The Addressing of Global warming and effects of pollution
"Pollution and climate change caused by excessive burning of fossil fuels are the real threats, not the people who warn that we must take these threats seriously”- David Suzuki
Finally the world begins to recognise the mistakes that have been made in the past and how toxic it is for the environment and its wildlife. Think about all the commercials you see with different animals and sea creatures with trash filling their stomachs that eventually kill them, or how aquatic creatures often end up suffocating due to fishing lines or sea pollution wrapped around their necks. According to Plymouth University, “plastic pollution affects at least 700 marine species, while some estimates suggest that at least 100 million marine mammals are killed each year from plastic pollution” (One Green Planet).
The main source of pollution is due to emissions of fossil fuels into the environment such as cars, busses, and massive power plants. Another cause is oil refiners and natural disasters such as volcanic ash being blown around in the wind, these are all factors of pollution that burden our environment ( National park service ). This issue has been destroying our atmosphere more heavily in recent years due to recent advances and technology and needs to be met for supply and demand, so some people wonder why is this such a big deal anyways? Well with all these gas emissions the pollutants such as carbon,sulphur and nitrogen eventually trapped beneath the ozone layer which heats up the planet even more because this still allows the sun's rays in but then holds the heat in not letting as much escape, causing earth’s temperature rise drastically in a few short years. For example, one backlash of this effect on wildlife involves sea levels expected to rise between seven and twenty-one inches and with the heat melting the northern and southern poles, this could increase another four to eight inches. This would endanger certain species lives such as polar bears and adelie penguins (whose home is Antarctica) ; the rising waters will essentially eliminate their homes and drive the race into extinction (National Geographic Geographic- Effects of Global Warming).
To better understand check out this link to Nasa's interactive carbon scale and click " carbon scale"- https://climate.nasa.gov/interactives/climate-time-machine
These troubled times for the environment have brought many great minds together and given a voice to the environment through powerful speakers and scientists including Al Gore and David Suzuki. In recent years there was a meeting between the powers of the world where 195 countries united to address the climate change issue. This meeting was arranged in Paris, 2015 and is most famous for its long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below two degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels. It is a huge step in bettering our carbon footprint that they agreed to help each other word for word: “acknowledges the need to cooperate and enhance the understanding, action and support in different areas such as early warning systems, emergency preparedness and risk insurance.”("Paris Agreement." Climate Action.)
Countries have been making great strides at making new and efficient ways to combat the effects of global warming and pollution. For example Canada has a Carbon tax on each of its provinces this helps Canada regulate its carbon emissions better and essentially minimize their harmful emissions. There is also efficient alternative methods of creating energy and using this to produce electricity, such as solar,wind and hydro power. All these green energies have made massive strides in past years due to growing awareness of global warming, the world is starting to understand the severity of the situation and continue to create clever ways to utilize mother nature's resources to our advantage to repair the damage that caused the disaster.
Finally the world begins to recognise the mistakes that have been made in the past and how toxic it is for the environment and its wildlife. Think about all the commercials you see with different animals and sea creatures with trash filling their stomachs that eventually kill them, or how aquatic creatures often end up suffocating due to fishing lines or sea pollution wrapped around their necks. According to Plymouth University, “plastic pollution affects at least 700 marine species, while some estimates suggest that at least 100 million marine mammals are killed each year from plastic pollution” (One Green Planet).
The main source of pollution is due to emissions of fossil fuels into the environment such as cars, busses, and massive power plants. Another cause is oil refiners and natural disasters such as volcanic ash being blown around in the wind, these are all factors of pollution that burden our environment ( National park service ). This issue has been destroying our atmosphere more heavily in recent years due to recent advances and technology and needs to be met for supply and demand, so some people wonder why is this such a big deal anyways? Well with all these gas emissions the pollutants such as carbon,sulphur and nitrogen eventually trapped beneath the ozone layer which heats up the planet even more because this still allows the sun's rays in but then holds the heat in not letting as much escape, causing earth’s temperature rise drastically in a few short years. For example, one backlash of this effect on wildlife involves sea levels expected to rise between seven and twenty-one inches and with the heat melting the northern and southern poles, this could increase another four to eight inches. This would endanger certain species lives such as polar bears and adelie penguins (whose home is Antarctica) ; the rising waters will essentially eliminate their homes and drive the race into extinction (National Geographic Geographic- Effects of Global Warming).
To better understand check out this link to Nasa's interactive carbon scale and click " carbon scale"- https://climate.nasa.gov/interactives/climate-time-machine
These troubled times for the environment have brought many great minds together and given a voice to the environment through powerful speakers and scientists including Al Gore and David Suzuki. In recent years there was a meeting between the powers of the world where 195 countries united to address the climate change issue. This meeting was arranged in Paris, 2015 and is most famous for its long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below two degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels. It is a huge step in bettering our carbon footprint that they agreed to help each other word for word: “acknowledges the need to cooperate and enhance the understanding, action and support in different areas such as early warning systems, emergency preparedness and risk insurance.”("Paris Agreement." Climate Action.)
Countries have been making great strides at making new and efficient ways to combat the effects of global warming and pollution. For example Canada has a Carbon tax on each of its provinces this helps Canada regulate its carbon emissions better and essentially minimize their harmful emissions. There is also efficient alternative methods of creating energy and using this to produce electricity, such as solar,wind and hydro power. All these green energies have made massive strides in past years due to growing awareness of global warming, the world is starting to understand the severity of the situation and continue to create clever ways to utilize mother nature's resources to our advantage to repair the damage that caused the disaster.