Although some aspects of generative AI can appear to be very useful to our everyday life,  it’s benefits still should not overshadow the overall destruction it has caused to our planet. Of course, we can’t blame it all on the AI (a survey conducted in August of 2024 and ended by August of 2025 by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that 44.6% of adults in the US use Generative AI regularly)as the many users on platforms such as ChatGPT, Sora AI, are the reason why AI takes up so much resources. According to the UN Enviorment Programme regarding what AI does to our environment ,“they use massive amounts of electricity, spurring the emission of planet-warming greenhouse gases". We should focus on finding ways to decrease the amount of resources that AI uses to function, or better yet, we should minimize how much we use AI.

I see what you're saying, DANNYTHEOG, you also make some strong points. Generative AI is really helpful in our everyday lives, but its true that it also has a big impact on the environment. With so much people using AI tools nowadays, it makes sense that they use a lot of electricity. And like the UN Environment Programme said, all that energy use goes to more greenhouse gas emissions, which is not good for the planet for sure.

yes exactlyyy! it also discourages people from thinking for themselves, which only further prevents them from thinking abt sustainable solutions.

I feel like all generative AI is bad in the long run. Even for the useful, mundane, everyday tasks like replying to emails, the line still gets blurred--what defines how far we're willing to go to substitute human art of writing. Generative AI overall is overtly negative, and it's just not an expenditure that is affordable when we have less than ten years to get carbon emissions down below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. Unfortunately the easiness and comfort of AI has really put a spell on people.

Bro, what did Generative ai do to deserve this?

?ai data centers are using clean water to cool their machines, which is bad because it's wasting CLEAN water that could go to people that need it

I agree with Elijah ai was made by people and then imediattly got shamed for it. It has been nothing but useful for us

Ai is also bad for art and creativity.

I've been trying to use AI less because I feel it removes the accomplishment you get when you finish something

Sustainable City
I think sustainable cities are important for the future. Cities can do a lot to reduce carbon emissions, like improving public transportation and making it easier for people to walk or bike. If it’s easier and safer to bike or take the bus, more people will choose that instead of driving.
I also think cities should focus more on green spaces and renewable energy. For example, using solar panels and making buildings more energy efficient could help a lot. Small changes in how a city is planned can make a big difference over time.
In my opinion, both the government and the people living in the city need to work together to make it more sustainable.

Transportation and Flights
Transportation is a big part of carbon emissions, especially cars and airplanes. I realized that even if I don’t travel a lot, it still adds up. Flying is especially bad for the environment, but sometimes it’s hard to avoid.
I think I could make some small changes, like walking or biking more instead of always using a car. I could also try to use public transportation more often.
Even though these changes seem small, I think they can still help. If more people do the same, it could make a bigger difference.

I think improving public transport is very important because I live in a city with good and electric powered bus systems and I use the bus a lot.

:3

I see the humans with extreme pessimist point of view i blame them for the extinction of several thousand animal species and they caused the global warming by raising animals producing electricity ect...

Give some examples please.

over fishing
Cars
Deforestation
Petrol extraction
Wars
Over hunting

trash in our oceans
having to save animals because of our stupid decisions
the fact we have to have breeding programs for almost extinct animals because of us
elephant ivory black market
and more......

Ok, human are bad, then what? I don't think this kind of thought leads us to any practical solution. So beyond discussing about whether human are bad or not we rather have to focus on our current problemes.

Our biggest problem is that our governements that have the power to help stop the global warming but they just care to watch their computer and having a nice sofa on he wich they can put their ass on.

This is a difficult topic for a lot of people, but I have to say I agree with you on this. Humans have done far more damage to the planet than any other force in its entire history (maybe except for events like the Chicxulub impact that killed most things 65 million years ago).

You are right about humans doing a ton of horrible things in our history. But I think that it is more important to focus on what we can do to make up for those mistakes, rather than dwell in the past. All of the bad things that you mentioned are issues that many people are dedicating their lives to solving. Even though humans are ruining this planet we have also done many amazing things. The bad outweighs the good obviously, but we can learn from both the bad and the good.

I agree! Humans don't care about planet earth, and we should not be polluting our planet. We should be taking care of our planet, because if we don't reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, we will eventually destroy animal's lives and our lives too.

