At last week’s table talk, we discussed We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement that Restores the Planet, a book by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez. The author begins by describing his speech to the UN in 2015 regarding the urgency of climate change. Instead of memorizing it word for word, he goes off-script and lets his passion take over. I was impressed by his confidence and his whole-hearted approach. I can’t imagine standing up in front of so many people and going out on a limb like that. The way he tells his story, the detail that he includes, reminds us that sometimes, looking at the experience of a single person can communicate more than facts and figures. When he goes on to talk about his connection to his family history and the strength that it brings him, his authenticity truly comes through.
On that day, he was preceded by another speaker who shared a poem that she had written, promising her daughter that she would not let rising sea levels swallow the island that she calls home. Xiuhtezcatl tells us that her honesty truly struck an emotional chord with the audience. Hopefully, his book strikes a similar chord with his readers and kindles passion in activists everywhere.
It’s awesome that Xiuhtezcatl is fighting to stop climate change at such a young age! It’s frightening how quickly we must act if we want to protect our planet. An agreement was made by all nations during 2015 in the United Nations Paris Climate Change Conference that in order to prevent dangerous conditions, we must keep the average temperature of the earth from reaching 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial era levels. However, as I learned in my oceanography class this semester, that would mean we need to reach net zero carbon emissions by mid-century. If you happen to be interested in learning more about climate change and the ocean, I strongly suggest checking out Introductory Oceanography, EAS 1540. It covers these subjects extensively!
The message you are conveying throughout your post is crucial: the importance of emotionally engaging with issues that have a broader societal impact. In this case, speaking out about climate change and sea level rise is extremely important if humanity is to continue to prosper. In my oceanography course, we learned that CO2 levels above 350 ppm will most likely result in catastrophic sea level rise, which will put many islands underwater and endanger the lives of millions of people. We are currently at a CO2 level of 406 ppm. In order to reduce our CO2 emissions to safe levels, people must personally engage in social issues by taking part in movements like protests and writing to lawmakers asking for policy changes. Thus, personal and civic engagement is important if we are to address crucially important issues like climate change and slow the continued destruction of the Earth by human activities.