In its broadest sense, "global change" describes modifications to the Earth system on a planetary scale. 

It is most frequently used to refer to the wide range of developments related to the Great Acceleration, or the sudden rise in human activity that began about the middle of the 20th century. 

Despite having its roots in climate change research, the idea is used to adopt a more comprehensive perspective on the changes that have been noticed.

Global change is the term used to describe changes to the entire Earth system, including its interacting physicochemical and biological components as well as the effects of human societies on those components.

As a result, Earth system science is used to study the changes.

When taken as a whole, these changes have a negative influence on society, including financial losses, migrations, conflicts, threats to people's health and life, compromises to the security of food and water, the loss of ecosystem services, decreased resiliency of human communities, and a degradation in the environmental foundation of our well-being.

But ultimately, these processes depend on our habits of resource consumption, which we can control, at least on an individual basis. 

Our ability to slow down global developments depends more on the choices we make every day as consumers than it does on the influence we can have through voting.