Climate change can be solved once we are willing to adopt certain changes to our everyday lives. In our society, the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and the nations decaying infrastructure, are all reasons as to why climate change has become such a subject of great importance. If we are able to change these three parts of our society we can help the environment and slow down the gradual changes of our climates.
The burning of fossil fuels has greatly harmed our environment and is a leading cause as to why climate change has become such a threat to our way of living. In May of 2013, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reached 400 parts per million, an increase of more than 40 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This could cause the Arctic Ocean to be nearly ice-free during the summer by 2020(Overland and Wang, 2013).
The problems associated with climate change are mainly due to the combustion of fossil fuels. It is difficult however to stop this problem. The solutions of being more energy efficient, and improving emissions-control technology, can help lessen the environmental damage done by fossil fuel use they ultimately only alleviate the pressure of increase of pollution and affluence(Delucchi, Jacobson 31).
In the search for alternatives to fossil fuels, scientists and policy makers have focused on three options: nuclear power, energy from biomass; and a combination of wind, water, and solar power. Nuclear power, however, is much more costly and runs the risk of having it fall into the wrong hands where it could be turned into a weapon of mass destruction. The third option entails wind turbines, photovoltaic power plants and rooftop systems, concentrated solar thermal power plants,...
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...ay’s world. We as people will dictate whether we are able to help the environment or whether we let it continue to slide into a hopeless state.
Works Cited
Hardy, J. T. Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions. New York: J. Wiley, 2003. Print.
Peters, Gretchen. "No Quick Solution to Deforestation in Lush Chiapas." Christian Science Monitor 14 Jan. 2002, World sec.: n. pag. Print.
Thomson, Steve. "Saving B.C's Forests through the Trees." The Filipino Post 12-18 July 2012: 12. Print.
Ardnt, Channing, Paul Chinowsky, Kenneth Strzepek, and James Thurlow. "Climate Change, Growth and Infrastructure Investment: The Case of Mozambique. ." Review of Development Economics (n.d.): n. pag. Print.
Delucchi, Mark A., and Mark Z. Jacobson. "Meeting the World's Energy Needs with Wind, Water, and Solar Power." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (2013): 31-40. Web.
Climate Change is costing the world millions of dollars and is the biggest issue facing society today. Climate change is causing greenhouse gases to build up, ice caps to melt, etc. Some people believe climate change is not a big issue. For instance in the article “Gospel of The Climate Change Deniers” it is stated, “Barton a guy who called Al Gore ‘totally wrong’ about global warming and advised people to get shade to adapt to rising temperatures” (Kroll). Although, this is an appealing mindset, it is illogical because climate change has many more effects than just warmer temperatures. For example, Frank Ackerman: an economist known for his work in environmental economics and Dr. Elizabeth A. Stanton an environmental economist and
Central Idea: Nuclear energy only contributes a small amount to the world’s electricity yet it has hazards and dangers that far out-way its benefits. There are many other alternative power producing sources that can produce energy more efficiently and more safely than nuclear power plants can.
Not only is nuclear power friendly to the environment, but it is almost always available, and many countries are starting to use it more. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind en...
One of the biggest environmental impacts which is steadily increasing in severity due to fossil fuel usage is global warming. Global warming is mainly caused due to the trapping of heat in the atmosphere due to increased amounts of carbon dioxide. Because of the burning of fossil fuels, there has been a twenty five percent increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the last 150 years (Clean Energy). This increase over the years has caused the global average surface temperature to raise ...
“By 2050, one-third of the world’s energy will need to come from solar, wind, and other renewable resources” (www.altenergy.org). America can no longer rely so heavily on nuclear energy. America needs to harness the energy found within natural, renewable resources. In fact, nuclear energy needs to be phased out completely because of its negative impact on health, the environment, and its overall cost.
Global warming is threatening to destabilize human society unless we make immediate and drastic changes to our lifestyle, particularly our usage of energy resources. Coal happens to be the most abundant, and therefore, the least expensive of Earth's energy sources. Due to coal's abundant supply and low price, the world burns eight billion tons of coal a year, providing for 40% of the world's energy, and 39% of the carbon dioxide emissions (Nijhuis, 2014). The IPCC report makes it clear that the more carbon dioxide emitted, the more numerous and more severe consequences society must face. Climate change is not one simple consequence of humanity's actions, rather the spark from which all other consequences are derived. Climate change, carbon dioxide emissions, and ultimately coal, are the cause of declining food crops, water supplies, and human health (Holthaus, 2014).
