The planet’s average surface temperature had risen 1.62 degrees fahrenheit since the late 19th century, mostly due to increased carbon dioxide and man-made emissions in the atmosphere. If global warming keeps increasing it will have a lot of negative effects on the atmosphere including rising sea levels, intense heat waves, more severe floods/storms, which will all damage many ecosystems.
Global warming is simply up to us humans and whether or not we want to take care of our earth. Abby Meyers, current senior, stated “ People can do things to help the earth. You don’t need to completely change your lifestyle to make a difference, but you can definitely change small things that take little time.” One of the biggest things that global warming is affecting are the people in general. Especially those residents who are living near low-lying coastal areas. It also affects the people who are living in poor areas and can’t afford enough resources to adapt to temperature and climate change.
One big way humans are affecting global warming through everyday use is by transportation. Emissions from cars greatly increases the amount of radiation that the sun emits. This increases global warming because the heat gets trapped which causes the energy to increase, translating it into heat. Driving is just one thing humans do that affects our earth in a negative way and increases global warming. Another issue that needs to be changed is the amount of pollution that destroys our earth every day.
Every single year millions of waste is dumped into earth’s natural ground and most of this waste is not biodegradable. This means microorganisms in the ground cannot break them down which hurts the environment. Water pollution has began to get seemily worse every year. It has been estimated that ocean based courses (such as cargo ships and cruise liners) have dumped 14 billion pounds of garbage into the ocean killing around 1 million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals.
Locally, the Mississippi River carries an estimated 1.5 million tons of nitrogen pollution right into the gulf of Mexico. Macie Skahill, a current junior, stated, “Me and my family live near the river and go boating on the Mississippi all the time during the summer. We all know how gross the river is due to all the pollutants and make sure to shower right when we get home. A lot of people know about this issue but still won’t do anything to change it.”
If people want to save the earth there needs to be an immediate change. There are multiple things we can do to minimize pollution and to slow down global warming. An easy way to start making a change is by recycling. Recycling prevents a lot of pollution and minimizes trash that can hurt the earth. Meyers also stated, “You should definitely recycle because we are responsible for the well being of our earth and whether or not we want to live a healthy lifestyle.” By recycling, carpooling, disposing of trash properly, and conserving energy we can help not only the earth but our lifestyles as well.
