Commit to love and respect our planet.

• Author: Gutierrez, Ricardo Cervantes
• Position: Essay

nearly every day on television or in the newspapers we see reports of natural disasters in different parts of the world, causing concern and alarm. Our planet is going through a most difficult time because mankind, in its eagerness to improve upon personal economic and living conditions, has forgotten that its actions cause pollution and uncontrollable climate change. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, this term is used to refer to global climatic change that is directly and indirectly attributable to human activities that change the atmosphere's composition.

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As the planet warms, drastic changes occur. In some places heavy rainfalls cause uncontrollable floods, while in some other places the effect manifests itself in droughts and increased forest fires.

As the global temperature rises and melts the polar caps, millions of people who live in coastal areas could lose their homes because of elevating sea levels. The poor populations of Africa, Asia, and other regions face a loss of crops caused by a decreasing agricultural productivity, as well as increasing hunger, malnutrition, and the proliferation of different diseases.

Climate change is one of the most complex challenges of the twenty-first century. As no country is safe from this serious problem, it is necessary for all countries to be united in making decisions to protect our planet. In view of this critical situation, developed countries are investing in researching clean technologies and are looking to expand natural drainage systems that allow for the absorption of gases and the protection of the environment. Developed countries are accountable for reducing increased carbon levels in the atmosphere, for which they have been largely responsible.

Likewise, developing countries need support and financing to implement clean technologies in a way that avoids risking their development prospects. They also need guidance to cope with what has become unavoidable climate change. Future climatic needs will force developing countries to not only build infrastructures that can withstand the new conditions, but also to sustain a growing...