In September 2020 New York installed a climate countdown clock in Union Square. The clock represents the time people have left until global warming cannot be helped anymore and Earth’s damage will not be reversible ever again. That clock currently stands at three years and 231 days.

Global warming started becoming a problem the public was familiar with around 1980. Ever since, the earth’s temperature has not gone down. That temperature change causes a domino effect to everything in the natural world. Animals are going extinct, California fires, ice melting rapidly in Antarctica, coral reefs dying – the list goes on.

Grayslake science paraprofessional Emily Schumann’s prediction on what damage will be done when the climate clock hits zero is “…I think we’re gonna see a lowering in biodiversity. I think we’re going to see a major increase in sickness. I think we’re going to see new sickness emerging. I think that the ocean is going to rise and there’s going to be a lot of coastal cities that are going to go underwater, unfortunately.” To her point, Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica in November 2025. Many experts say the hurricane gained power because of the effects of global warming happening in the world right now.

Environmental science teacher Bryan Tylkowski gives solutions to reduce the climate clock time. “Anything we can do to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, so burning less fossil fuels. If we are driving less, if we are eating less meat, meat produces a lot of carbon change…”

The process of making meat is heavily damaging to the environment. There are thousands of farms in the United States alone. These farms are not natural; they are forcefully created to make large portions of meat rapidly for money. Due to the industrial nature of the farms, the increase in cows increases the production of methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is the main cause of global warming.

Another big problem is the amount of plastics people use throughout their life. A simple resolution for this is using reusable water bottles, reusable straws, drinking from glass bottles or aluminum cans for pop, reusable shopping bags and more. “…If we are reducing plastic usage, having a compost pile in our yard are the big ones,” said Tylkowski.

These are easy solutions anybody can do to make a small difference. The smallest change any student, teacher, or community member can implement will help Earth widely. It is important to take action now because the nature and animals we have currently, including humans, are at risk. And, according to the clock, we have three years to stop it.