Corporations are Slowly Destroying our Earth

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By Evan Wilson ‘25

Climate change and global warming has been a popular topic lately, as it has shown its effects on animals and communities. Thanks to fossil fuels in particular, major emissions are being produced every second, creating extreme weather and losing the homes of wildlife. The problem is, these emissions won’t just stop on their own, and a major change needs to be made. 

Many still don’t understand all of the harmful effects that fossil fuels cause to our planet. Extreme weather has had a major impact on families, wildlife, and money. Hurricane Milton caused billions of dollars in damage to parts of Florida, and destroyed many homes and businesses. Forest fires have also been a major issue this past decade, as they have caused extreme damage to wildlife and increased deforestation which will only make climate change worse. Global sea level rise will also become an issue, as coastal towns and cities could eventually be destroyed. These events are all due to climate change, which has been brought upon by fossil fuel emissions, costing us billions of dollars. 

Major companies including ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, etc. are a significant portion of the total fossil fuels being emitted into the atmosphere. These companies are extracting oil and gas, letting out major emissions of fossil fuels. Along with these companies, elements like coal, tar sands, and more are being mined and extracted, releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. 

Even though these emissions are going into the atmosphere, at least a quarter of carbon emissions are being absorbed into the ocean, killing wildlife. Now, you may think that living a cleaner lifestyle, or getting more people to think green will help reduce climate change, but that is simply not enough. Even ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods has said that fossil fuels aren’t going anywhere, which means that we need more than just us individuals to reduce emissions. 

As time goes on, climate change will continue to be a major issue to the Earth, unless governments get involved. By making a universal change, and enforcing laws around the world, emissions will decrease substantially. But if corporations never slow down, our planet will be in extreme danger.

Sources

https://www.nwf.org/en/Our-Work/Climate/Climate-Change/Fossil-Fuels

https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-climate-environmental-and-health-impacts-of-fossil-fuels-2021

https://archive.ph/k8Nmt

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