Here is the earth as seen by astronauts many years ago on a voyage around the moon and back to earth.  Although the earth wasn’t as hot when they approached the moon on that day in 1968, the earth was on its way to getting hotter and hotter, and dangerously close to tipping point as far as temperature change is concerned. 

Young people all around the earth are shouting out and marching to say that we need to end the coal age.  And they are saying that we need to end the coal age, not because we don’t have enough coal, oil and gas to power the earth, but because if we don’t, then their future is quite questionable.  They are making the case that there might not be a future that is sustainable for life on the planet as we know it today. 

They are not saying this because we don’t have the evidence that change is on the way.  There are well established scientific links that tell us that for more than a century and a half of industrialization, along with the clear cutting of forests, and certain farming methods, greenhouse gases on the planet have increased in the atmosphere. 

1. The average global temperature on Earth is directly linked to the concentration of GHGs in the Earth’s atmosphere.
2. The concentration of GHGs has been rising steadily since the time of the Industrial Revolution as a result of human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use, leading to increasing global temperatures.
3. Urgent action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance sinks and to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

 We need to listen to what yesterday’s Climate Strike activists have said, and continue to say today at the United Nations.

If we want to end the coal age, and enter an age of sustainability, then we have to force or convince the politicians and industrialists of the world to act.  Act now.  Change now. Implement innovative ideas and support research to create an earth that is livable for all people, regardless of age, and regardless of economics.