Our future is threatened. If society doesn’t change course now, we will grow up in a world where countless species are extinct, where communities are torn apart by extreme weather, and where famine, sea level rise, and resource wars kill or displace millions (even billions) of people. We are on track to inherit a disaster. Ignoring this problem will not make it go away; we must act now and demand that our politicians and leaders do the same.

Climate scientists have said that in order to avoid the worst aspects of climate change, we must maintain an atmospheric carbon dioxide level at or below 350 parts per million (ppm). Due to a reckless reliance on fossil fuels, those levels have already risen above 400 ppm. If we continue on this path, we are predicted to surpass 500 ppm by 2050.

The planet's global temperatures have already risen over one degree celsius above our pre-industrial averages. Although this may seem like a minuscule change, we must keep in mind that there are only seven degrees separating us from the last Ice Age. These rising temperatures will drastically change life on Earth, and it has already started to have massive impacts. Coral ecosystems worldwide are already succumbing to rising ocean temperatures, destroying entire communities of important aquatic life. If we continue to allow for these temperatures to rise, scientists have predicted that we will experience mass desertification of human inhabited areas and fertile agricultural land, the drying up of important rivers like the Ganges that supply water to billions, and the extinction of the Amazon rainforest that is responsible for the production of much of the planet's oxygen. This is no longer an issue of saving the polar bears; it is an issue of saving ourselves. We cannot survive without the systems that provide us the food, water, and air that every person needs to survive.

By signing this petition, I stand with my generation to demand that our communities do their part to end this climate crisis within our lifetimes.

For more information and to learn how you can get involved further, visit http://www.imatteryouth.org/minnetonka-mn-2/ .