Global warming is a phenomenon of climate change characterized by a general increase in average temperatures of the Earth, which modifies the weather balances and ecosystems for a long time.
The world’s leading climate scientists believe that human activities are very likely the main causes of global warming since the mid-twentieth century, mostly because of fossil fuels, deforestation, intensive farming, waste disposal, mining, overconsumption.
The earth is suffering and people worldwide are waking up to this truth.
It’s about time! We have consequences on biodiversity, oceans, humans and on the weather. Climate change is real.
Den Haag protests against Climate Change
The Global Climate Strike week is a global movement to draw attention to the climate crisis.
On September 20, people were encouraged to walk out of their schools, jobs or wherever they may be to draw attention to the movement. The Strike lasted until September 27.
Six million people around the world have taken to the streets uniting across timezones, cultures and generations to demand urgent action on the escalating ecological emergency.
The Netherlands joined this global protest, because the climate agreement didn’t take sufficient measures to combat disastrous global warming and because the Dutch government ignored the verdict in the Urgenda climate case.
On the last day, the 27th, there was a general strike to save the planet. During that day I also took part in the march in Den Haag.
The number of people was impressive and the mood you could breathe was contagious. People care about the Earth. We are stronger together.
Climate change is a fact and we have to do something. We cannot anymore spend our time wondering if global warming is real, it is.
Ways to reduce global warming
How can we help our planet day by day? How can we make a difference? I am sure the majority thinks ” I am just one, what could possibly do one person?”.
You can do a lot. We all can do a lot.
- The first way to prevent climate change is to move away from fossil fuels. The alternatives are renewable energies like solar, wind, biomass and geothermal.
- Producing clean energy is essential, but reducing our consumption of energy and water is equally important.
- Choosing to live in walkable smart-growth cities and towns with quality public transportation leads to less driving, less money spent on fuel, and less pollution in the air.
- In order to reduce the CO2 emissions from buildings – caused by heating, air conditioning, hot water or lighting – it is necessary both to build new low-energy buildings and to renovate the existing constructions.
- Encouraging better use of natural resources, stopping massive deforestation as well as making agriculture greener and more efficient should also be a priority.
- Adopting responsible consumption habits is crucial, be it regarding food (particularly meat!), clothing, cosmetics or cleaning products.
- Recycling is an absolute necessity for dealing with waste.
- Plant a tree! A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. I use treedom, but there are really a lot of platforms that can help you with this.