Global warming

Global warming

College gathering

Global warming is the single greatest challenge humanity has to face, unlike nuclear proliferation it doesn't pose the of-chance of total annihilation but instead a much greater likelihood of the slow poising of our planet which we will soon be powerless to stop. Radical new technologies have created a deadly alliance with old polluting habits resulting in the degradation of our environment. As college students the future is in your hands, you will go out into this world and have to live with what it is. Do you want to suffer the consequences of global warming and allow your children to go through the same horror or do you want to make a difference in our world’s fate.

This is no hoax I assure all of you, conflicting media reports might have confused you till now but this issue is real and deadly. If measures are not taken immediately global warming will reach uncontrollable proportions, already we are nearing the point of no return. The IPCC's most recent extensive research endeavour has released its fourth assessment of the state of knowledge of global warming. Written and reviewed by hundreds of scientists worldwide. The report blatantly declares that the probability that global warming has been caused by human activities is greater than 90 percent when compared to the previous report published in 2001, which put the probability at a stupidly small 66 percent. They have even taken the enormous trouble to state that, “although further changes in the worlds climate are now inevitable, the future, particularly in the long term, remains largely in our hands – the magnitude of expected change depends on what human choose to do about greenhouse gas emissions.” Now if this isn’t clear enough to all of us, who knows what is. The time has come and gone for deliberation about the immediacy and importance of global warming. You can no longer be blinded by the critics who have wrongfully labelled this issue as a hoax or an exaggeration. The situation is far worse than even the direst assessments.

It is up to you to educate people and make them aware about these dangerous, go out there write your thesis’s and doctorates on this issue, it is of vital importance. We must try and educate the public. I encourage all of you doing science to delve into research on this area and any of you working on policy, law and politics to focus your attentions on these problems as you graduate. Why even now you can make a difference, join the protest against polluting companies, boycott their products; write letters to the government encouraging them to take action. Even in you daily life, be more aware, conserve electricity, use only public transport and follow the practical action list on www.liveearth.org to combat global warming on a personal level.

All of humanities past, present and future accomplishments hang in the balance. Soon global warming will spiral out of control. The raging power of our planet warns us of our impending fate. Look at the devastation it can wreak through natural disasters. If we are to destroy the only planet we have, were then shall we go. It is our duty and moral responsibility not only as students and citizens but as the representatives of the entire human race history to face this problem head on and not turn away in ignorance. Never before has humanity had the resources, the technologies, the international political stability and co-operation to address this massive problem. We have put men on the moon, sent satellites deep into outer space, split the atom and built towering monoliths , why then should the unquenchable spirit of mankind be crushed by our greed and ignorance of our environment. This is where we shall make our stand, this is when we shall be united and stand together to face the challenge that lies ahead of us, each and every one of us shall play our part or suffer the inevitable consequences. This is not an impossible task; humanity does not know the meaning of impossible and you are the future of humanity.