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Ruthanne Wass

English

Doctor Castle

15 November 2018

Humans: The Number One Problem

Everyday every living creature wakes up and starts their day. Some with a text to long

distant lovers saying a simple good morning. Others wake up from an annoying alarm clock, or

their mother nagging them to wake up and seize the day. Humans get dressed and drive off to

work stopping by Starbucks and getting that refreshing cup of joe. Some roll around in the grass

as they watch the sunlight peak through the trees. That is what most would call a normal morning

but not for long. With the climate change the creatures won’t be watching the sunlight through

the trees they will be fleeing from wildfires. Trying to find food on the now barren planet.

Humans won’t be able to step outside because the air will be harsher to breath the temperatures

unbearable.

Global warming is a rising crisis that many are starting to become more aware of. Before

it was viewed as a hoax however now science and the Earth itself is telling us otherwise. Global

warming is something people can still stop, seeing that is it affecting us everyday and humans

affecting it. When will it be too late for mankind to stop the effect they have on Global warming?

The scientist in the UK say people have exactly 12 years to stop it before it’s too late. Humans

are the number one problem when climate change is at risk. The farmers produce and methods
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they are using is increasing the CO2 levels. Goods, plastic cups from Starbucks or the single use

items people buy. Transportation getting from one place to another and the ways everyone

travels to get there.

Right now people are facing a global crisis that will affect everyone, so how is it? Right

now the world's climate change increase is 1.5 degrees celsius however if it reaches the 3 degree

mark, which it could in 12 years if humans don’t start by changing some of the ways they do

things everyday. In order to keep it at the 1.5 degree level the world has come up with many

agreements and plans to decrease ways of affecting the earth. The Paris Peace agreement is to

help countries with their effects towards climate change. The Paris Agreement is to help others

become aware of their effects on the climate. Helping them see the light and change the ways

they use and produce greenhouse gases( Deng). The main point of this agreement is to let the

countries know what level they are at with their impact on climate change. The special part about

this agreement it aims to strengthen the other countries abilities to deal with the impact climate

change will have on them. This change is a national one with many government officials behind

it however humans need to start changing on the individual level as well (Amanda).

There must be rapid and significant changes in our cities, industries, land use, and energy.

People need to realize that they too have to make a change not just the government. One way to

help with that is to buy less meat, milk, cheese, and butter because cows are not helping keep the

carbon monoxide levels down. Let’s talk about cows everyone knows that cow farts are a

problem for the greenhouse gases. They produce methane roughly 65 to 115kg a year. Methane

is far worse than carbon dioxide about 23 times worse, no it’s not half but we are just talking
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about cows here. (Time For Change). Agriculture is responsible for at least 18% of the

greenhouse gases. What is produced from these cows and factories is because of the demand

humans place on them. People love their cheeses and milks, what is coffee without creamer or

wine without cheese and crackers (Amada).

Food waste is a huge waste in this world because we are not using all of the food farmers

produce. Farmers go through their crop and select what food chains have dubbed acceptable and

the farmer will either ship off the weird looking produce to farms for critters. However most the

time they leave them in places to rot. The food that the world has claimed as ugly is not found in

the grocery store it is being wasted after all the resources that were used on it. Instead of tossing

them ship the ugly carrots to the market. Mark them down as half priced people will still buy

them because food tastes like food. By buying more locally sourced seasonal foods people do not

have to throw away as much. If people don’t buy the local produce fine, buy items in bulk that

way it is using less materials and less waste it won’t be a use once and toss. With bulk people

can keep it stocked and use more of a simple product. Also the fancy tissue boxes or the seasonal

patterns on random products in the stores. Don’t waste money on buying what will look nice on

the mantle, its a waste buy the simple colored ones. Not only will money be saved but so will the

waste, because those items are a one and done product. There are little changes people can make

that some will be easier than other.

Change cars to electric and walk and cycle short distances. Cars aren't good for the

carbon footprint these vehicles are emitting about 11% of Co2 and that’s just per mile.

