Editorial: What we hope to see in the new decade

It’s now 2020 and this new decade needs to be a time of change and improvement. With so much negativity in the news and in the world, there is still great initiative to prompt change in this world by many young and old leaders alike.
We at Portside News believe that our generation is the one that needs to promote equality, fix human caused climate change, eliminate mass shootings, and improve the overall treatment of all people.
In 2015, gay marriage was legalized in the United States, a huge jump forward for the LGBTQ+ community. But that certainly didn’t end the equality struggles for people in the world. Six countries still impose the death penalty on gay relationships: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Nigeria, Sudan, and Somalia. This is just insanity, and we need to fight for the rights of all people.
The ice sheets, snow cover, and global surface temperature have all drastically changed since the late 19th century due to human sourced emissions. Greenland has lost an average of 286 billion tons of ice per year from 1993 to 2016, and Antarctica has lost about 127 billion tons during the same time.
The global average surface temperature has risen 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 1800s. These changes have all been provoked by carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions.
The Earth won’t last at this rate, and if we keep going in this direction what kind of world are we going to leave behind for our children?
The number of mass shootings have risen at a rapid rate. It’s affecting school, sporting events, concerts, shopping, and our everyday life. The Gun Violence Archive (GVA), reported at the beginning of December 2019 that there had been more mass shootings than days so far in the year. There needs to be more of a focus on who is getting the guns that are being used in these attacks.
Longer wait periods and rigorous background checks need to be put into place to help stop these maniacs from accessing deadly weapons that help people commit these terrorist acts.
The hate and division in our country and world needs to be turned around in this new decade.
Everyone needs to try to be the best person they can be and that alone can solve so many problems. Let’s take action against these negative events and thoughts and make this world a better place in the 2020s.