The next big disaster, can it be an end of human life?

What does a catastrophe look like? Well, the savage Australian forest fires are the recent images which gives chills to all of us. The flames were so deadly that they could be seen from the space. It led to toxic fumes, slaughtering of billions of animals, burning of 18 million acres of land and if this does not sound like a catastrophe then what will?

Climate change, global warming, rising sea levels are things we have been hearing from a long time. There are hundreds of cases of tsunamis, hurricanes, forest fires, typhoons, glaciers melting which is habitat to some exotic and endemic species are being destroyed due to these disastrous events. We raise concern about them, treaties are signed to reduce the effect, work towards the environment, targets are set for 5 year, 10 years and still nothing happens.

The first such disaster that led to major extinction of several species was when dinosaurs died. While this has many theories and scientists do not attribute it to the doings of human but by looking at the statistics of today’s environmental conditions, there are pretty high chances that the next such disaster will be human made and most probably the extinction of humans themselves.

Statistics show that the earth is getting warmer by 0.18 degrees Fahrenheit every decade since 1880. And since 1981, the increase rate has been doubled. The major reason for this is high levels of fossil fuels burning which is the major reason for increase in global land and water temperatures creating shifts in the climatic conditions worldwide. We have already gone past the warning stage and if it is not being acted upon now, more than 1 million species are at a risk of extinction INCLUDING HUMANS!

It is scarier than horror movies and leaders of the world are not taking it seriously. This can be controlled hugely by controlling the burning of fossil fuels for which the major sources are industrial combustion and vehicles. Transportation account for more than 53% of total fossil fuel usage alone in the U.S., of which 65% is from personal transportation. Alternative sources of energy are being tested and used in various segments of economy, but transportation is still highly dependent of oil. Bringing shifts to this segment can not only benefit the environment big time but will also become a cheaper solution for travelling eventually. Electric vehicles are being tested and accepted by some groups but the convenient of them is not yet established making it difficult for people to fully depend on them.

Looking at the dreadful future of our generation and of world, it is high time we bring a strong shift in these major fields to reduce the carbon footprint and temperature to save no one else but ourselves from extinction!