My name is Gracie Hardcastle, I am a high school senior, and I am very passionate about the environment. I plan to go into environmental science and eventually become an environmental lawyer so that I can work to advocate for better policies and protection for nature. There are several things that contribute to the environmental crisis that our generation finds ourselves in. The excessive use of fossil fuels and carbon emissions are causing a serious problem in the world now. There are a lot of steps that need to be taken to find any sort of solution that is sustainable in the long term, but there are also many steps that we as a society could be taking right now to make a difference. There are a lot of energy systems that should be improved and modernized to make progress in reducing our impact on the environment. Completely abandoning fossil fuels and every other modern energy source is not realistic in a world that is built like ours. Making a smooth transition into better and more environmentally friendly practices is one of the most important things. Adopting cleaner technologies and more hybrids is an excellent place to start. Implementation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to reduce emissions from fossil fuel plants is a great way to cut down carbon emissions from these plants. Increasing the reliability of hybrid systems in things like transportation and infrastructure could be a large step towards progress. Using fossil fuels as backup during periods of low renewable energy production is an excellent option for switching over to more hybrid systems. Coming up with solutions for energy storage is also an important part of a switch to sustainable energy from renewable resources. All of these changes may sound amazing, but while steps like these need to be taken, we must also take steps to incentivise these projects and support them. There are many changes in policy that can get these changes started as soon as people are willing to see that they are needed. Subsidizing renewable energy projects can provide lower costs to encourage the adoption of these projects. Implementing taxes or cap-and-trade systems could internalize the environmental cost of traditional energy. Encouraging public-private partnerships can start up collaboration to help accelerate innovation and infrastructure development. Encouraging research and development and helping people explore more solutions will take our society a long way. Change doesn't happen overnight. I hope that as a society we can move forward to help save our world from the crisis that may be right around the corner. I am excited to be a part of change in our world. I know that my generation has the potential to save the planet, and I intend to help as much as I possibly can.