As time progresses it’s becoming more challenging to deny what’s happening to our planet. The abuse it’s endured at the hands of humans is showing through and telling us that it’s now or never to take action.

The question is… what will the human response be to the message we are receiving from our planet? Will this be the wake-up call we all need or will the cry for help fall on deaf ears?

The world is experiencing unprecedented weather and if you’re unsure of how climate change is to blame for some of the most recent natural disasters and weather changes, this post will explain the two most recent events.

The Floods in Europe

Often we confuse the term global warming with climate change and assume that the only impact of a changing climate is intense heat. Unfortunately, this is a misconception that causes us to overlook many impactful events as repercussions of climate change.

In reality, climate change presents itself in many ways and will continue showing up as intense weather events until a major change is made. As our climate worsens, weather events will continue increasing in severity. Meaning that hurricanes will get more destructive, fires will be more widespread (more on that here), and inches of rainfall will continue rising, resulting in massive flooding.

An important distinction here is that these things will start occurring even in countries that don’t historically experience such weather events. Unfortunately, many countries around the world are unprepared for this since they are out of the ordinary for them, resulting in more infrastructure damage and human injury.

The Heat Wave in the US and Canada

A couple of weeks ago, on June 29th, Canada reached its hottest temperature ever recorded— 49.6°C/121°F. This extreme heat not only impacted Canada but the entire west coast of the United States. With global warming comes atypical temperature highs and major changes in what our seasons have typically looked like in the past. This means not only intense highs, but also uncharacteristic snow, increases in ice during the winter, and more storms in colder seasons.

And while these may seem like changes we can live with, it’s important to realize that these conditions will continue to intensify until the planet is no longer a habitable environment for our species. The further we push plastic pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, unsustainable farming, and habitat destruction, the more inhospitable our world will become.

This is just the beginning… but we still have time to make changes.

What You Can Do To Prevent Climate Destruction

As more of us begin experiencing the devastating effects of climate change, my hope is that more of the global population will be encouraged to take action. Here are some small ways you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in your day to day life:

• Avoid supporting large corporations that are responsible for the majority of the pollution of our planet, like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Nestle. More about that here.

• Reduce your single-use waste and plastic use as much as possible

• Carpool, walk, or bike when possible

• Cut back on your meat consumption! This makes a huge difference in the emissions coming from agriculture and reduces habitat destruction. When we destroy natural landscapes to make feedlots for cows, we’re hugely increasing emissions by getting rid of trees that trap CO2 and adding in animals that are responsible for increased emissions. More about that in my Diet and Climate Change series, part 1 and part 2.

• Be a conscious consumer. Purchase from brands that are using sustainable farming methods and avoiding chemical pollutants.

• Reach out to policymakers and your local representatives to demand more climate-conscious policy is implemented.

• Educate yourself and others! Read up on the available information online (you can start with the articles I’ve linked above) and get clear on exactly what’s going on with our planet. The more we understand, the more we can contribute to change.

And this is by no means the end of the list! There are so many ways to fight the climate crisis. And remember, every action taken, no matter how small, is better than standing still. We still have time, but we need to act now.