Co-founder of video blog Jacksgap says his is the first generation to grow up with climate change and the last that can do anything about it – unless we act now

As architecture design students we are taught to constantly question and reimagine the way things are. We’re taught that the world we live in is not a given. It’s the result of the best efforts our ancestors could muster at that time. If it has flaws, it is up to our generation to pick up where they left off and create the world we want to see for ourselves and our children.

I’ve grown to understand that the society and culture I was born into is damaging the planet we live on at a greater scale than ever before. We put profit above people, economy above environment, progress above purpose. As a result, climate change has become the most important issue of our generation.

But it’s such a meaty, complex problem that we’re not sure how to approach it. It doesn’t seem to pose an immediate threat to our everyday lives, and most of us assume that there are surely some very clever scientists somewhere who will solve the problem for us.

I became curious. If climate change is as big a threat as I’m being told, then my work as a designer and an architect should focus on helping address the issue. I wanted to really understand, in layman terms, what it is that’s causing our climate to warm. Why is a warmer climate dangerous? And how can I make a positive difference?

I started by attending classes on sustainable design at my university. I spent a weekend in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to watch former US vice president Al Gore present his famous slide show and explain it in-depth at one of his “climate reality” workshops; I picked up a copy of Naomi Klein’s book This Changes Everything and downloaded as many climate-change related documentaries as I could get my hands on.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Why climate is your issue narrated by Naomi Klein

So what’s causing our climate to warm?

Fossil fuels: two words I’ve grown up hearing a lot. But until recently I couldn’t tell you exactly what a fossil fuel was. I just understood that every year we burn more and more to power our modern economy. It turns out a fossil fuel is simply a fossilised deposit of decayed, combustible plants and animals that has been buried below our earth for millions of years, then turned into coal, oil and gas. Burning fossil fuels releases large quantities of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere.





We live on a planet of more than 7 billion people. The volume of food and products we consume today is greater than ever before in human history. We’re not really aware of it in our daily lives, but the infrastructure that’s serving our needs, particularly here in the western world, has got completely out of control – often resulting in inexcusable levels of water and air pollution.

We seem to have reached a point where our human actions are creating damage to the environment at a greater rate and scale than most of us can comprehend.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Finn Harries introduces the #GroundUp series

So these very human actions are causing our temperature to rise. Every month we are seeing worse storms, more wildfires and greater droughts than before. The science behind this is lengthy, but if you’re interested take a look at the Guardian’s ultimate climate change FAQ.







As I type these words, São Paulo, Brazil, New York and California are experiencing record levels of drought. In Bangladesh homes are being washed away by record-high water levels and in Greenland and Antarctica huge sheets of ice are breaking off and melting into the sea.

These climate impacts aren’t myth. They’re happening right now. Maybe the scariest realisation is that if we continue the way we are going, it is not our planet that will cease to exist but us. Rising sea levels, drought and storms will wipe us out in the hundreds of millions, taking thousands of animal species with us. We are risking everything we have by pursuing our obsessive drive for greater production and consumption at a completely unnecessary scale.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Seen through the teeth of a giant ‘Cuadzilla’, children stand behind a banner outside the gates of Didcot B power station as part of a protest against the fossil fuel industry by climate action group Reclaim The Power, Appleford, United Kingdom. 1st June 2015. Photograph: Mark Kerrison/Corbis

So that’s the reality. Now what? My first reaction was to put my head in the sand. However I refuse to accept the dismal future that lies ahead. As a result of our changing climate, we have a really unique opportunity to build a better future. As humans we’re innovative and adaptive. We’re able to recognise and rectify our mistakes.

The theme of prioritising profit above human suffering is not new. Before we exploited fossil fuels to run machines to do work for us we exploited other humans in the form of slavery. Only 200 years ago people argued that slavery was morally acceptable because it provided good, cheap energy that would help boost our global economy.

Our forefathers recognised that inequity and changed that. Throughout history we’ve changed legislation, opinion and archaic systems to create a better world to live in.

Today, as the most connected generation in history, we have the unique ability to create a future that embraces renewable technology; that democratises the way we produce and consume energy; that encourages sharing and responsible consumerism; and that provides jobs in new sectors focused on sustainable progress.

We’ve already seen Elon Musk build a billion-dollar electric car business he claims will be worth as much as Apple in a decade. We’ve seen hundreds of wind farms and solar parks pop up around the world. Costa Rica ran its entire country on renewable energy for 75 days this year by harnessing geothermal and hydroelectric power.

The responsibility now falls on our governments and large corporations to make ambitious, meaningful changes.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Join the call for divestment from fossil fuels

Large corporations and universities can start by divesting their investments from the fossil fuel industry. We’re already seeing many lead by example but there are so many more who can step up to the mark. As for our world leaders, in December they will come together in Paris to discuss the future of our planet at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

If you’re reading this article, then you have access to the internet. You have the unique ability to voice your opinion. You have the free will and the power to make yourself heard and influence the decisions that will be made on your behalf at that conference. It doesn’t matter what country you live in, what colour your skin is, what gender or sexual orientation you are or what religion you believe in.



This affects every human on the planet. We are the first generation to see the effects of climate change and the very last to be able to do anything about it.

So stand up, speak out and be part of a generation that is remembered for changing the course of human history to create a better planet to live on.