As we all learned in science class, everything has a cause and effect. For example: because you studied for your Spanish test, you got a good grade on it, or because you worked all day, you got a big paycheck. Unfortunately though, not all causes have positive effects.

As everyone knows, the fires in California are still raging due to the extreme winds and abnormally high heat. The cause? Climate change. The effect? 70,000 people have been evacuated and over 36,000 acres of land have been destroyed. We are single-handedly destroying our home and killing our only planet, and if you think that this doesn’t affect you, you are rudely mistaken. Next time you’re at the grocery store, take a look around the produce department. Notice anything? Perhaps it’s the shortage of strawberries, oranges, lemons, avocados and tomatoes. California alone produces almost half of all US-grown fruits and vegetables, and due to these fires, the land has become so toxic that growing these fruits and vegetables is very difficult. Let’s not forget that the smoke is so thick that even if the soil was fertile, the sunlight wouldn’t be able to reach the ground. Tell me again your reasonings for not caring and not believing? We have scientist after scientist proving to us and teaching us about these issues. It’s time we take some initiative and start working together to solve them.

We only get one chance to save our Earth and we’ve already messed up by waiting so long. The important thing is that it’s not too late. There is still hope to save our Earth, but we need to act now and stop thinking things will magically get better. For those of you that don’t believe in climate change, I’m here to tell you that it is a very real thing that you need to care about. If you don’t care about it now, things will only get worse later on and future generations will have to clean up our messes, our screw ups, our mistakes. Caring can be as simple as using less plastic, helping to plant a tree or recycling. It’s time to care because it isn’t just your life that’ll be impacted, but future generations to come as well.