We Must Be The Change

Global warming and climate change exist and the two have called for a world attention to reduce their impacts. The Great 8 nations, including U.S., have convened various global summits where heads of states come to debate how to counter the increased climate change. Various recommendations have been proposed to counter the effects of climate change and device ways in which the change can be accommodated. This paper will discuss the rhetorical questions asked by the author in the journal article. In addition, the paper will attempt to answer some of the questions posed by Eric Klinenberg, the author of Adaption.

An urgent issue, climate change is undoubtedly a sweeping global dilemma of paramount importance. Though most people are aware of this fact, many either choose to ignore it, or acknowledge it, but take no action against it. Those who do choose to take action usually attempt to combat climate change by using the methods that are most commonly discussed: becoming more energy efficient, recycling, and reducing emissions through using more sustainable transportation. Though these actions are helpful, they are not the most efficient way to counter climate change.

Climate change is an issue that affects all, and yet some do not even accept that it exists. Climate change is causing glaciers to melt, sea levels to rise, more droughts and heat waves to occur, and even more intense tropical storms. These are just a few examples of the effects of climate change, but there are even more devastating effects such as polar bears having to search for new food sources, on land, because of the sea ice they rely on for hunting melting at a more rapid pace. Climate change enthusiasts have even said, “The struggle to save the global environment is in one way much more difficult than the struggle to vanquish Hitler, for this time the war is with ourselves. We are the enemy, just as we have only ourselves as allies”(“Al”). The effects of climate change are indeed devastating, but the question I want to find an answer to is how do we lessen the effects of these effects that climate change causes? The reason I want to find a solution to my question is that I believe that the Earth is counting down towards catastrophe, and a solution must be found to save it. To find an answer to this question I explored five sources, all of which are articles.

Global warming is the environmental and social changes caused by emissions of greenhouse gases. Human activities have been the primary cause of this significant change, resulting with extreme weather conditions, increasing sea levels, and climate changes. In this paper I will compare and contrast natural versus anthropogenic climate changes of global warming, mitigation strategies, mitigation effectiveness, policy implications, costs, and address some policy changes to help stabilize global climate.

The Western existence of modernization, especially technological and industrial development, economic growth, material prosperity, urbanization, and democracy, has been built upon a long line of industrial capitalism, an economic system predicated on the accelerating extraction and consumption of fossil fuels for energy (Clark & York, 2005). A major unintended consequence of the use of fossil fuels is an increase in the average temperature of the earth; known as global warming or climate change. Recognizing and responding to climate change, arguably the most challenging social problem of the modern era (Giddens, 2009), thus poses a fundamental critique of continued modernization processes around the world (Freudenburg, 2003). Climate change is a major issue that affects all life across the

We have all heard statistics over how unmitigated global warming can lead to rising sea levels, increased temperatures, lower rates of precipitation. The Congressional Budget Office recently found that climate change, if unmitigated, would create costly damage not only to the United States’s economy, but also to the world as a whole (source). Despite a scientific and general consensus that climate change is real and a problem, actual committed action against climate change has been disappointingly slow, until recently. We also know the cause of climate change. The United States EPA finds that “Carbon dioxide accounts for most of the nation’s emissions and most of the increase since 1990” (EPA). What we don’t know is a solution.

Since climate change unfolds over long periods of time, we tend to overlook the dangerous outcomes; we focus and react to immediate, urgent events instead like our kids or bills. Although scientists have agreed that climate change has significantly altered the atmosphere, we still don’t have a majority of the population taking action. We need to restraint ourselves from using fossil-fuels and fracking before we reach an irreversible tipping point and to protect our way of life, our children, and future generations (Keya Chatterjee, Disruption video). Global warming is determining every aspect of our lives, and if we don’t acknowledge this environmental issue and take action, we will not live, we will die. Alternatively, a post-carbon environment is definitely within our grasp, with 100% renewable energy sources. A change to friendly energy doesn’t mean economic instability; we’ll still have job opportunities installing solar panels and wind turbines, for example. Although we need political will from world leaders, in order to establish this transition, we as individuals must take action and get

