I know the term crazy is a little vague. Here is what I mean: 

On Thursday, I had five interviews for graduate school, followed by two the next day. While that does not seem awful, that is not the problem. Here is the problem: Wednesday it was 50 degrees outside and Friday, a mere two days later, it was twenty degrees at the highest.  

I think that everyone has known that global warming has been going on for a long time now.  

I do not remember really noticing it until it hit sophomore or junior year of high school for me. I was in band in high school, and we would have practices outside for eight hours a day every day during the summer.  

I remember some days it would be super it would be freezing (that is summer terms for about 60 degrees, breezy, and a bit cloudy) and other days, it would be overwhelmingly hot (as in 80 degrees, no breeze, and no clouds).  

That was usually back-to-back; one day would be freezing and the next day we would all be sweltering and ask to go inside for the day so we did not pass out.  

Now, I see those days happening frequently. Thursday, for example, is supposed to be cloudy and almost 60 and Friday it is supposed to drop twenty degrees in temperature.  

On top of that, there were just the train crashes in Ohio, which released toxic chemicals into both the water and air.  

As these events continue to happen, I see nothing being done to fix them or change them for the better. People keep risking the environment around us for their own personal gain without realizing that it is not all about them or making money and this will negatively impact future generations to come.  

I know that the world is ending sooner rather than later, but I see nobody doing anything to stop it. While the government has done some things, they all seem so minuscule that anything they did do does not even matter.  

I wish that people would take this more seriously. This is for the betterment of everyone and the world around us. This helps our planet stay alive while helping future generations after us enjoy the world we know now.  

I know I am doing everything that I can (like recycling, walking everywhere, using public transportation, using reusable items, and thrifting some items in my closet), but I do not see other people doing the same thing.  

I know that people do not want to compromise the life that they presently live, but they will be compromising all of it if they do not change sooner rather than later.  

Katja Benz is a senior English major. She can be reached at kkbenz@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.