The old adage “nothing lasts forever,” can be used to define an assortment of things in life such as: an intimate relationship gone stale, having a pet pass away or losing contact with a close-childhood friend.

It could also be used to describe the constant changes of the Earth’s climate and the negative impacts it can play on the world’s economy and inequality, according to a Stanford news article.

By year 2100, the global economy will take a harder hit from rising temperatures and it will continue to plummet if the climate is unchecked, according to the article Global Non-Linear Effect of Temperature on Economic Production.

Regions with already cooler temperatures such as northern Europe can possibly benefit, while others with warmer temperatures like the U.S. and those with tropical countries may suffer.

Although these are just educated predictions it may not be too far from reality. There are other factors that may contribute to warmer climate, such as greenhouse gases.

For those who are not familiar, these are the gasses that come from a myriad of things like the decay of organic waste in landfills and the burning of trees and wood products, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Greenhouse gases make the planet warmer, thus leading to hotter temperatures and rising sea levels.

Marshall Burke, a professor of Earth system science at Stanford School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, who co-led the study said, “high temperatures are bad for things like agriculture and labor productivity.”

An example of decreased labor productivity would be severe rainfall and snowstorms delaying planting and harvesting, according to Climate Hot Map. On the flip side, the hotter weather may curtail construction or air pollution and allergies can cause less work being completed.

The increase of temperatures can have a negative effect on those who depend on the oceans for their livelihood.

Fish populations who tend to migrate to the poles to stay cool are out of range for fisherman to catch them, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Climate change can affect agriculture in numerous ways such as: shifting agricultural zones towards the poles, a change in precipitation patterns and increased vulnerability of the landless and poor, according to the Climate Institute.

Climate change is nothing new and humans by no means can control it. However, we can make a difference by creating a more energy-efficient planet.

To accomplish this, we would need to things like decrease the burning of fossil fuels, manufacture more electric cars for the ever-growing population and possibly transition people’s appetite to veganism, but I digress.  

The human species may find a way to adapt to mother nature and may possibly find a solution to sustain a global economy with all countries, but it is uncertain.  

The best thing that we could do now is to prepare for ourselves a more energy-efficient way of life. But we have to realize that human ingenuity is a double-edged sword.