I’ve always been a guy who loves cold weather. Ever since I could remember I’ve waited eagerly for the first snowfall, the first frozen puddles, the first day I could see my breath. My least favourite days of the year are the hottest of the summer. I can’t stand it when my skin’s sticky and it’s too hot to move. On those days, I just want to get away from it all and move somewhere else where it’s cool every day and it never gets hotter than 25˚C. Crazy I know, but it’s the truth.

When I was a very small child, I remember talking to my dad about the sun, and how it was one day going to expand, turn into a red giant, and get so hot it would burn the earth to a crisp. I asked in fear how long it would be until that happens and I was pleasantly surprised when my dad told me it would be millions of years in the future. After that I lived happily, believing the most direct threat to earth’s existence was millions of years down the road. My sense of security couldn’t have been more misplaced.

Now, as I learn everyday about the damage that can be done if the temperature rises by 1, 2, or 8 degrees, I get more and more scared about the future of our planet and my life. I’m 15 years old and as I look at the temperature estimates for 2040, I see a world I can’t imagine living in myself, let alone raising a child in.

I constantly struggle to imagine why big oil companies and governments continue to make the decisions they do, even though the evidence so clearly states they’re wrong. It all seems so simple: stop burning oil and invest in green energy, mass transit and clean infrastructure. Yes, it will mean a change in our lifestyle but I truly believe that change doesn’t need to make life less enjoyable: you’d be hard pressed to find someone who truly enjoys being stuck amongst idling cars on the Gardiner.

I truly believe a better future is possible, so please help us in the fight for a safer planet by donating just an hour of your pay every month.

This April, Toronto350 is launching the Climate Defenders Monthly Giving Program which means for every new monthly donor who signs up between now and the 30th, $20 will be added to our cause by a generous supporter! Please consider contributing to the grassroots movement pushing for an equitable, sustainable future.