Think Globally, Act Locally
If planet Earth was being judged in a solar system competition, there is no question that one of our setbacks would be the effects of global warming on our planet.
Global warming has become very topical in the last few hundred years, particularly after the election of Donald J. Trump. The recently-sworn in U.S president insists that the entire concept global warming is merely a hoax; created by China to make ‘U.S manufacturing uncompetitive’. However, this has been proven wrong by scientists. Global warming is very true, and, sorry to break it to you, Trump, but the fact that it snowed outside The White House this October doesn’t mean anything. The entire world as we know it is heating up rapidly, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
So, why is global warming happening anyway? Well, global warming is the result of excess smoke and gases released into the atmosphere; an act done only by humans. Invisible to the human eye, this has caused a thick layer of gas to form around the Earth’s atmosphere, which has the ability to allow in heat, as well as trap it in it. This ‘gas trapping’ is actually called the greenhouse effect, and it is very real. Scientists have explained that this gas layer allows in heat to radiate in from outside our atmosphere, but cannot release the heat. As a result from the heat, the world is warming quickly, melting icebergs, drying up rivers, and slowly, but surely, destroying the beautiful ecosystem around us. While scientists aren’t exactly able to predict the temperature of the following years, they can predict that the average teacher will rise even more quickly as the rates of greenhouse gases rise in today’s society. By 2020, the Earth will be one degree hotter, which might not seem like the biggest deal for Trump, but will actually melt icebergs and dry up rivers across the entire nation. Sorry to break it to you like this, Mr President, but deciding not to help France’s efforts to save our planet isn’t really going to help you - or really anyone on the planet, at all.
What exactly can we do locally to help this? Surprisingly, using up water can affect global warming a lot. So turn your tap off while brushing your teeth, take shorter showers, and make an effort to use less water. This reduces carbon pollution, too, and can be extremely beneficial in saving energy across the world. The EPA predicts that millions of kilowatt-hours of electricity could be saved if 1 in 100 American homes became ‘water wise’. The effect of this in New Zealand would be even better.
Another thing you can do to help is replace your house’s light bulbs with LED’s. This kind of lightbulbs uses up to 80% less energy than regular lightbulbs. Not only will it save electricity, you can save an additional $125 per year. Think about it: you can save money and the planet at the exact same time, why wouldn’t you do it?
And so, we should ask ourselves, in one hundred years, when our children are living in poverty-stricken world of toxic gas and nuclear explosions, of inescapable heat and a broken economy, would you ever think back to 2017 and regret not helping saving the planet?
