We’re Not Dead Yet
By: Nima Raychaudhuri
Tags: One Planet, Climate Change, Environment, Environmental Issues

“You’ll die of old age, I’ll die of climate change,” — Unknown This one line reflects the sentiment amongst teenagers across the world. To combat this global crisis together, we need a way to measure the effects of each of our actions. As W. Edward Demming said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”. Also, all of us need to know the goal which we are trying to reach. I would request to start simple and suggest having UN’s 13th goal printed copy on every household’s fridge.

I am not exaggerating that our world is on the brink of collapse. Heat waves, longer hurricane and wildfire seasons, and rising sea levels are no longer features of some dystopian future and are creating crises all over the world.

When deadly category 5 hurricane Maria shredded through Puerto Rico, the electricity that used to power water treatment plants and distribution pumps were totally shut down. This left the entire population struggling to find drinking water. Also, in rural parts of Puerto Rico, people rely upon pumping groundwater for their usage, and without electricity, they were completely stranded. With record-breaking 30 hurricanes this season, we have seen some massive damages on its path. It’s imperative that we shift our focus and act faster to stop this crisis.

This is not something we will be able to fight alone. I believe, we have to start thinking outside our home, neighborhood, or locality. We need to start learning from other countries.

It isn’t just America’s problem and like us, many other countries should learn from others who are leading in making effective changes. We need to work together and learn from each other if we want to stay on this planet. I know this is easier said than done, but if all the leaders can put aside their differences and work together we might be able to bandage our past scars of unwise decisions. Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have the top four highest EPI (Environmental Performance Index) scores in the world for their strategies in tackling climate change. All these countries are today’s leaders at reducing forms of pollution in the environment.

Denmark is one of the most environmentally friendly countries because they have a very biodiverse environment as well as good air quality. But to help battle the rising levels of greenhouse gases, they have put in place many efficient policies. They have also decided to make parts of their society more sustainable as well with eco-friendly hotels, solar-powered boats, and organic food. We have so much to learn from this country because in the US we don’t have that many examples of sustainability being implemented in the environment.

Luxembourg is the second most environmentally friendly country on earth because of its high score in water resources and biodiversity. Their improvement has been outstanding despite their rapidly growing population and GDP. They also have an astounding waste management system to help them recycle better and be able to minimize the amount of waste going to landfills. They have also started using more renewable resources which have helped in decreasing their overall greenhouse gas emissions.

Switzerland is the third most environmentally friendly country in the world for its high rankings in environmental health, sustainability, and water sanitation and resources. They are reducing their carbon footprint by investing heavily in carbon-cutting projects and world-leading recycling and waste management system.

Finally, the UK has had perfect scores in water sanitation and the use of household fuels. Considering the population, the UK is excellent at reducing climate change and emissions. They are making this much progress because of their national commitment to reducing their emissions as a country.

These countries have decided to step up and take action on the problem our generation is facing today. We should not start from scratch but should start from these countries' experiences. Our ideologies might be divided on other fronts but we are still multiple countries on one planet. We should learn from each other and come forward to handle and restrain the climate change crisis.

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