Is the Earth Going to Burn?

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YEHUDA ZILBERSTEIN

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These are some scary times we’re living in. However, even during a global pandemic, where it seems like the worst outcome can come from a simple handshake, one question still runs rapid in my mind: Is the earth going to burn? Have we as a society put off a serious issue for too long? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. The climate grows worse and worse every day. 2019 was the second hottest year in recorded history, since the pre-industrial era, with a global surface temperature of 2.07 degrees Fahrenheit. While that might seem like an insignificant amount and unworthy of our time, it takes massive amounts of heat to warm up the earth. Those massive amounts of heat contribute to polar ice caps melting and even droughts. We have been cooking the pie that is earth for too long and it’s about to burn to a crisp, but that doesn’t mean we can’t save it by taking it out of the oven. Stop giving the responsibility of saving the planet to others and realize that the solution to this problem will need more than some other person. We, as a society, caused the mess we're in, and we’re the ones who have to clean up the mess. So, is the earth going to burn? Only if we don't do something about it.