(Greenhouse gases). That is just from driving a mile, if one was to walk that distance barely any
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greenhouse gases would be emitted into the atmosphere. When comparing this to gas gosling

vehicles if humans were to make the switch between the cars they’d reduce their carbon footprint

by 50%. However it’s also cheaper than paying for gas every week. (Electric vehicles). By

making the simple switch to electric cars humans would be able to reduce their carbon footprint

dramatically. No these cars might not go as fast as a sports car. Yes, they do have to be charged

but if more people make the switch more charging stations will be put up. The mechanics will

work to make the battery life last longer. However the demand for these vehicles is not as high as

the mustangs or cheap toyotas (Electric vehicles).

Peoples lifestyle changes can make the biggest change to the effect humans have on

global warming. Waste has doubled tenfold in the last century where has most of this waste

come from the household. Paper, plastic, glass, and metal are all things that humans can reuse

but also recycle. By recycling these produced industries can reuse the materials they have

already made and produce less energy in making new ones with the old material. By reusing the

materials that have already been made humans could save 95% of the energy that companies use

to make these products. (Household).

When it comes to offering recycling the government offers that to larger cities, however

anybody in a small town can request that they offer recycling. The more people that get behind

recycling their products the cheaper it is for the business and the more it helps fight off climate

change.The food that humans use the scapres that aren’t used place them in the corner of the yard

and boom compost pile. Reusing and properly disposing of this waste is a huge factor. It’s not

the hardest thing to do, people just have to think before they throw away. (Household). Not only
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are these advantages to recycling but this also offers job opportunities for many people as well

(Waste-to-energy).

Plastic straws have been a major issue with sea life as it does not biodegrade and it ends

up in the oceans.It doesn’t just magically end up in the ocean either, it gets there from the run off

of the roads that wind up in the creeks. Anytime there is flooding waste that has just been laying

around in fields, roads, parks, or even houses depending on the flood levels. Waste makes its

way into the oceans whether people intended for that or not. Starbucks has said that they will be

getting rid of plastic straws which reduce the amount of straws tossed by at least 1 million. They

will be making this switch to help encourage other big companies to make the change. Starbucks

are one of the biggest chains out there not as big as McDonalds but close. When one person

makes a changeit helps shine a little more light on a problem that others might not have been

aware of before. Around 275 million metric tons just the waste of plastic that has been produced

and in properly recycled ended up in 190 coastal countries this was in 2010. Its common

knowledge now that there is too much plastic waste in our oceans. By the year 2050 if this

doesn’t stop there will be more plastic than sea life. Other places around the world are replacing

plastic straws with noodles, paper, stainless steel, and glucose. However just replacing straws is

not going to stop the rest of the plastic (Cory).

Plastic is something that humans encounter everyday, from food packaging, computers,

and to the cars it is impossible to get away from it. Plastic that is used is usually used only once

and then tossed into the trash. However nearly more than half of this plastic is not being recycled

instead it ends up in the Seas which is causing a problem for the sea life. Endangering sea turtles
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because they get straws stuck up their noses, fishing nets that tangle up whales. These animals

are seeking out help from divers because they know something is wrong but they also know they

need help. What they don’t know is the people they are going to are responsible for the plastic

and waste in their waters. Straws, tampons, plastic bags this plastic waste and more have been

found in half of all seabirds but the sickening part is it’s found in 100% of the sea turtles species.

That’s 100% people these creatures are eating this thinking it’s food. This causes as one would

guess serious problems to these animals, it gets caught in their throats, noses, digestive systems.

Every year 8 million metric tons plastic just plastic this isn’t including the other waste products

either, this plastic ends up in our oceans. That amount isn’t including the waste already in our

oceans, 150 million metric tons has already been circulating the oceans hurting this sea creatures

in ways they haven’t adapted too and frankly they shouldn’t have to. That much plastic is going

to have an affect on our ecosystems, which is going to have an affect on all mankind

(Infographic).

