Christine Y. on Global Warming
Global warming. We’re all aware of what global warming is and the dangers it imposes on our planet. Global warming is a huge problem and is slowly melting the Arctic, causing 150,000 deaths a year and raising sea levels. Then again, you’re not concerned at all are you? In fact, you probably haven't even thought about it until this very moment. After all, it’s not going to affect you any time soon, so you might as well ignore it. Well, you shouldn't. None of us should, we’re affecting future generations, future life. If you don't care about global warming, then you must at least try to care about the future of human existence. Global warming is affecting the people of tomorrow, yet it is not the fault of tomorrow, but the fault of today. If we can do something, right now, no matter how small the effort... why don’t we?
So, global warming is no big deal, right? If it was, then more people would be doing something about it. Don’t be so quick to assume. A newspaper was forbidden from publishing an article that showed how the increase in global temperature would increase the strength of hurricanes. If our generation continues to ignore the mass pollution of the Earth and continues releasing toxins into the air, there will be no ‘next generation.’ That means no dogs or cats, no koalas or monkeys... no human race will even exist.
The Greenhouse Effect. Some of the Greenhouse gasses include Carbon Dioxide and Methane. These gasses are exerted into the atmosphere, and stay there, holding in heat from the sun and warming our planet. Most of the gasses are released into the atmosphere via the burning of fossil fuels, trees, and solid waste. The only way to remove carbon dioxide (and carbon dioxide alone) is through absorption by plants. As you can imagine all those big businesses and work plants burn a lot of fossil fuels, using up an irreplaceable resource, and destroying our mother Earth. How is it fair that we today do such careless things that will take a toll on, not us, but our children, grandchildren and their friends? It simply isn't. It's taxation without representation. We’re causing problems for further generations without their say. “I am the earth. You are the earth. The Earth is dying. You and I are murderers.” That is a quote from Ymber Delecto, which leads me to say that… as far as I’m concerned, what we’re doing - polluting the earth - is generational genocide.
There’s so much that we as individuals do that increases global warming. It almost seems as though people don't care about the Earth, maybe they never did. Or…maybe they care…they’re just…uneducated. People don't realize the serious nature of global warming, because they’re unaware. Henrik Tikkanen said, “Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us.” But if people don't do something soon, then it will be too late to help future generations. We, as a whole, have become too preoccupied with our lifestyles to stop and think that maybe that’s not all there is. There is life after our death. Everything we do today affects tomorrow. A Native American Proverb states that “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” The way we treat our planet is similar to the way children treat library books. Some children treat them with great care, and others forget that they’re not the only ones that need to use the book, and ruin it. The only difference? Books are replaceable: the Earth isn’t.
We’re all guilty of doing things, careless things, which can make a huge impact on the Earth. According to the Pew Research Center, over half the population of Japan, India, France, and Spain express great concern over global warming. …But get this: the two largest producers of greenhouse gases, yours truly, the United States and China, worry less than any other country surveyed. Only about 20% of the populations in the U.S. and China that have heard about global warming… show any concern. Have we really become so stuck in our daily routines that we cannot stop to think about those around us?
Or maybe, just maybe, you’re a “model citizen", and you go out of your way to recycle. But what about that gas-guzzling car you’ve got? It takes you everywhere, and spares you some oh-so painstaking walking. Oh, and those five TV's you’ve got in your house, that you leave on all through the night. We all do things that slowly kill the Earth, things we can all prevent, but most of us don’t. Why? Because the future generations mean nothing—as long as they have nothing to do with us, right?
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” All future life is doomed because we couldn’t simply walk instead of taking cars. Well, not exactly. We all can make a great contribution by doing small and simple things. For example, next time you plan on buying a car, instead of that inefficient gas-guzzling Hummer, save the world and some gas money by buying a hybrid. A decrease in car exhaust gases would result in a decrease in CO2 in the atmosphere, which in return, would lessen the green house effect. Unplugging electric sucking items that are not in use, air drying clothes, and recycling are other activities you can do to help prevent global warming. Any effort you put into helping the Earth will help out your granddaughter twenty years from now. Don't let her look back and wonder why we never did anything to save her planet. Global warming is making a very clear impact on the earth. By taking action in our daily lives, we lessen the effects of global warming on our home planet. If the world works together for the good of the Earth, and future generations, then we can be reassured that our planet won’t be a thing of the past in the next sixty years (and yes, it really is coming that soon).
