It’s Time to Save ourselves from Global Warming
Twenty-six times the United Nations (UN) has called and gathered every country on our planet for a global Climate Summit. (COP-Conference of the Parties). In those twenty-six conferences, the world’s leaders have done little to nothing to attack the problem. They couldn’t even agree it was a problem, and now it is a priority. This is beyond ridiculous. We are destroying our planet, and all they can do is agree it is a problem and point fingers.
Reuters reported, “The G20, which includes Brazil, China, India, Germany and the United States, accounts for 60% of the world’s population and an estimated 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions.” This was six years ago. After emissions reduced during the pandemic due to the worldwide quarantine, emissions are expected to leap up 4% this year. When every percent is tallied and the countries are only committing to reduce emissions by 1.5 %, that 4% doesn’t look good.
Committed To the Wrong Green
Why can’t leaders make the changes we need? Our leaders have pledged to watch over our country’s economic growth. The processes of our growth unfortunately are responsible for most of the Carbon Dioxide emissions behind global warming. It’s no surprise most politicians care more about the other green, money, than they do the health of our planet, but that is no longer an option. The time to agree it is a problem was yesterday.
We need things done, not committed to be done. While there is hope and the ecosystemmarketplace.com reported more than 20 countries have been able to reduce emissions with economic growth, we need to force the change from the bottom. In our country there are around 24 million people serving in the government responsibilities, and roughly 15% of that is state government. There are currently 333,590,717 million people in this country. So, we are resting the fate of our future in the hands of give or take 12 million people who historically care more about money. Can we really afford to do that?
Time For A Come To “Mother Earth” Moment
Have you noticed food prices rising? The rising heat, draughts, and floods have destroyed crop lands causing food shortages. Did you enjoy being trapped inside during covid? I didn’t. I found refuge in the outdoors until the smoke from the California fires settled in Colorado. Cousins of mine that live in California were forced back in their homes. Imagine a permanent indoor quarantine. Global warming is no longer a farce pictured far in the future like Pixar’s film WALL-E. People are dying now.
2021 Global Warming Events
- June 2021, Canada Heat Dome with a steady record high of 121 Degrees Fahrenheit causing estimated several hundred deaths.
- Mid-July Western Europe Floods in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Switzerland with reports of 209 deaths and several missing.
- July Floods in China 33 deaths reported in Zhenzhou
- June, July California Wildfires killed 3 people and injured 22, but worse 1,800 square miles of vegetation were destroyed, and 134 square miles of that were redwood trees, the world’s largest contributors to carbon dioxide conversion.
“Just one coast redwood has the ability to absorb as much carbon as 250 regular trees. A recent article in Science calculated that if we were to plant 1 billion hectares of forest, they could remove 2/3 of the total amount of carbon released into the atmosphere since the 1800s.”
Dr. Trevor Nace (phD in Geology & Climate Control)
As global warming worsens, the death toll is only going to increase. We’re in Serious trouble folks!
The Global Warming Good-ish News
“Human activities are responsible for almost all of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years. The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation,” EPA.
- Transportation 29%
- Electricity production 25%
- Industry 23%.
- Commercial and Residential 13%.
- Agriculture 10%.
How is this good? We don’t have to wait for the 1% of our leaders to make the change and save us. First of all, there are 333,590,717 million people in this country. We can do it ourselves. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) above are the percentages of global warming sources. While these may seem out of our scope, they’re not. If everyone committed to make two changes in one or more of the above categories, we could see a huge change.
Transportation & Electricity Production
If you live in a city, commit to using public transportation two or more days a week, or even better walk or ride a bike the other three. If you have the means, switch to a hybrid or electric car, with gas prices rising, you’ll even out anyway. Car companies are working to make electrical a more affordable option. If finances are tight, carpool with a friend, that will save you both money.
While it’s impossible to cut out electricity, there are huge incentives, like solar tax credits, rebates, and electricity buy back to those who put in solar panels. Check it out. If you’re not in an area where you can put in solar, be proactive about turning off lights you’re not using and turn the thermostat down a bit and put on a sweater. Who knew reducing your carbon footprint could be fashionable?
Industry & Commercial Residential
While there’s not a whole lot we can do about this process, we can be more selective in what we buy. For example, laundry, we all do it. According to the University of Michigan, Switching to cold water washes once a week can reduce emissions by 70 pounds a family a year. So Cold wash Wednesday? Also, if more of us switch to powder soaps instead of the plastic bottles we can force those products out of production. We really have the power.
The EPA says, “Greenhouse gas emissions from businesses and homes arise primarily from fossil fuels burned for heat, the use of certain products that contain greenhouse gases, and the handling of waste.” So, what can we do? We can recycle and buy recyclable products. We can throw on a sweater or layers instead and keep the house at 68 degrees instead of cranking up the heat.
Agricultural
This may be a tricky one for most of us, but there a few things we can do. “Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture come from livestock such as cows, agricultural soils, and rice production,” EPA.gov. If you don’t like meat, go Vegan. I understand this may not work for everyone. My boys love meat, so we pick one or two days a week and eat no meat. If we all demand less, the production will decrease and thus the emissions.
333,590,717 STRONG
It’s our planet, the future of our families, and our lives at stake! Don’t wait for our politicians to save our planet. Let’s take action. We are 333,590,717 million strong! If anyone can change the climate, it’s us—one family at a time.
