Essay 4: Climate Action

 

There is no country that is not experiencing the drastic effects of climate change Greenhouse gas emissions are more than 50 percent higher than in 1990. Global warming is causing long-lasting changes to our climate system, which threatens irreversible consequences if we do not act. I find that global warming is a serious issue, although second to the possibility of nuclear war, and that it could potentially destroy our way of life and planet as we know it. Note I did not say destroy Earth because that would be too extreme; there will likely be some organisms or even humans left to rebuild in the rubble. However, if left unchecked, it can and will trigger a disaster. If the temperature goes up another few degree, methane pockets underneath the oceans will be able to burst. Also, large amounts of methane hidden under ice, with the ice gone, will be able to emerge. Methane, CH4, is an even stronger greenhouse gas than CO2, somewhere on the scale of ten times stronger. And after that the greenhouse effect will go runaway until the methane decomposes into carbon dioxide. Many sceptics at this point would say that the Earth's temperature has barely gone up or is simply undergoing natural change. Well, last time Earth's temperature went up by a significant amount, it triggered a mass extinction. And that was natural. So, do not attempt to say that natural warming is then not dangerous; even were it natural it still has the potential to cause a disaster. And besides, even if it is not human-caused, it doesn't mean humans shouldn't do something about it. Another possible observation is that the winters are getting colder. While the statement might be true, that is part of climate change; just as winter temperatures is some places may be going down, summer temperatures in most places are going up. So, what can be done about global warming? Many think that to do something they have to change their lifestyle a lot. That is wrong. There are many simple things that people can do that end up saving them money in the long run. For instance, changing to LED or fluorescents. What can governments do? Well, for one, tax gasoline. Electric vehicles are on the market, and the taxing gasoline, combined with more efficient car batteries, will cause people to switch to electric vehicles. Even if the electricity comes from fossil fuels, it is still more efficient than gasoline vehicles, because electric companies have an interest in producing electricity efficiently to save money, while car companies do cannot have a large incentive to make their gasoline engines efficient. Some of the issues that has been ignored is the problems of wind and solar. The average solar panel last for about thirty years and is a huge toxic waste nightmare to deal with. So soon, we face an ecological nightmare since you just cannot just dump them into a hole in the ground without toxic materials entering the water supply. Wind has its own little nightmare. The blades on most wind turbines are fiberglass and those become delaminated after a period of time and unless some genius figures out a way to repair or remanufacture those things they are also going to be another toxic nightmare that you just cannot dump in a hole and bury. A third is that we use oil and coal for more than just energy. Oil is used to produce a wide range of products so to stop using oil means more than just stop using it for energy. You will need to find replacements for all those products. And the same goes with coal as well. In addition, you need both to make and install wind and solar. Construction equipment to the holes for the foundation for each wind generator and solar panel, to haul them to the site and erect them and to install the miles of wire needed to deliver the power created from where it is created to where it is needed. You will even need it for the manufacture of glass and fiberglass which is what they are making solar panels and wind turbines out of along with making the wiring. Biofuels are something else that those pushing it have not thought through. Tractors, and other farm equipment rely of fossil fuels and to produce enough biofuels would leave to little left to power much else. You again would need much of what is remaining to transport and process it as well. In addition, modern farming to get the needed yields would need pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers which are made from oil. You could try going organic but then the yields would drop to the point where you would need to supplement your biofuels with fossil fuels. To many worried about climate change have failed to truly think things through. The person who proudly drives an EV has failed to consider where the power to charge that EV came from of fondly thinks it came from some green sources, yet does not consider all the fossil fuels that went into producing that EV, delivering it, and delivering the power that it runs on. Until such people actually take the time then nothing will change because nothing can change. So, in conclusion, climate change is an issue that needs resolving, whether or not it is human in origin. If a meteor were predicted to hit Earth, and something could be done about it, people would be screaming to do it. And the meteor definitely is not human-created.