Eva Hagan: Everyone must combat climate change

As a rising junior in high school, I find myself concerned about the global effects of climate change. My generation will be dealing with this problem for many years to come, and I am convinced that more powerful steps need to be taken now.

In the July 23 Focus article “Group clones California’s huge trees to fight climate change,” Scott Smith described a group of arborists taking what seem to be some of the world’s hardiest trees and harnessing them to be cloned and grown throughout the country to help abolish global warming. For many, this seems like a futile endeavor, knowing that the genes of the trees might not be promising.

However, the article brings attention to the fact that we need to take advantage of whatever we can find that hinders the effect of climate change, because we may be running out of time to stop it completely. The trees and the arborists are not the only ones who can help.

For the world to be able to buffer and stop global warming, we need to acknowledge the reality of climate change and act to save the planet.

This story was originally published August 14, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Eva Hagan: Everyone must combat climate change."