Humanity is running on borrowed time. The most recent climate report from the UN reveals we have 10 years starting in 2020 to prevent a global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees C.

My professors have gravely informed my classmates and I that if business continues as usual, the world should prepare for 2.5- or 3-degree temperature increases.

This is terrifying.

The reality is we must collectively act now, not tomorrow, to ensure a habitable home for future generations and all species of this planet.

My generation is not afforded the luxury of prevention, we are in crisis and our only option is to adapt, quickly.

The report calls for “rapid and transformational action” – we must shift from extracting and burning fossil fuels.

We have the tools, technology, minds, hearts and souls to solve the climate crisis and in the process heal interwoven systemic and societal wounds. We must eliminate and sequester CO2, preserve biodiversity, prevent mass extinctions and prepare for the consequences that are inevitable even with extreme adaptation. Think climate refugees, rising sea levels, extreme weather, food shortages, etc.

It’s scary stuff, and now more than ever, we must come together as a community and as a world.

With the 2020 election approaching, it’s critical that our leaders are held accountable.

We can move towards 100% clean energy, but we must vote, engage and become involved. Each of our voices holds weight, but together, we can change the course of humanity.

Ellis McNicholDurango