The long term role to ending plastic finding its way into the ocean is to change the way

that humans use so much of it. However when 8 million metric tons is ending up in the seas,

oceans, rivers every year and nothing is changing. There is not time for a long term solution

meaning people need to step up and rethink things. The making of plastic is supposed to double

across the span of ten years. By increasing the use of disposable plastic and supporting recycling

in quickly growing economies preventing the growing waste from entering the oceans will be

easier. By having the people on hand who handle this waste not only solve rising problems, but it

would also provide more jobs. This will increase public health by having the waste out of the

waters and help the air because people won’t be burning the trash. By doing this step the oceans
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health will grow stronger and decrease the greenhouse gases as well. With the reducing of

greenhouse gases humans will have cleaner air the temperatures will start to shift back to normal.

However the severe damage can not be undone the glaciers have still melted and the remaining

few are slowing disappearing.

Glaciers are melting pictures are all over the news. Water levels are increasing and these

animals are trying desperately to survive. It has become evident that humans are the leading

cause for nearly all of the past and recent centuries warming by producing these heat-trapping

gases. These gases are referred to as greenhouse gases and the levels are higher now than in the

last 645,999 years. Because of the gases, and the effect they are having people are calling it

global warming. However this is not just making the world warmer it is changing the whole

climate, impacting the weather patterns everywhere. Greenhouse gases, are changing the rhythm

of climates that all living organisms have come to rely on (Infographic).

The “greenhouse effect” is the increasing heat that occurs when certain gases like carbon

dioxide, methane and Nitrous oxide in the Earth’s atmosphere trap warmth. Now these gases

keep in the light but they also keep in all the heat preventing it from escaping, much like the

walls of a glass like the glass sides of a greenhouse. Firstly sunlight will pour over the earth’s

surface, it will take in the warmth and push it back into the atmosphere. Not all the warmth is

trapped, a small amount leaves and makes its way into space. (Deng).

The greenhouse effect though is what keeps the Earth’s climate livable. Even though this

would make the polar bears happy, humans would have a harder time surviving.A Swedish
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chemist by the name of Svante Arrhenius learned that people are having the biggest effect on

greenhouse gases. From his research researchers have been able to see the many levels of the

greenhouse gases these have been fluctuating over the history of earth. However they have

always been fairly even over the past couple decades, however now the temperatures aren’t as

stable.

The burning of fossil fuel in the United states to make energy is one of the biggest

reasons greenhouse gases are increasing. They are giant heat-trapping gases making roughly 1.9

billion tons of Carbon dioxide every year. Coal-burning power plants are by far the biggest

reason for polluted air with these heat trapping gases the earth is warming up quicker then it

should. Scientists refer to this as climate change because the climate is altering temperatures are

rising and lowering. Natural disasters are increasing as well, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and

earthquakes. Forest fires are another problem because of the drought and people want to blame

everyone else because no one wants to admit they are the reason.

Now carbon dioxide has been talked about a lot it is the leading gas in the greenhouse

gases. It affects the temperatures and the concentration in is has been rising up and down

throughout thousands of years on earth. Because of this the ice ages have come and gone.

Though luckily the greenhouse gases that fill the atmosphere balance everything that circling up

thereevens each other out. Now these greenhouse gases aren’t the only things playing an affect

on the global temperatures. Volcanic eruptions will produce particles that temporarily cool the

earth's surface. However these don’t have a lasting effect then for just a few years (Greenhouse

Gases).
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Humans have been increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere by more

than a third since the Industrial revolution. Before these changes would happen over a span of a

thousand years however now they are taking less than a decade to happen. This is a huge concern

because it’s increasing the rise in the greenhouse gases which in return is changing the climate

more than organisms can keep up and adapt. Earth’s climate has changed but it’s been regularly

shifting back and forth between what we called normal temperatures. Before the temperatures

were freezing enough keeping the giant sheets of ice solid and covering most of Europe and

North America. Here is the kicker the only difference between the average temperatures today

and during those ice ages is roughly 5 degrees Celsius, and these shifts happened slowly over a

span of thousands of years (Greenhouse Gases).

