One would have never known that water pouring down from the sky could bring people immense joy. The residents of Cape Town, South Africa, experienced this sort of happiness when they saw rain falling outside their windows. The rainfall on February 9, 2018, brought joyful people outside of their homes and other buildings carrying buckets and jugs. They had not witnessed rain there since January 22. The people were overjoyed to see a rainfall because, in Cape Town, rain has become scarce. The region has been experiencing a severe drought that has put restrictions on water usage for the residents and has shown no sign of resolving anytime soon (McKenzie). Cape Town and the surrounding region have been drying out. The city’s reservoirs have dropped …show more content…
Fossils fuels are thought to be a prominent cause of the heating of the lower atmosphere; consequently, finding an alternate fuel source besides coal, oil, and natural gas has been thought to be a resolution to this problem. Deforestation is met by the solution of cutting less timber. There are simpler ways to make a potential difference in the warming of temperatures. One includes the consumption of less by all people. Consuming less would result in fewer emissions due to the unnecessary excess of burning fuels to create and ship products all over the world. Also, spending more time away from electronics could cut down on power usage (Biello). Recycling makes new products from used ones thereby preventing a considerable amount of waste of products. These solutions potentially could help with the rapid growth of climate …show more content…
The actions taken have reflected both positively and negatively on the movement. The Clean Air Act was created in 1970 to make standards for air pollution (“Summary of the Clean[...]”). In 2017, the act was repealed, so now there are no longer any standards on air pollution for fossil fuel companies. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, founded in 1992, created a discussion place for stabilizing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (“Global Action on Climate Change”). The United Nations also created the Paris Agreement in 2015 that numerous countries signed. This agreement said that the countries who signed it would strive to keep the global temperature below two degrees Celsius (“United Nations Paris[...]”). In 2017, the United States pulled out of the Paris Agreement. Actions taken have been either beneficial or harmful depending on the situation to finding solutions for warming temperatures. Organizations have taken more aggressive actions towards climate change knowing the repercussions it could have. Ever since people discovered the existence of climate change, they started to take action against it. Scientists discovered the atmosphere was becoming warmer, and natural events were becoming unbalanced. Research showed potentially negative impacts on regions all over the world. People began to suggest ways in which to solve some of the issues. Individuals and organizations
The treaty would be a legally binding contract that requires each signing nation to allocate no less than 2 percent of their nation’s GDP to develop programs for the investigation, discovery, and elimination of changes to the climate. Each nation could develop substantial programs with their 2 percent allocations. Such an allocation for the US should hopefully force legislators to develop programs to reduce climate change. If I were able to move beyond this action, I would pass a law making it illegal to pollute the
Toilet paper and school), taking shorter showers to conserve water, and using less electricity. If continuing with less paper products it would be helpful because you would save money on buying paper towels and you would potentially have less trash. On the downside you would not be able to eat out as much and in the beginning you would have to invest in a lot of tupperware. When you take shorter showers you be conserving water for the environment but you might have to take colder showers then you are used to. Lastly when you use less electricity your power bill will go way down but the downfall is that you might have to invest in some expensive light bulbs and have to remember to unplug things when they are not being used.
This argument is supported by a list of examples showing the negative effects of the fossil fuel burned for oil demand. For example, “sea level rise, global temperature, and ocean acidification” (Hart, 26). This list of information is cited from NASA, and Hart invites the reader to further look at NASA’s research. This shows he gets his information from a government funded research base, and provides further information for the reader. He then further discusses the affect burning fossil fuel has on global warming.
The Southwest Water Crisis Although the current drought is exceptional for its high temperatures and affecting the largest supply of water in Southwestern United States, the Colorado River Basin, by decreasing the water levels. With the lack of water source it is also negatively impacting human health, agriculture, energy, and ecosystems. Water resources are crucial for any sort of living organism, but very scarce due the current drought, which holds complications for the future and alterations people have to construct to maintain water sustainability. Due to the climate change and warmer weather during the summers caused low snowpack in Rocky Mountains.
