Over the past hundred years, our planet has undergone some extreme changes leading it to be in its worst condition so far. We are experiencing global warming and an increased number of natural disasters. Plus, we have floating islands of garbage in the middle of our oceans that no one seems to care about. We are losing days of having a healthy home.
We are releasing too many air pollutants by using fossil fuels and gasoline-burning vehicles. These pollutants get trapped in Earth’s atmosphere and absorb sunlight and radiation. They enclose all rising heat in our atmosphere, making temperatures slightly hotter each year. This whole problem is specifically called global warming, and it is directly affecting our environment.
The trapped heat has made the Earth’s surface temperature rise. This means that the Poles’ ice is melting and adding more water to the ocean. With the ocean levels rising, we are slowly losing lower parts of our land, centimeters at a time. This global warming can also be blamed for the increased number of intense storms and natural disasters.
Some of the most increased natural disasters over the past decade are droughts, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. They have been affecting larger amounts of land and occurring more and more often. The devastation they cause to cities and towns can sometimes cost too much to repair leaving uninhabitable areas of land.
A huge concern right now is the number of bushfires spreading all over the continent of Australia. Millions of acres have already been lost, animals are going extinct, habitats are turning to soot, people are losing their homes, and even worse — residents are dying.
If the destruction of natural disasters isn’t enough, we have five floating garbage patches in the middle of our oceans. They are all made up of non-biodegradable plastics that get caught within the ocean’s currents, creating garbage islands, so to say.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is currently the biggest one, about twice the size of Texas. This is a serious problem that is becoming much too expensive for us to clean up ourselves.
So, after mentioning just some of the ways that our Earth is suffering, read this and help our Earth before it’s too late.
Some things we could all be doing right now to help are:
· Carpooling, walking, or biking more when getting from one place to another.
· Stop using plastic shopping bags and start using reusable ones. Quick tip: always leave reusable shopping bags in your trunk for those impromptu shopping sprees and grocery store runs.
· Stay away from plastic water bottles, get a reusable one you can wash and refill.
· Pick up any littered trash outside if you see it and bring it where it belongs — in a trash can.
· Reduce the amount of paper you use. Go electronic instead of printing if you’re able to.
· Turn off the lights in unoccupied rooms or use the natural sunlight during the day.
· Don’t run the water if you aren’t actively using it, such as brushing your teeth or before you jump in the shower.
· Avoid one use utensils, plates, straws, and cups. There are cheap, reusable options for all of these.
· Try growing some of your own fruits and veggies. Gardens can help lower the use of packaging and pesticides.
· Reduce your food waste by composting and learning to love leftovers.
· RECYCLE!
If we all got ourselves in the habit of doing most of these things, our Earth would certainly benefit. It could slow the process of us losing our home altogether and give our children a healthier world to live in.