2041524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7rUaE2FOf
I was 21 years old.
The news is as sad as it ever was. We now know that the global average temperature has now risen by 2%, which means that the world is doomed. In some areas, the temperature is much higher. The artic is now free from sea ice for most of the year!524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyM0G5AZl07
In America, it is just as bad, forest fires and the increased heat has caused havoc to agriculture in the South, soya beans have been halved. The warmer temperature means more insects such as bark beetles, which is now devastating forests. This is causing problems for the fauna and animals such as bears524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42llNAteO3
Europe is also in trouble. For the first time in a million years, there is no ice in the alps. This ice has been important, as it provided water and gave power to hydro plants for electricity. Now there are shortages of water and electricity. The Mediterranean now has an average of 6 extra weeks of heatwaves. 524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KfLJbHeOn
In South America, there is a huge lack of water. This has meant a huge decline in coffee production and many refugees trying to get to the USA.524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2H7LwnWltZ
Asia has huge water shortages. In fact, there is a worry that India and Pakistan will go to war over water. India has its own problem. Bangladesh is constantly being flooded, so India has a million refugees trying to get in.
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Developing regions are disproportionately affected by climate change, and Africa is the worst-hit location of all. Biblical-scale droughts are becoming the norm here, with much of the continent hit by serious declines in agricultural yields. In Mali, three-quarters of the population is starving. In the Western Pacific, Tuvalu is now sharing the same fate as the Maldives: much of the island nation has been inundated. The evacuations from here and other low-lying regions are now a regular feature on the news.
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I moved out this year to get my own flat. I would miss living with mom, but she was also old fashioned. Like when the news has shown a machine that could think by itself, mom thought this meant the end of the world. I thought that she needed to have some hope. Maybe machines wouldn't decide things that would kill mother earth as we have done. 524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoMVZop8Cg
I still studied, but things were not that boring. I spoke with my American friend a few times a week and I spoke with her brother every day! David was becoming more than a special friend.
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2042524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhAGpvSek7
22 years old
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I started the year with depression. The world is changing so much and the governments around the world have no guts to change things. We could have acted 50 years ago and the world would not be so sick as it is today! Governments cant think that far. They can only think about the new election.
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All over the world, people are starving. The huge climatic changes have meant that agriculture has been effected. Farmers can no longer grow crops where they once have and they are too slow to find new crops that will grow. In developing countries, they do not have the money to adapt to changes. Besides this, the growing amount of migrants and refugees have put pressure on feeding them. I think this is shocking. It's shocking to think that in the USA, the richest country in the world, millions of people are malnutrition!
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I did get good news this year. I have been speaking with Sharon's brother since I visited him in the USA. We have become very close. I do not know if it is love or not. David is now living with me and this has been great. He makes me smile, which is important as I am prone to get depressions. He tells me that I worry too much about the world.
Despite unemployment is so high, the government has announced that the retirement age is being increased to 70 and they plan at one stage to increase it to 75! This is because we are living longer. I think a major factor is that there have been fewer births, and the older generation is becoming larger and larger. The system simply cannot pay for retirement as it once had. I am still young but expect I will never retire.
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Mom shocked us this year. Despite being middle-aged, she had a baby girl. I am now a big sister. I honestly am confused about what I think about this. Can middle-aged women be good mothers? It seems like people think so as it is not that uncommon that women now wait to have a baby.
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A volcano erupted in Japan. This turned out to be some good news, as Japan was prepared for it. This means that the death levels were very low and Japan is sure that they will recover quickly.
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2043524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNR4vOjFTIG
23 years old
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This year started with a major change in my life. I want to make a difference in the world and this means that studying is just making me impatient. I started my own youtube channel where I talk about how the earth is suffering and how each of us needs to make a difference. Everyone thought I was daft for doing this. However, the channel took off and I have enough sponsors and paying subscribers to make a living.
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The world always had superpowers, and it seems as if the balance is changing during these years. The USA used to be the superpower of the world, however, the climate changes there have caused so many problems that the country has been in decline. They can hardly feed their own people! The once fertile lands in the mid-USA is now a dust bowl. All over the world, the lack of water is causing severe problems.
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Both Canada and Russia have closed their borders this year. This is because they have now become two superpowers where it concerns food and water. Russia can now grow food in Siberia and it has a huge supply of freshwater. Canada can boast about the same!
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Some scientists think that we should move to another planet. The race is on and the moon and Mars will have the first bases outside earth. This plan has had new energy this year when scientists provided proof that there was life on a distant planet. They are talking about small organics that are present. This gives hope that we could move to these planets at some stage. 524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TProVvqeO
This discovery will affect our culture here on Earth in the coming years. First, we are not alone. It will impact religions a lot as they will have to question a lot of their beliefs.
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I would only hope that we learn from our history and not damage any planet we will move into. It is sad to read that many animals and plants that I knew as a child are now extinct or close to extinction!
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2044524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQVH6puS7e
24 years old
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This year started with something good. David proposed to me and I agreed to be his wife. It was a strange and happy time. My youtube show was a depressing show, on how the world was on its death bed. Now I was talking about getting married. I suppose there is hope in the world.
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I decided to travel to Africa and have a special report on how Africa was. This was a shocking and bad experience. The first thing I noticed was the migrant camps. They were people that wanted to travel to Europe thinking that life would be better there. The living conditions were dire. There was hardly any water or food. The migrants lived in fear as the crime was high and the death toll was extremely high. The rest of Africa was also in chaos. The Sahara desert was expanding. Agriculture was under a press and there was a lack of freshwater. There is a huge social difference between the rich and the poor. The poor conditions are getting worse and worse. It does not help that the birth rate is so high. Africa is overcrowded and cannot feed itself. Even David could not see any hope here.
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My popularity really soared after these special shows. I now had to get used to being a youtube celebrity.
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I do not see why this Africa special has shocked so many. For the vast majority of human history, the Earth's population stayed below 100 million. The world population was now 9 billion. Asia and Africa have the greatest growth while Europe has had a low birth rate for decades. This does not mean that Europe is saved. It is an ageing population with few people to support the old people. Otherwise, the big question is how can the world support more people. The world can't even support them that we have now.
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The UK has long controlled immigration in the last half-century. On top of that, the UK has become decentralised and had a goal of self-sufficient. The results are the UK is better equipped than most of the world. We have rationed water long before others and we do not depend on foreign support like Asia, the Middle East and Africa... and even South European countries524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡua3PuDRDar
The good thing is the population growth is now levelling off.
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2045524Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5NwkX9J6R
25 years old
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As the number of refugees fleeing from environmental changes has gone up, several countries have closed their borders. Russia has closed its border and this really affects China, which has many Climate refugee camps close to the border. Canada has closed its borders and The US and UK maintain its closed borders they had in decades. Southern Europe still has closed borders. There is a growing fear that governments will use force and even bullets to enforce their borders. I fear that there will be bloodshed.
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In the USA, whites are now the minority. I do not know why this was major news, as I never considered a person colour important. However, it seems to be very important in the USA, where white supremacists are becoming more visible. This will mean a lot of innocent people are being hurt, and the country will be more split.
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My friend there is now in politics as a Republican. She is very conservative and a protectionist as well as believing in small government. The problem is that demography has also changed the way Americans think. They are more liberal now and the Democrats and Green party are now the major parties. It will be hard for Sharon to be elected for anything.
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David and I got married this year, which is quite unusual as fewer and fewer people are getting married. I am deeply in love with him and I think our marriage has made this love more special
To be continued.
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