Climate Crash

A wonderful world.

As Crash Bandicoot will tell you, saving the world is not an easy feat to accomplish. He's always out there battling evil scientists and strange mutants, and the odds are against him every time. And yet he still finds the strength and will to keep doing it, because he knows we live in a world worth fighting for.

There are many people like him all over our planet. They deal with different kinds of dangers from what Crash is usually involved with, but they're heroes nonetheless. They may be firemen, police officers, environmentalists, and so on... But they may also simply be people who can make a difference by caring and doing what they can in their everyday lives. Everyone can be a hero.

I've been writing about Crash Bandicoot in this site for over a decade. I have no intention of stopping now or turning Crash Mania into a place where I can project my personal philosophies every so often, but just this once I'd like to create an exception to do something a little different. There is an important matter I want to discuss with all of my readers and fellow Crash Bandicoot fans, and I promise it will be worth your time. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.

The World Needs Saving

One of the most important things in life is that you fight for your beliefs. You might be wondering what I'm fighting for, and I can tell you that for a long time now, my primary concern has been our world's climate. The climate is changing in more ways than a lot of people realize, and this isn't something that will simply go away.

A scenario that seems more likely every year (minus the bandicoots and floating masks).

Let's think back to the The Wrath of Cortex. This game played up the theme of a destructive Mother Nature as a subtle reminder that we have to treat our planet with respect. Looking back at it, how many times did you lose a life in this game? How many Game Overs did you get because of monsoons, landslides, tornados, or extreme heat acting against you? The situation around the world right now may not be quite as dramatic as in this game at the moment, but if we don't act right now, we're headed to an even worse situation at a quick pace. Unfortunately, unlike Crash, we don't get checkpoints or continues. Moreover, we don't have magical crystals to help sealing these catastrohpes away. Our only method of succeeding is through prevention.

One of the biggest problems we've got on our hands right now is the emission of carbon. We produce carbon emissions every day (many times unknowingly), and this hurts our planet in permanent ways. It's because of them that temperatures around the globe are quickly rising (2016 was already the hottest year on record), which can have disastrous consequences if we don't act right now. Indeed, this is not something we can simply ignore or brush aside until later, as we've unfortunately reached the tipping point where, if serious precautions aren't taken immediately, there will be nothing left to do next.

But don't panic. It's not all doom and gloom. As long as there is hope, there will be ways to fight back climate changes.

We can save the world. We must save the world.

What Can We Do?

There are already measures being taken to fight back climate change all over the world. One that immediately springs to mind is the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in various ways across many different countries. Without your help, however, this may not be enough.

This is a fictional excavation from Crash of the Titans. The ones we're actually doing are much scarier.

I know what you're thinking. In your mind, you're telling me that you can't make a difference when you're just one person. That's why I want to draw another parallel to our dashing bandicoot hero. Could he really have saved the world all by himself? Maybe not. After all, he always counts on Coco, Aku Aku, and his other friends to help him, and here lies a very important lesson: When people unite, they can do amazing things. If you do your part and tell your friends and family to do the same, things will become much easier, and when they tell even more people about this noble cause... That, my friend, is when you'll truly make a difference.

To fight climate change, you must understand climate change. As a starting point, I strongly reading this document which sums up what you need to know as a newcomer. I always like to share it with everyone I can:

The 12 Questions Every Climate Activist Hears

There are many other things we can do in our everyday routine to fight climate changes, and they're not as difficult or crazy as you might think. Personally, I like to look at the glass half-full with every new challenge. Public transportation may be less convenient than a car, but it reduces carbon emissions drastically and, who knows, might even help you making some good friendships along the way. Throwing all of your waste into a dumpster is much easier than recycling, but taking the ecological route helps keeping places clean and preserving our trees, which are a key element in reducing carbon. You can find more ideas at the bottom of the article.

There is always a reason to keep fighting.

As a final word of advice: Never give up. It's easy to feel down when we look at all the problems we have in this world, but I choose to have faith. You should have faith too, because once we get the ball rolling, there will be no stopping it. Yes, there will be hard times along the way. There will be people who won't care about what you're doing, and they may even try to convince you that it's not worth it. But hey, do the levels in Crash Bandicoot get easier as you progress? Of course not, but that's no reason to give up. Life comes with adversities, so you'll just have to try harder. Be concerned without panicking, for there is still much we can do to turn the situation around. Hope is what matters most. Don't let a piece of bad news get to you. Instead, try to make good news. Be optimistic in the face of uncertainty. Be hopeful when all seems lost. Believe in yourself and what you're fighting for.

From the bottom of my heart, let me ask this of you: Let's save the world, and let's do it together.

Thank you so very, very much for your time, and best of luck in this cooperative journey. I'll be here for you alongside the millions of people who are fighting for a brighter future.

I'd like to dedicate this article to everyone who's been affected by today's earthquakes in New Zealand and Argentina. Please stay safe and be strong!

Tips and Resources

• The Climate Reality Project (The largest group dedicated to fighting climate changes)
• Before the Flood (A documentary by Leonardo DiCaprio everyone should watch)
• Top 10 Things You Can Do to Help (A small list of habits you can adopt)
• Climate Stew (A serious group with a fun and light-hearted approach)

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