This past month, the country celebrated Earth Day, a holiday based around the preservation and protection of our planet. A planet that someday soon may be facing dire circumstances. According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the global climate is changing at a rate faster than any other time in human history. Unfortunately, that rate only grows exponentially.

            This massive global warming event is caused by human activity. Between deforestation and the emissions of fossil fuels, the atmosphere has a 40% higher concentration of carbon dioxide than it did before the industrial revolution. Carbon dioxide is the largest contributor to the natural greenhouse effect. In addition, as more and more trees are cut down for lumber and land plots, less carbon dioxide is transformed into oxygen. Due to this carbon-rich atmosphere, more heat from the sun is remaining on Earth, leading to a steadily climbing climatic temperature.

            In a stroke of irony, global climate change is now starting to have serious repercussions throughout human society. Due to longer dry seasons, wildfires are more prominent than ever. In coastal regions, strange weather patterns and water levels causes hurricane events and flooding. Due to the seasonal changing, farming cycles are altered and harvests are producing less quality crops or are harvested prematurely. As more carbon dioxide is dissolved into the oceans, and humans continue to over fish, fish populations are dropping fast. Not all climate change phenomena are negative, but a large majority are. If we as inhabitants of Earth do not start taking better care of our planet, we may have to colonize Mars, because there will be nowhere else to live.