Born planet
We were born into a world on fire. Not just as a metaphor, but for real: wildfires choking the air, oceans heating up in record-breaking waves, and animals vanishing as quietly as leaves falling from poisoned trees. For most of us, the first news stories we remember weren’t about peace or progress—they were about melting ice caps, oil spills, and forests turning into ash, with smoke curling across screens as if the whole planet was exhaling in pain. We’re a generation raised on carbon, with microplastics running through our bloodstreams and uncertainty stitched into every fragile dream we dare to have about the future.
And yet—even though we didn’t create this mess—we’re told it’s ours to clean up.
As young people, we stand on a fault line between yesterday’s mistakes and tomorrow’s possibilities. Leaders shake our hands at conferences, companies promise “green commitments,” but the planet keeps burning. It’s not enough anymore to just recycle plastic bottles or turn off the lights. The solutions have to be as big and radical as the problems we’re facing.
This essay isn’t about despair. It’s about fire—but not the kind that destroys. It’s the fire that ignites. It’s about a generation rising from the ashes, refusing to let our inheritance be nothing more than smoke and ruins.
Earth is collapsing under the weight of human greed.
Climate change isn’t some faraway threat. It’s already here, shaping our lives—even while adults still argue about whether it’s “real.” In some countries, floods wash away homes and leave children clutching what little they have left. In others, droughts crack the earth and turn food into a luxury. For young people in poorer regions, the climate crisis isn’t a headline—it’s everyday life.
But it’s not just about the damage we can see. There’s also something quieter but just as dangerous: climate anxiety. Studies say more than 60% of young people feel worried about the planet’s future. Many feel angry, scared, or helpless. I’ve felt it too—that heavy feeling that our generation is being asked to rebuild a house while it’s still on fire.
Why do we, the youngest and least responsible, have to carry the heaviest burden?
It’s simple: intergenerational injustice. For decades, governments and corporations have chosen profit over sustainability. They’ve burned through resources recklessly, pumped greenhouse gases into the sky as if tomorrow didn’t exist. But now tomorrow is here—and it’s on us to save what’s left.
Here’s the twist: even though we’re often told we’re “too young” to understand, youth have become the fiercest fighters for the planet.
Think of Greta Thunberg, who started alone with a cardboard sign and sparked a global movement. Or Vanessa Nakate in Uganda, giving African youth a voice in climate talks. Or teenagers in Pakistan planting trees in dry villages, and kids in the Philippines inventing solar-powered lamps from trash bottles.
Even technology is on our side. Social media isn’t just for memes and dances—it’s where we organize protests, share petitions, and expose companies that lie about being “green.” We’re turning likes and hashtags into movements that echo all the way to parliaments and boardrooms.
But let’s be honest: this isn’t enough. Real change takes more than viral trends. It needs courage, creativity, and a refusal to accept “business as usual.”
We’re not just protestors holding placards. We’re innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs, and storytellers. And it’s about time the world takes us seriously.
The world loves to remind us we’re “too young to change anything.” But history says otherwise. When civil rights needed voices, it was students who filled the streets. When oppressive systems fell, it was youth shaking them to the ground. And today, when the Earth itself is crying for help, we’re the ones stepping up.
We’re not just talking anymore—we’re creating solutions.
In India, a 15-year-old invented a cheap water purifier for drought-hit areas. In Kenya, teenage girls designed a solar-powered gadget that turns plastic waste into energy. In London, students have set up zero-waste shops to make sustainable living easier for everyone.
These aren’t random acts of kindness. They’re survival plans for a world running out of time.
In polluted cities, urban youth are growing rooftop gardens, proving that even in concrete jungles, green life can thrive. Others are coding apps that help people track their carbon footprints, turning climate responsibility into a challenge millions are taking on.
Every tiny invention chips away at the mountain of destruction we were born into.
Let’s be real: turning off lights won’t save us if the world’s biggest polluters keep their factories running full speed. That’s why we’re shifting from personal guilt to collective action.
We’re asking questions adults don’t want to answer:
• Why do we fund fossil fuels but not clean energy?
• Why can companies “greenwash” while oceans drown in their plastic?
• Why is profit still put above people and the planet?
These questions are uncomfortable—but we won’t stop asking until something changes.
Hope feels dangerous in times like these. Every day there’s news about coral reefs turning white, forests turned to deserts, and kids drinking dirty water.
And yet—we choose to hope.
Hope isn’t about being naïve. It’s about deciding to fight. It’s choosing to imagine a world where clean air and safe water aren’t luxuries, but birthrights.
We know the path ahead won’t be easy. We know we’re racing against time. But if this is our last chance to save the Earth, then let us be the loudest, bravest, and most relentless generation the world has ever seen.
We were born into a world broken by greed. But we refuse to let that be our legacy.
Yes, we’re young. Yes, we’re still learning. But we’re also the last generation with a real chance to stop environmental collapse—and we will not stand by and watch the world burn.
If we can inherit a dying planet, we can also inherit the courage to heal it.
This is not just our fight. It’s our future.
We are not too young to change the world.
We are too young not to.
By: Uswa Siddique
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