 Goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals – Climate Action – What Is Climate Change? Meet Tom. Tom is a college professor that teaches weather and climate. During one of his lectures, one of his students asks why there are so many natural disasters happening in the world recently, specifically hurricanes and wildfires. Tom tells them that many factors can contribute to the increase in storms, but the main cause is climate change. Tom explains to them that climate change is the change of weather patterns over an extended period of time. He uses the example of the rising sea levels because of the melting ice caps. These areas that have been frozen for hundreds of years are starting to melt because the area around them is getting too hot. As far as hurricanes, they are becoming stronger and appearing more frequently because of the increase in the temperature around large bodies of water. Droughts and wildfires are also becoming more common and have begun to destroy large parts of the western United States. Tom also tells his students that humans play a large role in climate change. Driving cars, processing food, and smoking are all factors that contribute to the growing epidemic. Burning fossil fuels is one of the biggest factors of climate change and it's doing lasting damage to the earth. Once these resources are gone, there is no getting them back and their effects on the earth are mostly permanent. Tom's students are in luck though, because there are many ways that humans can fight back against the harmful effects of climate change. Reducing climate change is possible by making minor changes to daily routines and through advocating clean energy. Reducing our carbon footprint is one of the easiest ways to do this. Tom suggested that his students that live off campus walk or bike to class or even start carpooling so there are fewer cars on the road. He also tells them the importance of renewable energy such as solar energy and that they should petition to get solar panels installed in school and other nearby areas. It's not too late to save our planet. Just like Tom and his students, we can work together to make the earth a safer place.