Global Warming

Imagine, a polar bear in the arctic, stranded on one piece of ice, about 20 meters in diameter. That piece of ice is slowly melting away. That polar bear is alone on that small piece of ice that broke away from a much larger piece. The monster referred to as global warming caused the ice to melt separating the polar bear from its family. Now imagine a penguin. The penguin relies on small organisms for survival. Those small organisms rely on other tiny organisms, such as algae, for their survival. With the temperatures on the rise, the amounts of algae are decreasing, which creates a big large hiccup in the food chain. The penguin is struggling to find food, and we can thank global warming for that, too. Global warming is a problem we have been facing for years, and a problem that has gotten out of hand. People all around the world believe global warming is just another idea that can be pushed to the side, but the time for change is now. Some of you may believe that global warming doesn’t exist and that this topic is just how the earth is changing on its own. However, there is proof that global warming exists. Global temperatures are rising, sea levels are rising and ice sheets shrinking are just some of the evidence of global warming. We must find a solution for reducing or even stopping the causes of global warming.
We’ve all heard the term global warming at some point in our lives, but do we know what really causes it? An article published on the National Geographic entitled “Causes of Global Warming” stated: “One of the first things scientists learned is that there are several greenhouse gases responsible for warming, and humans emit them in a variety of ways. Most come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, also called CO2. Other contributors include methane released from landfills and agriculture (especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals), nitrous oxide from fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes, and the loss of forests that would otherwise store CO2.” So what effects has global warming had on the Earth? One of the major things is the rise in global temperatures. According to NASA, most of the warming has been occurring since the 1970’s and the surface temperatures are continuing to increase. So for the past 40 years, this problem has been happening right in front of us, yet we still have not fully addressed how to control it.
Additionally, the shrinking ice sheets and rising sea levels are becoming more and more of a problem due to global warming. With the increase of temperatures comes the melting of ice sheets in record numbers. Antarctica lost close to 152 cubic kilometers of ice between 2002 and 2005. That equals to 36 cubic miles or the volume of 144,000 Empire State Buildings! As I previously stated, polar bears depend on ice in order to stay alive. The ice allows them to raise their family and hunt for food (maybe those penguins), but without this essential part of their environment they could face extinction. In addition, as the ice melts, the sea levels rise. In the last 100 years, the sea level has increased by 17 centimeters…that’s almost seven (7) inches! Al Gore provided us as with the chilling images of New York City being submerged by the Atlantic Ocean. We must not wait until it’s too late to reverse these effects.
So how can we fix this problem? There are actually some pretty simple steps you can work into your daily routine. For instance, you can change your standard light bulbs to fluorescent bulbs. According to EnergyStar, this will reduce energy use by up to 616 million kilowatt hours of electricity in one year, keeping 974 million pounds of carbon dioxide out of the environment. Now, if you don’t feel like putting the effort into changing your bulbs, unplug some of the electronic devices you are not using. This requires minimal effort and only takes a nanosecond to accomplish. This could reduce the amount of CO2 that enters the atmosphere tremendously.
In conclusion, let’s go back to that poor little polar bear and the penguin I discussed earlier and let’s imagine now that global warming didn’t exist (for real though, not just because some of you don’t want to believe it). Let’s imagine that temperatures were increasing abnormally, that ice sheets weren’t melting, and that sea levels weren’t rising so rapidly. The polar bear would be happily hunting for food with its three cubs with no worries, as well as barely having to swim to the closest ice glacier. That penguin we talked about would delightfully be chowing-down on all those little shrimp that feed on all that algae that is flourishing in the perfect water temperatures. We see images everyday of global warming and the toll it’s beginning to take on our environment. The time to start reversing the effects of global warming is now, for the sake of our future generations.

Bibliography:
Guggenheim, Davis, Dir. An Inconvenient Truth. Perf. Gore, Al. Paramount: 2006, Film.
7 Terrifying Global Warming Pictures. Web. 27 Jul 2011. http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/03/7-terrifying-global-warming-pictures.php
"Global Warming: the Two Sides Seen through a Logical Perspective." Free Articles Directory Submit Articles - ArticlesBase.com. Article Base, 2 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 July 2011. .
"Climate Change: Evidence." Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Ed. Amber Jenkins. NASA. Web. 27 July 2011. .
Pertman, David. "Extensive Damage Seen in Wake of Rising Sea Levels." San Francisco Article [San Francisco] 27 July 2011: A10. Print.
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/co2.html
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-causes/