The only problem is that if the humans change everything to natural energy and it produces 4 times less than the fossil fuel so it will occupy 4 times the spaces involved in fossil uels industry that meanig more cutting down trees. But fossil fuels pollute a lot more than natural fuels and destroying those places will be even more plluting. Third of all even if all the people on earth say to change it will cost an enormity to the governement eradicating those factories so the removal can only be done little by little. Thank you for your attention zenone2.
If you want to contact me my email is m.sassi26@ejm.org

we need to stop using fossil fuels

Jayarr you have to develop yur statement a bit

We can reduce home energy

Developement of idea daaaa

I agree with you that humans harm our planet. But in my opinion, humans are not that bad anymore. Right now people are doing their best to improve the environment. Many eco supportive programs are being created, different companies change their products and the number of cars and rubbish has greatly decreased. The attitude is changing. I hope that our environmental problems will improve soon.

People all over the world talk of green and economical growth and ecologie but have the same bad ideas that brought us in this mess !!????

I don't think humans are bad. The things we are doing are bad. But develop more about your statement.

Humans can be in some aspects badddd. BUt , if ur a fellow human. How would u feel??? Taking actions are not a joke, please elaborate pon ur point @Zenone.

I agree that not all humans are bad. Sure they have done some things to harm our planet, but they have also done so many things to help our planet such as starting organizations like 4ocean.

I do agree that some human are bad, but we are also humans. I think we should not be blaming ourselves but instead reflect on we can do better to make a world a better place. : ) For example what others said above, maybe we can think of changing everything into natural energy and not using fossil etc... (sorry for the bad grammar)

I agree on some parts. I understand how more than 500 species has gone extinct because of humans but I don't think that humans are bad just because of the things you stated a lot of people are fighting against climate change so not all humans are bad. And if you want to fight against climate change we should start using more eco friendly products.

I agree with this sentiment to a degree, as it is very clear that not all people are ignorant to the ecological needs of our world, but is is incredibly sad to see the lengths at which corporations will pollute our world to make profits.

Yes humans are bad. People make lots of fossil fuels, waste lots of food, cut down way to many trees, and force tons of animals to extinction. We have been killing lots of animals that are almost extinct. This can mess up the carbon cycle and in the long term start something very bad. Something like a mass extinction.

I feel like js saying that humans are inherently evil instead of trying 2 encourage ppl 2 change will enforce a defeatist attitude that only discourages change. :3 while it is difficult sometimes 2 hold faith in humanity, i would encourage u to take action and find others that want to do so. then u may realize that there is good left in humanity, even if its not much XD

AI is becoming bigger and bigger as the industry and years progress onward. Artificial Intelligence uses gargantuan amounts of water and resources, and is becoming a tool that seemingly all companies want to use. I felt it necessary to talk about and at least put into the minds of some people since it is now becoming commonplace in today's society.

That is true right now, but as the technology advances, the necessary resources will decrease significantly.

Yeah, I agree. A lot of people talk about how useful AI is, but not enough people talk about the environmental cost behind it. Since AI is becoming so common, I think it’s important to make people aware that it uses a huge amount of water, electricity, and other resources. Even though companies see it as the future, that doesn’t mean we should ignore the impact it has on the planet. It’s definitely something more people should keep in mind as AI continues to grow.

How can schools properly provide more information and resources about climate change? Students should be properly informed about how their actions affect the environment.

If our school is required to teach us this, what do they actually do? Do they buy locally sourced materials and what do they do with the recycled materials? They never show us how to do it or lead by example, if not most people don’t know what their school does in order to help the environment.

I agree I think as a way to help this; student could have a day of every month where you have to go outside and clean up garbage with your class then bring it to a recycling depot where the teachers could show how they recycle stuff from the school. Or the student council could bring this topic up to the school and get them to start implementing more climate friendly actions into the school system.

Fast fashion is cheap, poor quality, disposable clothing that is produced quickly and sold at low prices. It is not something completely new and it has been around for a long time. You don't even know it but most of your favorite stores like Zara, H&M, Primark, Forever 21 and Shein that have lately been very popular are considered fast fashion brands. This has always been a big problem and today even more because fast fashion is responsible for 10% of global carbon dioxide emission. So, next time you want to shop in one of these stores think twice.

I agree that these popular brands are a big contributor global emissions. Unfortunately, with the rise of social media and trends, fast fashion has become something that is popular. Brands are often quick to jump on these trends and as a result they mass produce clothing that will become unpopular and irrelevant. These companies emit carbon dioxide during production and waste these clothing that remain unsold.

Yes, I totally agree that's fast fashion has increased carbon footprints. This is also a waste of money because a while later it will just go out of fashion and then you don't want to wear it and then you buy another one. Instead you should just stick to one and use it as long as its useable.

