Introduction
Most people dream of the future or the past and what it would be like to change their circumstances. Some people wish to revisit history to correct the mistakes that they made in their lives, while others imagine what they would do if they were able to travel into the future. Society faces many problems today, and people always visualize how previous societies existed and what future ones will look like. This paper examines travel into the future and discusses how climate change is the most important societal problem today. It argues that a visit into the future can help me plan my life better, and that human activities have significantly contributed to climate change.
Time Travel to the Future
If I could time travel to exactly one year from today, I would choose to visit the future because it would give me an opportunity to see how technology and climate change have affected society. Additionally, a journey into the forthcoming year would allow me to see whether COVID-19 is still a social, economic, and health challenge or if a cure has been found. If possible, I would find out what the cure for the pandemic is and then come back and give the information to medical experts so that they can stop its spread as soon as possible. This would give me an opportunity to do something good for society.
Traveling into the future will have a significant impact on me because it will give me an opportunity to change the outcome of my mistakes. It will also allow me to understand what I need to do now in order to become successful in future. The world will still have most of the technology that we are used to, so I do not believe that I will see much difference in this area. However, I would like to see how Joe Biden’s government will have performed and what steps Kamala Harris will have taken to support women, African American communities, and other minority groups. In general, time travel will teach me to value the things that I already have and to look forward to a bright future.
During my travels into the future, I will study how to navigate the new surroundings because of the possible changes in infrastructure and transport. While I believe that not many things can change in one year, I will advise myself to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, especially concerning the effects of COVID-19. I will also remind myself that this is a chance for me to do good deeds in a world that has experienced a lot of deaths in recent times. Generally, I will advise myself to work harder in my schoolwork when I return and to stay focused so that I earn excellent grades that will gain me entry into a good university.
Climate Change as a Societal Problem
I consider climate change to be the most important societal problem today. If people continue using natural resources in the current manner, then, it is likely that the competition for already scarce resources will increase. Climate change is caused mainly by human-related activities such as burning fossil fuels, farming livestock, and cutting down rain forests. The activities add large amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and this increases global warming and the greenhouse effect (Trenberth, 2018). Today the world is constantly experiencing extreme events because of climate change. Incidences of heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms and precipitation, hurricanes, and tropical storms have increased over the years (Trenberth, 2018). This leads to loss of lives, damage to utilities and infrastructure, and it even affects marine and plant life. Therefore, it has the potential to cause a lot of destruction to lives and the environment if something is not done to limit its effects.
Climate change adds to already existing problems and makes them appear worse. The loss of livelihoods and land, in addition to persistent poverty, wars, and displacements, can trigger a desperate competition for already scarce resources. It can also increase tensions between communities as they fight to control the limited resources in the environment. Therefore, climate change has the potential to make life worse because it makes people desperate to find a means of survival.
This problem can be solved if people stop being greedy. Responding to this problem, therefore, requires comprehensive strategies that will simultaneously address economic, social, and environmental effects. Particularly, teaching people to rely on renewable energy will greatly help reverse the situation. This is because as living standards improve, higher energy consumption will be required for heating, transportation, and manufacturing of good and services (Arto et al., 2016). Therefore, ensuring that green energy rather than fossil fuels is available will help mitigate the problem.
Additionally, educating people on the long-term effects of climate change will help reduce this problem. People need to understand that if the situation continues as it is, the world will become uninhabitable, reaching a point where human life will no longer be sustainable. It is therefore better to prevent such a scenario by teaching communities how to engage in environmental sustainability to protect the planet for their own benefit and for the future generations.
Conclusion
Time travel to the future will allow me to learn about what I need to improve for a better future. It will also show me how the events of 2020 such as COVID-19 and the U.S. election have impacted the future. The impact of climate change will also continue to be visible, and changing this societal problem should be a major goal for all communities. Human activities are the main cause of this problem, so changing people’s behavior is the best way of resolving it.
Reference
Arto, I., Capellán-Pérez, I., Lago, R., Bueno, G., & Bermejo, R. (2016). The energy requirements of a developed world. Energy for Sustainable Development, 33, 1-13. Web.
Trenberth, K. E. (2018). Climate change caused by human activities is happening and it already has major consequences. Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, 36(4), 463-481. Web.