I am a student at Fort Lewis College who is deeply concerned about the climate crisis. I often hear about individual carbon footprint reduction, but the main cause of the crisis is rarely discussed.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “100 active fossil fuel producers, including ExxonMobil, Shell, BHP Billiton, and Gazprom are linked to 71% of industrial greenhouse gas emissions.” This means that even if we live “greener” lives, our environment will still get worse.

Corporations lobby politicians and outsource labor to keep their work cheap and exploitable, and will fight change. In 2022, the Fraser Institute estimated that we only have 10 years to change our ways before the crisis is irreversible, so we must act quickly.

In an ideal world, just collectively voting for restrictions on large corporations and prioritizing local businesses would suffice but unfortunately, complete revolutions in many countries – such as our own – are needed to heal our planet.

If you too are concerned about the future of our earth, do your part. Be loud, boycott, protest, let your anger drive you, and bring justice into your own hands. Let a new revolution bloom.

Gwydion T. Hogg

Durango