I attended Ohio State’s 50th Earth Day Celebration on Wednesday, April 15th on Zoom through requested invitation at 2:00 p.m. An interesting fact about Ohio State is that we have been in existence and participated for all 50 Earth Days! Josh Knight and Nicole Jackson hosted the event where more than 300 people attended, and it was amazing to see how Ohio State still remained well-connected despite the current COVID-19 situation.
During the hour-long event, different speakers were introduced. The two main speakers were Dr. Bart Eltmore from the Department of History and Dr. Elena Irwin from the College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences in Economics & Sustainability. Dr. Eltmore focused on the history of how Earth Day became to be and emphasizes that we must recognize natural adversaries and events can affect our daily lives. An important point he makes is that during this tumultuous time, it is a great opportunity for us to think about how we are indebted to our ecosystems. Dr. Irwin focused on what life will be like in the year 2070. She gave us versions of two different worlds. World #1, called Business as Usual, emphasized all communities in the world will be severely challenged; however, the rich will be better off. People will be unable to breathe air without a mask, natural disasters will be far worse and common, parts of the world will be wiped out due to rising sea levels, and poverty and hunger will increase by 100+ million. World #2, called Global Techno-Economy, fails to reach the 2030 emission reduction recommendations, but thankfully meets the 2050 recommendation. Economic growth through different technological advances are being pursued to further reduce carbon emissions. However, the coral reefs are dead and artic summers have no ice. World #3, called Ecological Balance, makes the 2030 emission reduction recommendation thanks to deep cuts made from companies. By 2050 the world will be fully de-carbonized and corporations make severe cuts. People realized in World #3 through the 2020 coronavirus event, how fragile society is, and deep changes were made to seize the moment. Although we were able to make the 2030 deadline where there is cleaner water and breathable air, economies in some nations are stagnant or decline.
Ever since I first learned about climate change, I have always been trying to advocate for the change we need in current day systems and how important it is to all be on the same page in order to save our home, Earth. Without the cooperation from all people around the world, whatever country, religion, sexuality, etc., we cannot achieve the 2030 goal. One of the biggest hurdles we have to overcome is for people to actually recognize the seriousness over climate change. If society in whole, is unable to even admit there even is an issue, how are we supposed to expect change? Ultimately, it will be my generation that will get the repercussions because of the lack of responsibility of older generations. I cannot say confidently that I am unafraid. I am actually completely terrified for what the future holds for our future government and our planet.