I agree. Fast fashion is harmful to environment. It produces lots of carbon emissions and waste.  It also takes up a lot of water and energy. Millions of clothing end up in landfills every year. Textile processing contributes to 20% of global water pollution.

I agree, many clothing brands contribute to the carbon dioxide emissions. but I never knew that it was so high and harmful. I will definitely rethink about all the clothes I buy to help the earth, rather than destroy it.

Since actually accepting the issues is the first step towards reaching change, it's really cool and encouraging to see how many of us are aware of the negative effects of fast fashion has on the environment. It is also cool to see how many of us rethink our initial perspectives and change our purchases to help the environment. Making these more deliberate purchases by selecting items carefully that we'll use for a long time is something we all can do. Little things like repairing clothing instead of replacing it can also have a significant impact leading to businessses themselves being more pressured to implement better practices if more people collectively change their habits.

I wholeheartedly agree. I think an easy and affordable way to decrease the footprint of fast fashion is to look at secondhand shops first. If you want or need the same styles, or price, you can look to sites like ThreadUp. This is an online thrift store on which you can sell the clothes you no longer need and buy the clothes you want.This is a good and eco-friendly way to shop.

I totally agree with you. Fast fashion is so harmful and slowly destroying our world. The industry is harmful in so many ways; it creates so much carbon emissions and also their ways of making clothes is unethical in the way they treat their workers. I know fast fashion is so tempting since in this economy it's hard to buy new, non-fast fashion clothes since clothes are expensive and so many stores are part of fast fashion but under disguise like I bet you didn't know that Aritzia, Urban Outfitters, Gap and Zara are fast fashion stores. There are more ethical things to do such as going to your local thrift stores which some also benefit charities, do more research in which brands are fast fashion or not, reuse your clothes, or even taking hand me downs from families and friends. I hope more big sustainable brands come to popularity so this climate change dilemma doesn't keep destroying our world as fast as it is.

I do not struggle with this topic personally, as I have been a vegetarian for over two years. I have done this partially because of meat's impact on the environment. I know this decision is not as easy for others as it has been for me, as many cultures have meat as a key component in their diet. This could be reduced by substitutions of food, like using tofu for a protein source.

I've improved my meat consumption for the environment and reduce animal suffering by eating less pork and beef which are the least efficient meat sources, substituting meat with beyond burger, and hunting for some of my diet.

There are a lot of sad things happening around the world, and unfortunately, they are usually what make the news and get lots of publicity as opposed to the good changes and actions happening. This can lead to hopeless or anxious feelings about climate change that cause some people to stop trying to fight climate change. It is important to be aware of the good and innovative things happening in the world as well as the bad.

I agree! I think that if people were more informed about the good changes that others are making to help fight climate change, then they would be more motivated to help make changes to improve as well! I think that instead of promoting the tragic news to make people feel hopeless and doomed (although it's still good for awareness), we should promote more news about positivity to motivate others into willingly helping improve the state of the world. Positive news could be more inspiring and help lead someone into wanting to do what others are doing to make the world a better place for everyone to live in and to inform them of the small changes they can do to make a big difference. Sad/tragic news on the other hand could make someone feel like it's too late to make a change or the problems are too big to be able to do something about it (which is completely untrue)

I agree with this, I think it is very important to focus on what we can do and change instead of what we are doing wrong all the time. Though it is important for people to know the severity of whats happening right now I think we could educate people on whats happening in a less scary way. Educating people and especially kids in a way that makes them feel like they can do their part is vital so people actually start making change instead of being scared of how much they need to change their lives in order to save the whole world. I think a great way to educate everyone is start with small things like how to recycle properly and to advertise clean ups that you could sign up with your friends or family.

I agree! There are many organizations that are trying help. Educating people about it will help raise awareness. Everyone can help by recycling, planting trees, etc. Creating a community and showing the positive benefits will encourage more people to help.

I agree! Many people get discouraged when they hear that climate change is getting worse, so people think that their efforts to stop it change and they just give up. But to the people that don't get discouraged, keep fighting, your efforts do impact the climate change for the better

I agree, There are many things happening right now that are benefiting the world but they get no publicity whatsoever. The organizations that are trying to make a change deserve at least a bit of recognition for trying to educate others.

People always say to boycott companies so they will do better with their waste such as Shein but no one actually does anything about it. People still buy from them because it is easier and cheaper but does it really matter when our ozone layer is deteriorating because of the CO2 given off by these companies? How come people never take any accountability for what they do but then preach something else?

What catorgie is most harmful to the planet?