Next time you decide to throw your "Happy Meal" out your car window, don’t. Little things like that help the earth more than you know. Do not stand idly by, for you are just as guilty as those who destroy. As ominous as global warming may seem, there is still hope for the future. You are the hope. Global warming doesn’t have to conquer the Earth, instead, let us conquer global warming.
So, global warming is no big deal, right? If it was, then more people would be doing something about it. Don’t be so quick to assume. A newspaper was forbidden from publishing an article that showed how the increase in global temperature would increase the strength of hurricanes. If our generation continues to ignore the mass pollution of the Earth and continues releasing toxins into the air, there will be no ‘next generation.’ That means no dogs or cats, no koalas or monkeys... no human race will even exist.
The Greenhouse Effect. Some of the Greenhouse gasses include Carbon Dioxide and Methane. These gasses are exerted into the atmosphere, and stay there, holding in heat from the sun and warming our planet. Most of the gasses are released into the atmosphere via the burning of fossil fuels, trees, and solid waste. The only way to remove carbon dioxide (and carbon dioxide alone) is through absorption by plants. As you can imagine all those big businesses and work plants burn a lot of fossil fuels, using up an irreplaceable resource, and destroying our mother Earth. How is it fair that we today do such careless things that will take a toll on, not us, but our children, grandchildren and their friends? It simply isn't. It's taxation without representation. We’re causing problems for further generations without their say. “I am the earth. You are the earth. The Earth is dying. You and I are murderers.” That is a quote from Ymber Delecto, which leads me to say that… as far as I’m concerned, what we’re doing - polluting the earth - is generational genocide.
There’s so much that we as individuals do that increases global warming. It almost seems as though people don't care about the Earth, maybe they never did. Or…maybe they care…they’re just…uneducated. People don't realize the serious nature of global warming, because they’re unaware. Henrik Tikkanen said, “Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us.” But if people don't do something soon, then it will be too late to help future generations. We, as a whole, have become too preoccupied with our lifestyles to stop and think that maybe that’s not all there is. There is life after our death. Everything we do today affects tomorrow. A Native American Proverb states that “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” The way we treat our planet is similar to the way children treat library books. Some children treat them with great care, and others forget that they’re not the only ones that need to use the book, and ruin it. The only difference? Books are replaceable: the Earth isn’t.
We’re all guilty of doing things, careless things, which can make a huge impact on the Earth. According to the Pew Research Center, over half the population of Japan, India, France, and Spain express great concern over global warming. …But get this: the two largest producers of greenhouse gases, yours truly, the United States and China, worry less than any other country surveyed. Only about 20% of the populations in the U.S. and China that have heard about global warming… show any concern. Have we really become so stuck in our daily routines that we cannot stop to think about those around us?
Or maybe, just maybe, you’re a “model citizen", and you go out of your way to recycle. But what about that gas-guzzling car you’ve got? It takes you everywhere, and spares you some oh-so painstaking walking. Oh, and those five TV's you’ve got in your house, that you leave on all through the night. We all do things that slowly kill the Earth, things we can all prevent, but most of us don’t. Why? Because the future generations mean nothing—as long as they have nothing to do with us, right?
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” All future life is doomed because we couldn’t simply walk instead of taking cars. Well, not exactly. We all can make a great contribution by doing small and simple things. For example, next time you plan on buying a car, instead of that inefficient gas-guzzling Hummer, save the world and some gas money by buying a hybrid. A decrease in car exhaust gases would result in a decrease in CO2 in the atmosphere, which in return, would lessen the green house effect. Unplugging electric sucking items that are not in use, air drying clothes, and recycling are other activities you can do to help prevent global warming. Any effort you put into helping the Earth will help out your granddaughter twenty years from now. Don't let her look back and wonder why we never did anything to save her planet. Global warming is making a very clear impact on the earth. By taking action in our daily lives, we lessen the effects of global warming on our home planet. If the world works together for the good of the Earth, and future generations, then we can be reassured that our planet won’t be a thing of the past in the next sixty years (and yes, it really is coming that soon).
Next time you decide to throw your "Happy Meal" out your car window, don’t. Little things like that help the earth more than you know. Do not stand idly by, for you are just as guilty as those who destroy. As ominous as global warming may seem, there is still hope for the future. You are the hope. Global warming doesn’t have to conquer the Earth, instead, let us conquer global warming.