Consider the following excerpt from a speech delivered by a fictional political leader addressing climate change:
"We stand at the precipice of irreversible damage, where each tick of the clock echoes the heartbreaking consequences of our inaction. The choices we make today will either suffocate our planet in a shroud of smog or breathe life into its weary lungs. The time for empty promises and half-measures has long passed. It is now or never, and we must seize this moment with a transformative urgency that defies complacency."
In this excerpt, which of the following choices best captures the overall tone of the passage?