Beginning of 2021 - wake up call

Today is January 20, 2021, the beginning of the new year, everyone seemed to be waiting for. 2020 is and will be stereotyped with COVID-19, stock markets going exponentially down, Brexit being implemented, Australian bushfires happening for over one year, people making jokes about World War III because of Trump ordering a drone strike against Iran, George Floyd being killed, which was followed with the black lives matter protests in the United States, and lastly the abortion law being further tightened in Poland and limiting women's rights.

No one predicted the coronavirus, and this virus having such power to destroy humanity. I still believe that this is the Earth defending itself from us, humans who are destroying and tearing down the environment, without thinking about the consequences and effects. People tend to think only about living today, not tomorrow. We love to treat ourselves with short-term consumption of goods and services. The fact is that people do not have to eat so much meat, fish, unhealthy food, and even vegetables that are simply unsustainably produced. This is because industries can't keep up with the increasing consumption worldwide. Since everyone thinks of 2020 as one of the worst years in history, the world has hope for 2021. However, we as a society have to make more sensible and well-thought-out decisions for our future generations. The coronavirus is one of the factors of our momentary thinking. We can't just hope for the virus to be eliminated, thanks to the vaccine. We have to consider that worldwide we still have around 400 thousand cases A DAY, including the U.S. which has 200 thousand. Of course, don't misunderstand me, we have to aspire for better, but we also have to think of our upcoming decisions. 

Even though the bushfires ended, we CANNOT forget about them, since this is also the Earth showing people to ACTUALLY start living sustainably. Global leaders want to stop the 2 degrees rise of temperature by the second half of the century. Although to accomplish such an ambitious goal, you also have to reduce your carbon footprint. Everyone's electricity supplies should be renewable, because did you know that about 60 percent of electricity is STILL gas and coal. All the factors are important since as you probably have already heard, the production of meat and dairy is extremely unsustainable. Specifically breeding cattle, considering that cows produce methane, which is 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. For that reason, try a plant-based diet and become a vegan. However, it is essential to think about ALL of the factors, since unsustainable production of vegetables also has its consequences. For example, the production of soya causes deforestation on a very large scale. Following, the almond production uses HUGE amounts of water. But there are SOLUTIONS, such as eating vegetables and fruits locally sourced, native plants that are in the season. It is important not to eat food that is shipped from far away since transportation also emits carbon dioxide.  

So basically, this is my wake-up call to everyone out there in the world. We must do something now so that we don't wake
up too late.

link to the first photo: https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/covid-19-what-you-should-know-about-masks

link to the second photo: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/23/politics/black-lives-matter-support-impact/index.html

link to the third photo: https://www.vox.com/2020/5/18/21262273/coronavirus-hong-kong-masks-deaths-new-york