We are in some hot water... literally

              Earth is getting warmer, the ice caps are melting, the oceans are rising, natural disaster are more deadly than ever, but the human race cannot help but turn Global Warming into a buzz word and a political issue. This may sound cynical, especially coming from someone who tries to be optimistic, but I have little faith that humans will take the necessary steps to try to stop and fix any of the damage we have caused to the Earth and its health. While watching this documentary, I was profoundly disturbed by the behavior of governments and corporations who knowingly take and take from the Earth to fill their pockets, and then proceed to pay people to present themselves as environmental scientists to spread false information about the global warming crisis. However, I am not going to act like I am above anyone else given that I drive a car that uses gas, I am a consumer of Amazon products and other fast fashion retailers, and have benefited substantially from having a parent that worked in the oil and natural gas industry. I thought the documentary made a good point on the switch from the emphasis being on individuals impact on global warming to shifting the responsibility to make change onto large corporations and governments. I agree with this shift, but I think that even though the emphasis is no longer on the everyday person we still have influence over corporations and politicians via where we spend our money and what we value when we vote. As a Catholic, I believe God created all things good and in His image, which includes the Earth, and that God created humans to be stewards of the Earth. Being a steward of the Earth means humans have the responsibility to use the resources of the Earth with dignity and to protect God’s creating from defilement and greed. It is scary to think that we may no longer have some of the animals we grew up with or that natural disasters will only become more catastrophic. I think it was productive to watch this documentary, despite its depressing effect, because as a human race, we must feel a duty to protect the planet that sustains us. It is our duty to work together to make sure the Earth is still habitable to all and protect the vulnerable. I am excited to do my part in fixing the problems humans have created for ourselves and other living things in the world through restoring some of my local environment at the Nature Center and learning more about global warming.