Climate change is a major problem worldwide, the actions of one country inevitably have an impact on the rest of the world, some places more than others. Consequently, it is vital for the entire world to be on board with efforts to resolve the issues. The main cause of “climate change” is an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, both naturally occurring and man made, cause the earth’s average temperature to slowly rise. Especially in the past 50 years, the rate of deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels such as gas, oil and coal have significantly increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere (Climate Change and Health). Efforts from a few countries, although beneficial can not fix the problem

A lack of progress in recent years indicates a low level of concern among world leaders. In recent years, many scientists have implored leaders who seem not to be interested in climate change to show leadership in offsetting the impact of human induced climate change to the planet. As some world leaders seem not to see the urgency to mitigate the impact of global warming, the problem is getting more grounded. It is clear that human activities have altered the composition of the atmosphere since the industrial age. More and more power plants have been built, and their greenhouse gas emissions are causing more discomfort to the

Global warming is a topic that everyone is familiar with, but not everyone really understands how they can help to prevent it. Global warming is defined as the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of Earth’s climate system. Scientists have been studying global warming for over a century now, and most believe that greenhouse gasses are the cause and humans are the number one greenhouse gas contributor to our atmosphere. Greenhouse gasses however are produced by big industries, regulating these gasses might mean less and more costly production for these big companies. Most people believe that our economy will suffer from cutting down on fossil fuel usage to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Because of this the United States

Global warming has been a controversial topic for years and some have even denied its existence; however, as more studies are being published every day in regards to our changing climate, it is hard to ignore this growing issue and how humans contribute to it. The term greenhouse gases refers to the group of gases that are primarily responsible for global warming and chief among these gases is carbon dioxide. Rising carbon dioxide levels can be attributed to a combination of burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum as well as deforestation in general ( Source A). To slow the effects of global warming, it is important for leaders in our society to consider their greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, and make

Thesis Statement: Global warming is a growing concern of scientists and researchers who believe that it is a serious problem for our planet. The concerns and research have also been questioned and have even been called myths. Millions of people find themselves affected by these weather pattern changes and are concerned for their futures. Activists on both sides of the argument are very passionate and not afraid to attack each other in every way they can. There are many questions that are still not answered, however, we continue to see drastic weather changes to Earth. We must go beyond the arguments and learn as much as we can to stop what could possibly lead to the destruction of our planet, our way of life and our future.

Beyond the shadow of a doubt, Global Warming is real and mostly man-made. During last two decades, saving the earth has become a global movement. Despite of all the recent strenuous efforts for global awareness, there are people who believe “Global Warming” is just another propaganda campaign; people who confuse money with the well-being of the earth and its inhabitants. As a result, our current solutions, legislations, and policies are far away from a practical and effective solution in the long run. In particular, we have been spending too much for very little good. To recapitulate, the problems with climate change along with other global problems like poverty, hunger, crime, war, and natural disasters, all over the world, need a

“The inhabitants of Earth are quietly conducting a gigantic environmental experiment” claimed Dr. Wallace S. Broecker of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (Gelbspan 28). While referred as an “experiment,” this is something much more malicious than the word entails. Over time this experiment, climate change, has worsened and improved, but recently, due to industrial practices, climate change has been set on a path that is becoming harder to reverse by the day. However, climate change, can be prevented from progressing further through avoiding certain products or sources of energy. Climate change, the devastating problem facing the planet for a very large period of time, over recent years worsened due to humans, transformed immensely, yet became more possible to prevent.

Climate change is a worldwide issue. Not only is firm action and leadership critical in the United States, but also international efforts need to work toward reducing emissions. Strong public demand for climate change is crucial to enact effective global warming solutions for the future. Unless immediate action is taken, climate change will continue to escalate and continue to affect the entire planet. Ways nations and individuals can help repair the earth's atmosphere is reduce air pollution, use green energy, stop deforestation. Reducing air pollution could have a dramatic effect on climate change. Humans could impact this reduction by simple things such as conserving