Russia Declares State of Emergency After Rivers Turn Blood Red Color | 22 Words

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll probably know that our planet isn't in good shape. In fact, experts have said that global warming is now happening at an "unprecedented" scale, with many claiming that human civilization may come to a screeching halt within just 3 decades.

If we carry on at this rate, we're doomed. Russia has declared a state of emergency after rivers turned a blood-red color.

Read on to find out how it happened...

Climate change has been the talk of the town...

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 The devastating impacts of global warming and our consistent inability to do anything about it is sending our planet down a very bleak path. And Russia's latest antic seems to be pushing us further to our doom.

From soaring temperatures to rising sea levels, global warming seems to be hitting the headlines more than ever.

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 In the wake of extreme weather conditions and natural disasters last year, The UN warned that we have just twelve years to limit climate change and prevent global warming from exceeding the maximum of 1.5C.

Despite stark warnings, many people seem to bury their heads in the sand on the issue.

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 Worryingly, our very own president, Donald Trump, is one of those people, who continually deny that global warming is even a thing in the first place. And we can't forget about Vladimir's own denials too., can we? And, if this is what our political leaders believe, then what chance do we have?

They are not not the only one who denies its existence.

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 Several "climate deniers" believe that the rapid rising temperatures is simply a result of the earth's "natural cycle," just like the ice age.

There is some hope, though...

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 Just because many of the world's political leaders are failing to recognize the significance of the climate change crisis, it doesn't mean that other people aren't. In fact, there's a huge number of climate change activists who have been taking the world by storm, aiming to widen the conversation surrounding global warming and offer ways in which we can make a difference for the sake of our planet.

One of those people is sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg, a pioneering climate change activist.

The teen has drawn in praise from many for raising awareness over the risks posed by climate change while holding politicians to account. Known for her matter-of-fact manner of weighing into the issue, Thunberg has somewhat become the face of the modern climate change movement.

While much of the fate of the planet lies in the hands of politics, many climate change activists believe that, as individuals, we can still make a change.

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 There are many reasons attributing to climate change, with fast-fashion and agriculture being the main 2 culprits that are having the biggest effect on the planet.

But there are ways in which we can make small changes.

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 For example, since the increased media coverage on the issue of the fast-fashion industry, and the detrimental contribution it has to climate change, it seems logical to be selective about where and how often we buy clothes. Aka buying second hand, from sustainable brands, or just not as often.

Reducing meat consumption is also a big one...

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 When Cowspiracy aired on Netflix in 2015, it was the first time the world was introduced to the idea that the meat and dairy industries were really bad for the environment.

It may be hard for some to change their eating habits, but it's a necessary change.

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 So, naturally, in the wake of the so-called climate crisis, people are being urged to go vegan, or if that's too much, going vegetarian, or simply just reducing meat consumption, in particular, red meat.

Reducing our plastic waste is probably one of the most important things we can do for our planet.

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 The material takes so long to decompose that it often sits in landfills for decades, sometimes even centuries before it has fully broken down.

And it only gets worse...

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 As more and more companies are dumping their toxic waste into rivers or lakes, plastic ends up littering our oceans, suffocating sea life, and ultimately destroying thousands of natural areas. This is why countries have been trying their best to reduce it as much as they can and we have seen some good results.

But Russia's latest antics may have undone a lot of work over the has been achieved over the past few months.

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 After hearing the news that carbon emissions have reduced due to the current global pandemic, it was starting to look good for our planet... But not anymore.

Russia has recently declared a state of emergency after a massive oil spill near the Arctic Circle.

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 The city of Norilsk has been left devastated after a massive fuel leak left 2 rivers a bloody, red color and had also gone onto effect over 100,000 square meters of land.

At least 21,000 tonnes of diesel has gushed into the rivers...

The Independent reported that "a vehicle had crashed into one of the plant’s storage towers, but it transpired the tower first decompressed and then ruptured, resulting in a fire and further spillage. Remarkably, news of the accident took several days to reach the authorities."

Allegedly, the workers at the power plant tried to deal with the problem themselves.

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 Over 2 stressful days, people tried to get the spill under control, but when they couldn't, they referred it to their supervisors. However, by then, the news had already reached the nation's leader, Vladimir Putin.

And boy did he make his rage known during a video dispatch...

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 After an official promised to have the situation "under control in 2 weeks," they concluded with "report over" but Vlad was having none of it. “What do you mean, report over?" he said, cutting off his governor as he attempted to respond. “What are you going to do about it? You’re the governor aren’t you?"

The prosecutor's office also announced that it will be opening a criminal investigation into the matter.

The current manager of the power plant has been arrested so far but we're expecting there to be more details about the investigation released soon.

Campaign director at Greenpeace Russia, Ivan Blokov described how terrible this was for the country.

As well as comparing it to some of the world's worst fuel leaks, he said: “We are talking about half the damage caused by the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989." Oh, yikes!

The area, Norilsk, is known for being one of the most polluted areas of Russia.

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 But this is just taking it to a whole other level. “It will take a lot of effort and several billions of roubles to clean things up," Blokov said. “The rivers will be polluted and you can expect anything to grow in the contaminated areas for decades, perhaps hundreds of years."

Another environmental scar for Russia.

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 Even though officials haven't discussed any of their plans to deal with the spillage, apparently they are already starting the clean-up. But at what cost? Has the damage already been done? Let's just hope for the best. Read on to find out how the Australian bushfires impacted our planet.