Article 6: Lonely, burned out, and depressed: the state of millennials mental

health entering the 2020s

What is happening?
- Millennials are changing the way people look at and talk about mental health.
- Millennials tend to have higher rates of depression than other generations.
- Millennials also feel that their jobs have an outsize role in their overall mental
health.
- Millennials are seeing their physical and mental health decline at a faster rate than
Gen X as they age.
- Major depression diagnoses are rising at a faster rate for millennials and teens
compared with any other age group.
- More millennials are also dying due to drugs, alcohol, and suicide
- Money stress and financial problems are contributing to the mental health of
millennials
- Some of them choose not to seek medical attention despite having depression
- Millennials don't always have someone to share their mental burdens with and
they're less likely to have social support than other generations
- They suffer higher rates of burnout as compared to other generations.
My thoughts regarding this issue
- The amount of societal pressure on the millenials is frightening, and the fact that
people are considering this as a societal norm is really concerning
- I believe that more effort should be made in helping millennials recover their mental
health
- With a society that revolve around the idea of survival of the fittest, this issue will
end up continuing for many generations unless something is done about it

Article 4: The problem with Greta Thunber’s Climate Activism

What is happening?
- Extreme weather alone is unable to spur Europeans to give up fossil fuels, and
provocations and disruptions are needed.
- Europeans hold on tight to their driving and consuming habits
- Activists changed from eliciting pieties to more aggressive approaches.
Reason for the change in approach
- Greta Thunberg’s action gained the support of many and turned her into a political
leader.
- She believes that people should act, and not argue
- We needed someone like her who has unrealistic worldviews and out of balance
priorities, someone that has single-minded devotion to the task at hand.
- She aims for climate change to be understood as an emergency.
The problem with this approach
- There is credibility issues with her approach
- Her approach adds incitements to politicization
- Consistent long-term mass immigration will not be possible with a desire to lower
Europe’s carbon output.
- People are shamed for booking cruises and driving S.U.V.s
- Her way of approach conflicts with democracy
- Being too urgent with the approach invites more grave issues\

Article 14: How Wildlife Conservation Can Benefit Sustainable Human

Development
What is happening?
- Some SGDs call for the conservation of wildlife whereas the others require wildlife
to be sacrificed for further development
- Close to a million species could face extinction in a matter of decades as a direct
result of human overexploitation, climate change and habitat degradation
- Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse is ranked as one of the top five threats
humanity will face in the next ten years.
Efforts/Solutions:
- The Parties to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) are aware of the importance of ensuring that the use
of wildlife for international commercial trade is sustainable, legal and traceable for
people, prosperity and planet.
- Through the cooperative involvement of governments and international
organizations, a framework has been built in which the regulated use of wildlife and
their habitats supports both conservation and human well-being, thus contributing to
the achievement of the SDGs
- Along with other biodiversity-related conventions, CITES has brought governments
together to build a global biodiversity framework that strengthens conservation
efforts, including species, their habitats and broader ecosystems.
- The 183 Parties to the Convention have enshrined conservation as a central pillar
in the regulation of trade in nearly 37,000 species of wild fauna and flora.
- The implementation of the Convention by the Parties, with the support of local
authorities and the participation of international organizations, NGOs, communities,
civil society and some businesses, has translated into programmes that have
bolstered sustainable livelihood opportunities as part of efforts to strengthen the
conservation of threatened species.
- Research by CITES Parties and partners has shown time and again that the
enforcement of a global framework for regulated trade, coupled with government
efforts to empower communities in range and transit countries, has bolstered
conservation of species of the sea, land and air.

Article 10: Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures

What is happening?
- Through the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, countries agreed to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, but the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
keeps rising, heating the Earth at an alarming rate.
- The Montreal Protocol [PDF] was a historic environmental accord that became a
model for future diplomacy on the issue.
- In 2016, parties agreed via the Kigali Amendment to also reduce their production of
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate
change.
- The Kyoto Protocol requires developed countries to reduce emissions by an
average of 5 percent below 1990 levels, and a system is established to monitor
countries’ progress.
- But the treaty did not compel developing countries, including major carbon emitters
China and India, to take action.
- The most significant global climate agreement to date, the Paris Agreement
requires all countries to set emissions-reduction pledges.
- The Paris Agreement makes governments set targets with the goals of preventing
the global average temperature from rising 2°C above pre industrial levels
- The Paris Agreement itself is not enough to bring a stop to the rise in global
temperature
- Some experts call for the creation of a climate club that would penalize countries
that do not meet their obligations or do not join.
- Others propose new treaties [PDF] that apply to specific emissions or sectors to
complement the Paris Agreement.

Is there a consensus on the science of climate change?

- Yes, there is a broad consensus among the scientific community, though some
deny that climate change is a problem
- Human activities, namely the use of fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—are the
primary drivers of this rapid warming and climate change
Why are countries aiming to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C?
- When global temperature reaches that point, the effects that will occur include:
- Heat waves
- Droughts and floods
- Rising seas
- Ocean changes
- Arctic ice thaws
- Species loss

Which countries are responsible for climate change?

- Developing countries argue that developed countries have emitted more
greenhouse gases over time and vice versa
Own Article: Heat waves kill people - and climate change is making it much,
much worse
What is happening?
- A mountain of scientific research has shown that climate change is making heat
waves longer, hotter, more likely, and more dangerous.
- On average, 37 percent of all heat-related deaths can be pinned directly on climate
change.
- If climate change is not tackled, the number of deaths due to heat waves will only
increase.
- Extreme heat is killing more people than any other type of natural disaster in the
U.S.
- Besides death, many more suffer severe health impacts that can last long after the
heat dissipates
- The researchers have found out that there are temperature thresholds beyond
which people are much more likely to die, but those thresholds are different in
different parts of the world.
- Studies also found that, on average, more than one in three heat-related deaths
can be pinned on climate change.
- Certain countries have high death rates not just because these places are
particularly hot, but because there is often less access to air conditioning,
well-constructed housing that manages heat distribution better, and other factors that
can lower people’s vulnerability to heat.
- In many cities, older people of color are twice as likely to die during extreme heat
events than older white people.
- Even if all greenhouse gas emissions stopped tomorrow, the planet will continue to
warm well past the 1.8°F it already has