THE FIGHT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE

Hey everyone, and welcome to this week's blog post! Today we will be discussing the ongoing fight for climate justice, but before that we have to define the word itself. What is climate justice? Definition Climate justice- a movement recognizing the impacts of climate change as an environmental, social, and political issue Another definition- “a term, and more than that a movement, that acknowledges climate change can have differing social, economic, public health, and other adverse impacts on underprivileged populations” (Yale Climate Connections) In simpler terms, it's getting justice for the climate change that's been altering the weather patterns of Earth and making a difference for the environment, society, and politics in our world. Getting climate justice means we are helping our planet and everyone and everything inhabiting it. Right now we have to keep Earth healthy and away from climate change. Climate change is changes in the average climate conditions that continue for a long period of time. Today, climate change is used to mention global warming, the heating up of Earth mostly due to the human emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Next, we will be looking over the consequences climate change/ global warming has on our future. The effects of climate change One thing to note about climate change is that unlike racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination against specific groups, CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS EVERYONE! With our planet warming up, Earth and humanity as a whole will feel the impact. Here are some of the effects of climate change we can see (scroll through the slideshow and read the captions) :

From the diagram above, you can understand how greenhouse gasses work. NASA climate kids gives this explanation: "Gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, trap heat just like the glass roof of a greenhouse. These heat-trapping gases are called greenhouse gases. During the day, the Sun shines through the atmosphere. Earth's surface warms up in the sunlight. At night, Earth's surface cools, releasing heat back into the air. But some of the heat is trapped by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere." This is how Earth is warming up.

Today's fight for climate justice Fortunately, many people understand the importance of preserving our planet and actions are being taken across the globe for this cause. One example is The Paris Agreement, which hopes to strengthen the response to climate change globally by keeping the overall temperature rise in the 21st century below 2 degrees Celsius. It is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change between the 195 countries who’ve signed it in 2016 to put forward their best and strongest efforts to deal with the impacts of climate change. Additionally, don’t forget about the Youth Climate Strikes! It was created by Greta Thunberg, who sparked the movement by skipping school to stage a protest outside the Swedish Parliament. From there, over 4 million people around the world took to the streets on September 20, 2019 to demand political leaders to take action to put a stop to climate change. To aid in this global fight, there are many climate justice activists, both young and old, who are passionate about preventing climate change. As we mention above, Greta Thunberg is a notable one, along with Isra Hirsi, Jamie Margolin, Jerome Foster II, and more that are representing us adolescence. These people are constantly fighting and advocating for the climate change issue and helping us work for a better future. How you can be a part of the change Now that you know about climate justice, the effects of climate change, and what other people are doing to combat it, you have to get involved too! Here are some steps and small changes you can make in your life to make a difference.

1. Protest & sign petitions

Protesting and signing petitions are really a universal way you can show your support for a cause and aid change. For climate justice, attend a local climate change rally with a sign to display your passion for protecting the planet. You can even search the web for petitions that are looking to address the global change issue towards political leaders. Go out and find some!

1. Don't waste electricity in your house

Turning off your lights when you aren’t using them is really important! It has two benefits. Number one, you will lower your electricity bill, and number two, it saves energy and reduces harmful emissions and the use of non-renewable resources. By simply turning off your bathroom light once you are done, you are helping the environment!

1. Recycle!

You can recycle the following items: Glass bottles/jars, plastic bottles/containers, paper, cardboard, aluminum cans, and more! Recycling reduces the need for extracting, processing, and refining raw materials, therefore it protects the environment. By installing a recycling bin next to the trash bin in your house, you’ve already done half the job!

1. Take that bike ride or walk to reduce your carbon footprint

If you didn’t know, driving in your car is di

sadvantageous for the environment because your car fumes emit greenhouse gasses. Imagine if the whole world used cars, even buses as a form of transportation everywhere! This would heavily pollute the air. In order to cut down on this, try walking, biking, skating, or really anything else to short distance locations. It would really cut down on gas emissions and global climate change Hopefully you’ve learned something from today's blog post! Thanks for reading! Sources/ Links to check out: https://www.benjerry.com/values/issues-we-care-about/climate-justice/what-is-climate-justice https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/climate-justice/ https://www.naacp.org/issues/environmental-justice/ https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/

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