As a biology major, I have heard repeatedly that scientists have determined that we have 12 years to fix our climate, and the new pop song "Earth" also states this fact at the end of the song. It shocks me that this fact is not the leading news story on every channel on television- our future children should be able to enjoy the beauty of earth the way past generations did. Millennials have the opportunity to change how we care for our home; pictures posted online have the ability to go viral and create change.
There is no action too small- skip out on the plastic straws and bring your own bags when you go shopping. I don't want to one day live in a world where my children ask what polar bears were.