With the greenhouse gases rising, Earth’s remaining sheets of ice starting to melt this is

going to raise the sea levels since 1880 sea levels have already risen by eight inches. Ocean

water though will also expand when it gets warmer, so with the sheets of ice melting nothing is

keeping the waters cool. With the rise of sea waters now by the year 2050 we are looking at the

water level rising 16 to 24 inches. Not only does the world have to worry about the sea levels

rising but the weather can become more extreme. Which means more intense major storms, more

rain followed by longer and drier droughts. For places like California who already had severe

forest fires just this year 2018 forest fires will only get worse as well (Infographic).
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Recently California had a terrible forest fire the president said it was because of the poor

forest management and that he was going to cut the funds. He claimed it was because of the dead

trees and the poor management but that’s not the problem here. These wildfires however aren’t

just appearing in forest areas but populated areas as well. The cause is high winds, low humidity,

and geography. It’s not only that but California has been going through historic droughts because

of climate change.
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Climate change is happening everywhere and humans are blaming other humans for the

actions of nature. Educate yourself learn, what is happening in the environment, ways to fix the

damage humans have caused. It’s called Global warming and Climate change however climate

change is the best way to describe the environmental shift that is happening. Humans are the

number one problem to the climate temperature increase. There are lots of ways humans can go

about and fix these. Use less plastic, recycle, and buy locally sourced items these are the easiest

of ways to fix. Bigger steps people can take would be changing the cars, cars put out so much

carbon monoxide. Electric cars are simple and easier the battery life doesn’t last as long but just

by switching vehicles the carbon will be reduced to 50 percent. Is changing the ways humans

have lived so hard? Humans are constantly evolving producing what some would say are new

and better ways. However if these ways are destroying the planet all living organisms rely on are

they better? Making the little changes are the best way to begin, start by making mini goals for

buying more local products. Using items that don’t have palm oil in them, buy bulk items so the

amount of plastic is limited. Recycle common household waste and debate about whether it can

be reused or not. By making the mini goals and changing over time every month it will make it

seem easier in the long run. The climate is changing and if humans don’t start changing the

climate, sea levels, carbon, and plastic the earth won’t be able to support us much longer.

Work Cited
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Feb. 2017, www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/greenhouse-gases.
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vehicles.

“Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle.” EPA, Environmental Protection
Agency, 10 May 2018, www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-
passenger-vehicle.
Halley, John M., et al. “How Survival Curves Affect Populations’ Vulnerability to Climate
Change.” PLoS ONE, vol. 13, no. 9, Sept. 2018, pp. 1–18. EBSCOhost,
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“Household Recycling.” Drawdown, 18 July 2017,

www.drawdown.org/solutions/materials/household-recycling.
“Infographic: Sea Level Rise and Global Warming.” Union of Concerned Scientists,
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rise-global-warming.html#.W-GorHpKgWo.
MacMillan, Amanda. “Global Warming 101.” NRDC, 10 Sept. 2018,
www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101.

Martinez, Gina. “Starbucks Ditches Plastic Straws: 3 Popular Alternatives.” Time, Time, 9 July
2018, time.com/5333451/starbucks-plastic-straw-alternative/.

Richards, Cory. “What Is Global Warming?” A Guide to Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National
Park, National Geographic, 30 Jan. 2018,
www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-
overview/?user.testname=none.
Time for Change, timeforchange.org/are-cows-cause-of-global-warming-meat-methane-CO2.
“Waste-to-Energy.” Drawdown, 28 Sept. 2017, www.drawdown.org/solutions/electricity-
generation/waste-to-energy

Tzong Sheng Deng. “Visual Representation of Popular Science Publications of Global Warming.” Journal
of Educational Media & Library Sciences, Vol 55, Iss 2, Pp 171-225 (2018), no. 2, 2018, p. 171.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.6120/JoEMLS.201807pass:[_]55(2).0013.RS.BM.