I feel frustrated.

I find it very appalling that there are certain individuals on this planet who refuse to believe in climate change and our contribution to it, global warming. As a science-minded person, I understand the facts to be facts, not fiction. Lying about an existential crisis would not be beneficial to anyone. So I am frustrated.

I feel afraid.

I am worried due to the fact that species are beginning to die out. Particular species affected include frogs, sea turtles, and polar bears, to name a few. I don’t want to live on a planet where I can’t show my children what a real frog looks like. I don’t want to live on a planet knowing we could eventually be the only creatures here, living with the fact that we murdered all the others. An example would be sea turtles. Their eggs must be incubated at a specific temperature range in the sand. As the climate warms, it affects the delicate balance, causing a certain sex of sea turtles to be born, or not to be born at all. This is only one species of many harmed by the heating of our Earth. So I am scared.

I feel helpless.

I find myself wondering what I could possibly do to reduce the dramatic effect we are having on the ozone layer. I am disheartened when I make the effort to recycle everything I can when people like my dad can’t be bothered to walk the extra steps to the recycle bin. I admire those who can engage in “zero waste” living and feel as if they are making an impact when the reality of the situation is that if we don’t do this together, it won’t get better. So I feel lost.

I feel sad.

Dr. Seuss once wrote, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” This is a line from his book The Lorax, a saddening novel about the obsessive harvesting of a particular tree that drove it to extinction. The land was then in a perpetual smog from the pollution. In The Lorax, Dr. Seuss accurately predicted the current course of our Earth. Thinking about the future is difficult since we might not be around. However, I think leaving a mark that makes the world better than it was is important now more than ever. This should be something everyone strives for, but it isn’t. So I am saddened.

I feel angry.

When I look outside and see rain in January, I never thought I would wish for snow. I never thought I would be upset about sixty-degree weather in the wintertime. Some are rejoicing, but I would gladly scowl at them because they lack the foresight to understand what this really means. It means the climate is changing, natural or enhanced, and we need to do something about it. This is difficult because we have a leader that doesn’t believe in this crisis. So I am angry.