The first part of this essay discusses what the human species has done to deal with the problem of climate change. While some improvements have been made, the problem has not been addressed aggressively enough to stop the damage. What is amazing about this is the denial of so many people that problems exist. If they do realize the risks, they are simply not taking actions to contain the damage.
Over the last two centuries, humanity has become increasingly reliant on fossil fuels. Over that time, the consequences of constantly burning fossil fuels have accumulated into a threat to industrialized cities. The burning of fossil fuels causes acid rain to shower on cities and ecosystems around the world, tormenting their inhabitants. The increasingly deadly pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels has caused the deaths of many people around the world by causing respiratory problems. Not only has the pollution worsened, but the supply of fossil fuels is not limitless – as humanity’s reliance increases the supply decreases, and that is all the more reason to break humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels should be replaced with cleaner alternatives because fossil fuels cause environmental hazards, are non-renewable, and are detrimental to human health.
"Top 6 Things You Didn't Know About Solar Energy." Energy.gov. United States Department of Energy, 22 July 2012. Web. 23 May 2014.
Climate change is now a reality which we human beings can ignore only at our own expense. The threat is looming ahead and if we do not actions in a timely manner it would not only have an impact on the current generation but also on the future generations to come.
Scientists report that global warming has been escalating since the Industrial Revolution. Governments are trying to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. With the speed of destruction of Earth?fs ecosystem, the survival of many species, including human beings, is threatened. In order to solve this danger, we have to reduce the consumption of energy and use the alternative energy resources. If we calculate the present energy price, alternative energy must be more expensive than fossil fuels. However if we consider the negative price which is caused by global warming, this result might be different. Now I would like to propose some solutions: (1) reduce the use of fossil fuels; (2) find alternative energy resources; (3) recycle usable resources; (4) planting trees to help combat global warming. I will explain these solutions in more detail.
...ng the problem of global warming. Although, it will take several decades, possibly centuries to fix the damage that has already been done to both mankind and the world, the end is not yet near and global warming has not yet ended disastrous for the world. Although technology is considered to be contributing to global warming, inversely it can also be the exact thing that helps turn things around.
Such a drastic increase in the rate of temperature increase is due to the industrial revolution. In the past 40 years, the world has seen a drastic increase in population and the use of fossil fuels (gasoline, oil, coal or natural gas). These fuels are used to run our cars, heat and cool our homes, manufacture goods in our factories and to ship goods for worldwide consumption. The focus, until lately, has been to produce maximum product at a minimum price to maximize profit. Little to no care was taken to minimize the amount of fossil fuels used in the production of goods. Recently, it has become evident that such practices lead to the production of greenhouse gases. Whenever fossil fuels are burned for energy, greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide builds up in the earth’s atmosphere (Union of Concerned Scientists).
As we approach the future we are faced with many global problems. Most of these problems arise because we have caused them ourselves. We need to face these problems and find a solution. Global warming, although most often overlooked in importance, is a crucial problem of the future directly related to human activities. Global warming is caused by gases humans release into the atmosphere called anthropogenic gases and by deforestation. Anthropogenic gases include carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofl...
Fossil fuels are energy that is in the form of coal, oil, or natural gas that comes from organisms from millions of years ago. The cycle to create fossil fuels takes millions of years to form and is therefore considered a nonrenewable resource of energy. Fossil fuels have been the primary source of energy for man ever since the age of machines, but one of “the main problem[s] with fossil fuels is that there is a limited amount of them” (Problem with Fossil Fuel). As countries become more developed, like the United States, they too will become more thirsty and dependent for fossil fuels. “In 2004, America spent approximately $270 billion to fufill its oil need.” and “90% of all transportation is fueled by oil” (Nakaya 10). With the global rate of fossil fuels going up it is inevitable that they are going to run out, forcing countries to choose an alternative energy source. The other huge problem with dependence on fossil fuels is the effect that the emissions have on the climate. Fossil fuels are made of carbon chains and in order for the reaction...