As Earth’s human population continues to rapidly increase, the impact our species has on our planet becomes more severe. Social media is used to help spread awareness of it, but this isn’t enough. Currently, only 61% of Americans believe that humans directly cause global warming and that it’s not just the natural temperature cycle of Earth. 
Why should you care though? You’re reading a college newspaper right now, so you probably have other things to worry about. Well, if Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, spent the majority of his visit to the U.S. spreading awareness on this issue, then I’d say it was pretty important. Sadly, even he can’t fix the problem on his own. 
The problem lies with congress: out of the 435 members, 160 are active climate change deniers. Over 97% of scientists agree that climate change is a serious issue, yet people who hold positions of power in our country are actively denying that it even exists. What could possibly drive these people into denying something that is, quite literally, a scientific fact? I say: who cares? It’s not our job to make those people change their minds, it’s our job to change the people who hold those positions. 
Boston College recently had a climate change conference to discuss this matter with students and help them to engage with this issue. Boston College is a Catholic school and was greatly inspired by the Pope’s climate change address. I think that this is a great idea. A lot of students really don’t engage in these types of topics unless its through social media, meaning they aren’t physically participating. Things can and do get done that way, but not fast enough.
I think the idea of bringing this issue to a younger audience is key. Instead of teaching our children that global warming is simply a natural process, we need to tell them that it is a result of human activity, and that it is humanity’s problem to fix.
I’m not writing this article to tell you to go out and cool down the Earth yourself; I’m writing this for awareness. A lot of you probably already know most of this information, but unless it’s a celebrity death or fight, no one’s going to care. Most of us are in college and feel like we can’t do anything to help, but we can; by simply spreading awareness of an issue you’re helping the cause.