Following the Clean Air Act of 1970, air pollution had significantly decreased in statistical levels, even corroborating the fact that Americans experience longer and healthier lives, with better visibility due to diminished smog and fog levels. On a broader note, even crops and farm animals saw a benefit in this Act, with cleaner and fresher air to use in many processes, like respiration and photosynthesis. In response to the Clean Water Act of 1972, the loss of wetlands have significantly decreased, and the bodies of water used for leisurely activities, such as fishing and swimming, have seen an increase. More impactfully, billions of pollutants have been eradicated from national waters, purifying and cleansing it for public use. Furthermore, public advocacy efforts such as the protests seen in the New York Times post in Document 3, and the speech given by Hansen in Document 5, have set the stage for global climate change activism.
Air pollutants and smog covering the United States in several of the country's largest cities and manufacturing cores provoked the passage of the 1970 Clean Air Act law during the peak of the environmental movement. The Clean Air act is a federal law that limits the number of pollutant emissions by establishing standards that people and companies must meet to ensure public welfare. The Act was put in place to set and meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in all 50 states before 1975 in order to eliminate health risks presented by various air pollutants. SIPs, state implemented plan, accompanied the mandate of the NAAQs.
The Agreement will not become binding on its member states until 55 parties who produce over 55% of the world 's greenhouse gas have ratified the
Growing a garden, reducing the use of fossil fuels, and proper use of land can improve climate
In Rachel Carson’s book which was published in 1962, it made a powerful case for the idea that if humankind poisoned nature, nature would in turn poison humankind. Throughout the book, she went on about the detrimental affects that human’s bad habits would have on Mother Earth. Her main argument was that society as a whole would have to change their previous ways of living in order to maintain good health for the Earth and in return the Earth would continue taking care of us, providing land and good weather. One of the actions that was a result of her begging for change was the Clean Air act and the Clean Water act. The Clean Air Act was a law which was designed to control air pollution.
In the early 2000 Al Gore once said, “The planet is in distress and all the attention is on Paris Hilton.” In the same theme, Michael Pollan writes, “Why Bother?”, an article from The New York Times Magazine published in 2008 telling Americans they are too consumed with themselves and maintain a “cheap-energy mind”. And here, in 2016 climate change is seriously happening and the nation is still not addressing the gravity of the issue and why we should indeed bother to make changes. It is time that this nation discerns that climate change is real and it is happening as we speak. Climate change is a threat to each and every one of us and imperative to the survival of life on this planet.
Although not much can be done to emission of GHGs from natural sources, but emission through human activities can be evaluated and corrective measures can be suggested so as to minimize them. Carbon footprinting is the measure
Global Warming Proposal Introduction The phenomenon of constant increase in the earth’s temperature is known as global warming. The excessive use of fossil fuels is destroying our environment as well as wildlife. It is a great threat to human life too, as this activity is causing intense pollution and also results in damaging the ozone layer.
Perhaps less obvious but no less ominous a threat to the environment are the general increase in temperatures worldwide and the resulting climate changes. This phenomenon, known as global warming, could have serious negative effects on humans and all other living things on Earth. Global warming is a complex problem, and governments have had great difficulty deciding how to address it. Some people think that it is the work of the world where nothing we do can ether change it or anything we do will prevent it. While others say that the
Human activities contribute to climate change by causing changes in Earth`s atmosphere in the amounts of greenhouse gases. Since the start of the industrial era (about 1750) the overall effect of human activities on climate has been a warming influence. The United States is the second biggest contributor of CO2 in our environment, however it is home to only 4.4 percent of the total population. In the event that everybody on the planet lived the way individuals do in the U.S., it would take four Earths to give enough assets to everybody. In many ways over time the effect that humans have on the climate is very bad and very dangerous.
Sustainability: If you take a look around at what’s really happening in our world, there’s an inescapable pattern of ‘what’s going on is simply unsustainable’ and in other words, it can’t go on for much longer. Sustainability is to “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. As cities began to grow with the population increase, the need for a sustainable development became more apparent as resources began to diminish in quantity and value. Left to it’s own devices, the Earth is a sustainable system.