After environmentalists’, politicians’ and Al Gore’s call to action, it’s now ordinary people’s turn to act, as the people who have been interviewed made it clear to us.
First, we interviewed young people, who are « maybe more concerned and aware of global warming » as Athina said, because some of them do environmental studies and they have been informed since elementary school about solutions against climate change and to protect the environment. We met (in person or with skype) :
- Athina, a physics student who wants to work with, oceans/renewable energies
- Salvio, the former English assistant in our high school.
AThina a 21 years old physics student - Clara who is an English assistant from Kansas, US.
In a lot of countries different solutions are used to fight climate change. Thus, in their countries they try to use solar panels, wind turbines and renewable energies.
They are particularly careful to reduce global warming and to protect the environment : they turn off the light when they leave a room, they recycle, they walk, use bicycle and public transports a lot, clean up some trash on beaches, plant trees, they don’t use trucks or four-wheel-drive and they take short showers. Moreover, as Clara said : « We have to be more careful about what we throw away ».
They generally agree to say that the policies which are implemented in France are pretty good and better than in the US. Indeed, in the US, there are different opinions and the rules vary from one state to another. In California, for example, (where Athina lived), a lot of renewable energies are used. Not long ago, wildfires broke out in California, so we asked Athina and Salvio if they personally felt concerned about this problem.
ATHINA : – « It’s a big issue and they are very dangerous, they have a great impact on nature, they start because of a lot of dead leaves and because of global warming. Of course I feel a bit concerned because I have friends who live there and they had to be evacuated because of wildfires. Fortunately, I could call them and they were fine. »
As for Salvio, he does not really feel concerned about what happened in California because it is about 1,000 miles away and he does not know anyone there.
As regards global warming, here is what they said :
According to Athina, this is a big issue which affects the world ; in her opinion, it is not just global warming, it is also a question of climate change because in Ireland, for example, temperatures are getting colder.
Clara thinks that global warming is a serious problem, « that’s going to be even more huge in the future if we do nothing », it will be worse in the future and there are already some effects like natural disasters.
Salvio added that it’s something that people should consider as it is real, and not a joke at all as Donald Trump may think. Indeed, the latter doesn’t care about scientists’ conclusions. He doesn’t want to accept the idea of global warming, it is not a good enough business for him.
Let’s end with some quotes of the interviewees :
ATHINA : – « The choices we make now will have such an important impact on the future that it is urgent to act »
CLARA : – « People need to act and realize that every little action can be important to support the environment »
SALVIO (about what we can do to stop global warming) :
– « It’s difficult to do things but together, we can stop it »
Angela, Baptiste, Marie