As a lover of animals, I am concerned greatly with the negative impacts climate change is having on our ecosystems within Australia. I remember distinctly, the images of destroyed habitats from the 2019-2020 bushfires and the images of animals having perished in the natural disaster. I believe that events such as this will only continue to happen if the effects of climate change aren’t addressed.
Melbourne, VIC
My name is Gabriella Ciurleo and I am a high school student currently completing year 10 of my high school education. I have grown up and lived in the inner suburbs of Melbourne my whole life. I often enjoy going for walks through parks and walking trails within Melbourne, which has developed my love for nature and especially animals. I also have a particular interest in biology which I am studying at school presently. Understanding how organisms exist and how ecosystems sustain life has always been an interest of mine, and has only been heightened through my use of the natural resources we have in Victoria. I hope to one day be able to use my interest in biological sciences to be able to ensure that as a society, we are moving more toward an environmentally sustainable way of life.
As a lover of animals, I am concerned greatly with the negative impacts climate change is having on our ecosystems within Australia. I remember distinctly, the images of destroyed habitats from the 2019-2020 bushfires and the images of animals having perished in the natural disaster. I believe that events such as this will only continue to happen if the effects of climate change aren’t addressed.
I also am concerned with the state of the world that I will be bringing my children into in the future. I fear that as climate change worsens, the lives of those in the future will be increasingly difficult, as issues such as pollution, food scarcity and lack of biodiversity become central to the everyday lives of people including my family should I have one of my own one day.
I think having an understanding of how ecosystems function and how delicate the natural environment is through my interest in biology has made me much more conscious of the impact I am having on the environment. I think that more should be done to make people aware of how delicate our environment is through understanding the interconnectedness of all of the features and ecosystems of our natural world. I believe that through education, we will be equipped with the tools to better address our impact on the world, with the hope of reducing the negative impacts considerably. However, I also think that our governments should be held to a higher standard regarding their obligation to protect our natural world, as such standards will filter down to everyday people.
Hundreds of people from across the country are sharing their stories to send a clear message to the Australian government - it's time for real action on climate change.
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I have two teenage children who are scared about their future and I am scared for them as well. The issue of climate change is on my mind always, yet I don’t feel I can discuss it as it makes everyone around me so uncomfortable so we bury or heads in the sand. The collective fear and grief is affecting many people I know. We know we will have to move away from Brisbane as climate change increases the temperature to an unbearable level with summers too hot to go outside. I spend a lot of time in natural outdoor environments for work and leisure and I see the effects of long dry periods, storms, raging bushfires and floods are having on the already fragmented, weed and pest infested landscapes that we have left. My heart breaks for what we are doing to this country.
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