Climate change is happening, but there are still people who want to ignore the signs. How many facts have to surface until people start taking global warming seriously? Well for those who are unaware of what these facts are, or for those who don’t think they matter, I will bring them to light again.
Climate change is a shift in the Earth’s average temperature because of the increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. According to the Global Climate Change sector at NASA, the average temperature of the Earth has risen 1.6 degrees fahrenheit and most of that has occurred in the past 35 years. This may not seem like a large number but this is the average temperature of the surface of the planet and 1.6 degrees can make a big impact. This is also affecting our oceans and the animals that live there. Coral reefs are dying off because of the warming oceans this will cause all of the wildlife that rely on the reefs for an ecosystem will die off and this chain continues until the ocean ecosystem is destroyed. Not only will ocean life be destroyed but added heat is also causing the waters to rise. According to the National Ocean service, global sea levels have risen over two inches, this is affecting many coastal cities and can cause extreme flooding.
These issues are all caused by the rising temperature of the Earth, and if we don’t do something about it, then these issues will continue to get worse. So what can we do to fix this? For starters, recycling. According to Researchers at Northwestern, recycling half of your household waste can result in saving up to 2.5 thousand pounds of carbon dioxide. Another very easy change that everyone can make is to use less hot water. Wash clothing in colder water and take shorter hot showers. This will save carbon dioxide, and will save you money on your water bill. Another task you can do is to go out and plant some trees. This way they can soak up the carbon dioxide and help us breathe by expelling oxygen at the same time. These are all small things that can be done to help the planet.The big pressure though, needs to be put on big corporations. If just a handful of the world’s largest corporations switched to a form of green energy, then we can lower or at least stave off the increasing temperatures. This will not only save the planet, but everything and everyone who lives on it. So why is this still being discussed? There are cold hard facts that say the climate is changing, and we can stop it. So, instead of waiting for the waters to rise and the temperatures to get hotter, let’s work on saving the planet right now.
References:
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sealevel.html
https://www.northwestern.edu/fm/fm-staff/10-ways-to-stop-global-warming.html