It Starts with You

We are now at the point, where if the temperature of the earth rises by as little as 1.5 degrees we will lose any control over our existence. At the current rate of carbon emissions, this could happen in less than 15 years.
These fossil fuels that we are digging up and burning, we don’t have billions of years for them to return to the ground, so we must stop. It does not get any more simple than that. To avoid the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming, CO2 emissions would have to be eliminated by the year 2050. In comparison, some scientists say if all countries met their current 2030 target of lower carbon emissions, the 1.5 degrees Celsius rise would only be delayed by half a year. But those who contribute the most to the destroying of our planet, seem to care more about their money than the future of humanity. We must try our very best not to give these people money. There are other ways to live. But even more than becoming a vegetarian, or not buying plastic bottles, it is of utmost importance that we tell the rule makers that we have had enough.
It is time for the world to take action. We have all heard the speeches, seen the protests on TV, retweeted a call for help. But now we must do more than putting posts on our instagram story. We must listen to the speeches, go to the protests, and we must rebel over and over and over again until those that make the rules, change them. It is too often that we think we have no power, that the real power lies in number 10 Downing Street, in the White House, in the palaces and the governments and those who do not listen to us. But the real power is with the people. If we try, if we really try, there will be change, for the simple reason that there must be.
There are some that say, “Why try? One person cannot make a difference. It is too late now.” But no matter what the chances of success may be, we must have faith. Or the earth will die. As soon as an animal stops running from its predator, it dies. As soon as we stop holding our breath when we are trapped under water we die. As soon as enough of us say “It is no use, I have given up,” we all die. It is not always the thing we are fighting that kills us, but our lack of faith. And we must not now look for faith in our governments, or in our religions, because hope for change will not save us. We must look for faith in each other, because only real change can.  
I will not lie, it is true that this fight will be the biggest and hardest of many of our lives, but it will be the one that means the most, and it must be the one that we win. And it is true, that we may not all deserve that victory, but one day there may be people that will. They may thank us for saving their planet, for fighting, because if we do not there will be no one to thank us at all. The fact is, doing nothing is no longer an option. In order to survive we must keep going, keep fighting for our earth and for ourselves, keep running, keep holding our breath. Keep believing that we can save the earth. And then maybe we will.