By 2028, according to a timer in New York City currently counting down by seconds, the effects of global warming will be irreversible. This is a problem that humans, as a community, need to fix.

According to Live Science, an online publication making science accessible, sea levels are rising. Storms have increased both in numbers and in destructive power. In 2020, there were so many hurricanes it almost seemed like we had one every week somewhere in the United States. The Arctic is suffering due to ice melting, and many species in the Arctic are now endangered because of the loss of their habitat. In addition, the Arctic’s land is about to be sold for oil drilling, according to National Geographic.

What happens next is up to us. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC at nrdc.org), global warming is when carbon dioxide and other pollutants like greenhouse gases get stuck in the atmosphere and collect sunlight and solar radiation. Usually, things like this would not be something to worry about because normally it just escapes and dissolves into space, but these air pollutants get stuck in the atmosphere; therefore, they don’t have a chance to escape, which traps the heat and causes the planet to get warmer over the centuries.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity (biologicaldiversity.org), there are also different factors that go into it as well. These factors are mainly us. Yes, you heard me. Scientists say that humans are a significant factor in global warming. After the industrial revolution, factories became a big part of manufacturing goods. These factories produce a type of fuel that pollutes the Earth, makes greenhouse gases worse, and contributes to global warming. Factories are not the only thing in the world that contribute to global warming, though. Cars do, too. Cars also produce a type of fossil fuel that also contributes to global warming. Together, these fossil fuels are very damaging to the Earth.

According to Scientific American, climate change started to become an issue in the early 1970s. It had already been an issue, but it became more of an issue after factories became a mainstay in America. Factories produce fossil fuels, which include large portions of carbon dioxide, which pollutes the world and heats up the Earth.

Places suffering the most, according to the United Nations’ website, UN.org, include the Arctic, the oceans, and Africa. I think you can guess why these places have been most affected by global warming. The Earth is heating up, and the Arctic’s ice is melting, and glaciers are melting at an even faster rate. Africa is heating up even more than it was before, to the point where the heat is unbearable at times. The ocean’s sea level is rising, and the water is heating up, which is also causing coral bleaching and destroying many species’ habitats.

How can we resolve this massive ongoing problem? The NRDC suggests getting an electric car. This will help out because gas-fueled cars produce lots of fossil fuel. Another option, says NRDC, is to reduce your water waste. This will help out because it takes a lot of energy to pump, heat, and treat your water. To minimize water waste, you can shorten your showers. Basically, you can do anything that will shrink your carbon profile. The resources cited here have many more suggestions, but there is one more important than any other–speak up.

Speak up about the world heating up as we speak. Talk about it. Encourage your family and friends to talk about it. Educate your family and friends. If everyone helped with this problem, we could make a big change. Until then, the clock, an art project by Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd, will continue to count down the years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds until the Earth’s deadline.