Global Warming and Solutions to It

The topic of this essay, global warming, is a very controversial topic within the realm of science and politics in the modern world. Global warming is defined as an increase in the temperature within the Earth’s atmosphere due to an increase of greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect is due to the sun warming up the earth’s surface and the air within it. Also, gases within the atmosphere are trapped in, which in turn, causes an increase in temperature. The most common greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. Some opinions of global warming say that humans are the main cause of global warming. Other opinions say that global warming is natural and has nothing to do with humans. While none of these assertions are considered definitive, the problem of global warming continues. With that being said, we as a society must come up with solutions for this problem. This would be through the conservation of energy and producing cleaner energy, and recycling and waste management.

One solution that can help with global warming is the conservation of energy. Firstly, energy conservation is defined as the prevention of the wasteful use of energy, whether that is with electricity or some other fuel source. Some ways we waste energy is, by leaving a light on in the house when we are not using it, or leaving the car on when no one is in it. All of these scenarios are both wasteful and contribute to the acceleration of global warming. Thinking realistically, everyone in the world most likely will not turn off a light because they either forget or do not care enough. What we can do is, use more energy effective devices to make up for this. Most common devices used in homes are LED light bulbs and solar panels. The benefits of using these devices are, that you are saving money in the long run while also slowing the global warming process. We can also encourage the production of cleaner energy. Some examples of “dirty energy” are, coal, natural gas, and oil. These “dirty energy” sources produce a vast amount of global warming emissions. They release toxic chemicals that pollute the air and even our water supply. The use of this energy is very harmful which is why need to produce cleaner energy. The most common form of clean energy is solar power. While this is a good start, this only a fraction the energy produced. Hydropower and wind power are becoming more common around the world. Wind power is exactly how it sounds, a giant fan is pushed by the wind and produces energy. Hydropower is electricity produced by running water. Located usually by dams, the running or falling water in converted into mechanical energy for our everyday use.

Another solution that can help with global warming is waste management and recycling. Before we talk about the solutions, we first have to understand what the problem is. Throughout the years we have formed habits in our households. Some of the habits are recycling however, numerous households in the United States still do not practice recycling and just throw everything in one trash bin. Within increase in facilities that encourage and process recycling, they can separate the recyclables from the trash. Nevertheless, these facilities still face increasing costs due to recyclable being contaminated, which is a result of mixing non recyclables and recyclables. It then becomes an economic obstacle for those facilities. Another problem, is when the recyclables are contaminated. It also impacts the quality of the recyclables when they enter the market place as a recycled product to be sold. An example of this is when liquids or foods are in the same container as the recyclables, and they get saturated with the foods and liquids. If you then mix that with cardboard or paper, it will lose the quality, which results in a wasted reusable product. The solutions that we have to consider are being more responsible with recycling. Instead of having one trash bin for your household, we should have two bins. One for the trash of the house and other for the recyclables. This would reduce the amount of trash in landfills and help the global warming situation. Recycling can also save you money. If you go to your nearest recycling center, you could recycle all of your plastic bottles and cans. Usually receive 5 to 10 cents per item. Another solution is to educate consumers about the wrong and correct ways of recycling. If more people are aware about the situation and know what to do, they are more likely to recycle. A Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP) campaign in Vancouver was passed that help double the collection of plastics. This should that if the citizens of a country or providence are educated about recycling, it can increase the amount of recycling in that area.

To conclude this global warming, we as the human race do not act on the situation of global warming. It will only get worse if we just stand by and watch. We must act fast on saving the earth before it’s too late. The things that we can do are as easy as turning off a light before you leave the house, or just throwing that paper ball of homework into the recycle bin instead of the trash. We as a society must come up with solutions for this problem through the conservation of energy and producing cleaner energy, and recycling and waste management. With these solutions we can slow down the process of global warming. If we work together we could save the planet from being destroyed.