This Green World

A very important environmental factor that the government should be concerned about is the continual issue over global warming. People need to take a step back and realize just exactly what the world is coming to. I'm sure the human population is aware that global warming exists and is gradually becoming worse every minute of every day, but people need to be aware that global warming isn't just a problem that will disappear overnight. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased to 31% above pre-industrial levels. There is more CO2 now than there was at any time in the last 650,000 years. It is expected that due to the lack of effective greenhouse gas pollution reduction the global average temperature will increase 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. All the news that is heard about disasters around the world is a result of the actions we take to further create global warming; these actions include an insignificant amount of environmentally friendly decisions, such as walking more, saving electricity, recycling, and much more. So far, warmer global temperatures have resulted in heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather, ocean warming, sea-level rising and coastal flooding, glaciers melting, and warming of the Arctic and Antarctic. As global warming continues to worsen, the world will see more frequent occurrences of spreading disease, earlier spring arrival, plant and animal range shifts and population change, coral reef bleaching, downpours, heavy snowfalls, flooding, droughts, and fires. As a matter of fact, there will be approximately 200 million people around the world who could be displaced by more intense droughts, sea level rise and flooding by 2080. The United States alone needs 80% decrease of pollution before 2050 to prevent the worst consequences of global warming. Time is running out, but nevertheless, there are many people working to save the Earth. For instance, there are many landfills that specialize in landfill gas destruction by capturing and burning methane, then using it for electricity. While this may seem out of hand for everyday civilians like us, we can contribute by doing simple tasks. At home, we can switch to energy-saving lights, and use environmentally friendly appliances. If we make smart choices, we can cut more pollution than the entire emission of over 100 countries! Furthermore, we can use less gas with our current houses, invest in a hybrid of solar powered car, or simply get out and bike, or walk more. Not only is it helping the Earth go green, it is also good for our health. Of course, never forget to reduce, reuse, recycle, and renew. We still have a long way to go with a limited amount of time before the world can see drastic improvements in global warming. It is up to us to repair the damages that we have done, so we must all contribute to save what is left in order to see a beautiful green world again!

Resources:
http://www.climatehotmap.org/
http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?contentID=5816
http://fightglobalwarming.com/page.cfm?tagID=135