Up until this point in my life, when people have talked about “climate change” or “global warming”, I haven’t thought much of it. It’s always seemed like a distant problem, one I won’t have to deal with in my lifetime. It seems abstract, much like a Jackson Pollock painting. There are so many different things going on that all contribute to one greater outcome, but thinking about (or in the case of the painting, looking at) it for too long begins to give me a bit of a jumbled mind and a headache. I can’t tell where it ends and I can’t figure out where it begins. I can’t seem to grasp the entire concept long enough to understand it. That scares me.

Though it’s only been two weeks into this course, I’ve learned far more about climate change and global warming than I’ve learned in my last 20 years of life. And quite frankly, it terrifies me. It’s a force of nature that, regardless of what we do to try and stop it, cannot be stopped. It’s going to happen anyway. We as a human race can work together to take precautionary and preventative measures to prolong the inevitable, but that’s it. It’s inevitable. Whether what we do prolongs it for 10 years, 50 years, or 100 years, I can’t say. But the thought that I may experience the harsh effects of climate change in my lifetime is a real possibility. That scares me.

The stories we’ve read so far have described a desolate, ruined planet. A planet that has harsh climates and abandoned cities. A planet that can’t maintain a human race. A planet that is far from what we know our planet to be. That scares me.

There have been so many studies done about global warming and the ways in which we can contribute to prolonging it. Those facts and statistics are some of the few that I actually find comfort in. Yes, it will still happen, and yes, it’s still difficult to grasp the entire concept, but knowing that there is at least something I can do to contribute is somewhat reassuring. Having been born and raised in Oregon, I’ve had the privilege of growing up in an area full of trees, rivers, oceans, beaches, mountains, and just about every other type of natural beauty one could think of. I’ve recycled my entire life, and I learned what a carbon footprint was long before I actually understood what it meant. I’ve spent much of my life trying to give back to this planet all that it has given to me, and I will continue to do so. My actions may be small, microscopic even, in the attempts to save our planet, but could you imagine the impact we would all have if everyone tried a little more? If everyone recycled a bit more? Or walked or biked a few days more than they drove? Or bought more food from local areas rather than food that has been shipped in from around the globe? It would make an astounding difference. That gives me reassurance that, although global warming scares me, there is hope that we can make a difference. That doesn’t scare me.