#upchat

Sit back for a moment and think about the world that you live in. An increase of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere is leading to acidification of ocean waters, harming coral and coral production in the Coral Reef. The Arctic Sea, which was 2.37 million square miles in 2010, has shrunk to 1.96 million square miles. Global warming is not a joke. 

Want to do something about it? Do you have one extra minute to spare on Tuesday, September 23, 2014? You have the opportunity to chat with global leaders about the environment and make a difference. Upworthy.com will be holding an all-day #UpChat live at the United Nations Climate Summit 2014. You can join the conversation through social media or join Upworthy.com staff at the Summit. Everyone at the Climate Summit will be able to see your live chats and your thoughts may become a point of discussion. 

What exactly is happening at this Summit? Global leaders will be convening to make decisions about the future of the planet that you live in. It is being hosted by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to engage leaders and advance climate action and ambition. We have all the necessary tools to start fighting back against global warming, we just don't have a united force. Once we attain that, together we will be able the make this planet a better place for our children and the children to come. The Summit will serve as a public platform for leaders from all different public and private sectors: finance, business, civil society, local leaders. The ultimate goal of the Summit is to "catalyze ambitious action on the ground to reduce emissions and strengthen climate resilience and mobilize political will for an ambitious global agreement by 2015 that limits the world to a less than 2-degree Celsius rise in global temperature... focus[ing] on accelerating progress in areas that can significantly contribute to reducing emissions and strengthening resilience – such as agriculture, cities, energy, financing, forests, pollutants, resilience and transportation".

Why join in on this revolution? I will let Morgan Freeman tell in you in 62 seconds. 

How to join? All you need to do is follow @upworthy and @Climate2014Live, use the hashtags #UpChat and #Climate2014 in your tweets.

A lot of people today just don't care about global warming. That frightens me. Why should you and I care about global warming? Polar ice and glacier are melting at an accelerating rate. Temperate trend over the last 10 years shows that temperature are consistently rising. 11 of the past 14 years are the warmest ever recorded. Spring is occurring earlier and earlier each year. Climate extremes-- devastating floods, severe droughts, forest fires, tornados, hurricanes, heat waves-- have been more frequent and have created major issues in the lives of millions all around the world. 

It is not too late to save our planet. We need to have a revolution where all different people from all different sects of life come together. If we mobilize the vast knowledge and creativity of the minds of the 7.1 billion people who live on the planet we can make a change. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, together we stand divided we fall. That can all start by joining the conversation that is happening at the UN in NYC of Tuesday. 

Let's Talk About How That Cheap Stuff You Just Bought At Walmart Costs $6,000 More Than You Thought

What do you think about the fact that the six members of the Walton family (who own most of Walmart) have more wealth than the bottom 40% of our entire country? Or how Walmart paying a living wage to its employees would barely affect prices? We're having this little thing called an #UpChat on Thursday, June 5, at 2 p.m. Eastern so you can join in the conversation. All you'll need is a Twitter account. Use the hashtag #UpChat to add your voice!

If You Join This #UpChat About Cesar Chavez, You'll Do The World A Solid

A Hunger Crisis In America Is Happening, And It’s Time We Spoke Up About It

A Hunger Crisis In America Is Happening, And It’s Time We Spoke Up About It