Animals will become extinct and life threatening diseases will occur; whole countries will be flooded if we keep polluting our environment like we currently are. This is why a lot of countries have started taking action to help reduce global warming. 

The European Union made the first step by prohibiting throwaway plastic. Plastic never fully decomposes and only breaks down into smaller pieces. If you drink water out of plastic bottles, or eat out of plastic containers, you probably have plastic particles in your body which is bad for your health. In addition to this, lots of plastic is polluting the ocean and killing many fish. It’s also unhealthy for you when you eat the fish that ate the plastic, because then you are basically eating plastic. Sounds delicious right? To improve that, the selling of plastic q-tips, straws, balloon sticks, as well as plastic plates and cutlery will no longer be allowed in the European Union starting in 2021. In the last few years, the production of these things has already went down and alternatives have started being offered. Lots of restaurants replaced their plastic straws with bamboo or even noodle straws and an increasing number of coffee shops started giving their customers a discount if they bring their own reusable cup.

In most parts of Europe, you also have to pay for plastic bags. That’s why you should always remember to bring your own bag because otherwise, you’ll either have to carry everything with your own hands or buy a bag. In many parts of America, you get as many plastic bags as you want without paying a cent, which might be good for your wallet, but not for the environment.

Moreover, an increasing part of public transportation is ran electrically. This can have a big impact on climate change because cars and buses release major emissions. By 2020, all buses in London will be run fully electrically.

But, not only Europe tries to make a difference. Australia has started to test a network of drainage with mesh so that plastics and other pollutants don’t reach the sea.

In addition to this, New York City is the first US city with more than 1 million inhabitants to declare a climate emergency.

Not only politics are responsible of global warming, every one of us can make a difference by acting mindfully. Try to buy local food, use less throwaway plastic, think twice before you ask for plastic bags, don’t waste food, use renewable energy, and so on.