Global warming is a serious issue in today’s society. The future of our planet is at stake and no one, not even the most sophisticated scientists, can be sure exactly why. There are theories among certain individuals within the scientific community, that this sudden increase in the Earth’s temperature is simply a normal, natural climatic variation. Still others have taken responsibility for the warming, asserting that the greenhouse gases produced by humans are actually doing the damage. While the first idea is certainly the most pleasant, the reality is that the second is the most accurate.
Times have changed. People live differently then they did in the past, when global warming was not an issue, and humans now waste and release more greenhouse gases then ever before. The truth is simple, global warming is not natural; it is a direct result of the way humans live and function on Earth. In history, humans did not rely on the fossil fuels that are damaging our planet today. Rather they lived a simpler, cleaner life without even knowing it. When people felt cold, they lit a fire fueled by wood. When people needed to get from place to place, they rode horses or walked.
In today’s world of convenience and comfort, we burn oil, coal, and natural gas, or fossil fuels. We fly in airplanes powered by jet fuel, drive cars that run on gasoline, burn coal to produce the energy to power our homes, as well as hundreds of other activities that add to the carbon dioxide level in our atmosphere. We use more nonrenewable energy to function than any other form. How many houses on your street are powered with solar panels or windmills? How many trucks do you see running off of bio-diesel? Perhaps a few, but not nearly enough to decrease our dependency on these harmful fossil fuels.
It is within reason then, that the carbon dioxide level in the Earth’s atmosphere has increased so much over the last decade. When mankind as a whole is living a life that is unnatural, and much different than in times past, we are the only logical explanation for the warming of our planet. Humans as a species, presently, also tend to be very wasteful creatures. We spend hours in our commutes from here to there stuck in traffic jams. Ever wonder how much gasoline is wasted by parked cars left running each year? We forget to flip off the light switch when we leave the room, and turn up our heaters to be one degree warmer in the winter.
How often do we unplug the computer or the microwave when we are not using them? As a society we strive for convenience and comfort, and we waste enough energy to power thousands of homes and automobiles on any given day. We do not bother to teach our children the importance of saving and conserving this precious energy. Only recently has our government bothered to teach us. Still even worse, we cut down the trees and destroy the rainforests that would biologically help offset some of the pollution caused by our waste.
It is almost obvious then, that as we have evolved into a less energy conscious species, our planet has evolved into what many would consider a disastrous state. Does it really matter? It absolutely does. Perhaps a few degrees of climate change each decade will not be completely problematic for mankind, but the effects of those small increases will. This serious warming trend will cause massive flooding all over the Earth and humans will be at fault. As a world we can sit back and call global warming a natural process, or we can accept that we are actually destroying our planet by acknowledging the evidence that is crystal clear.
It is obvious that we are using and wasting far more energy than we should in the form of nonrenewable energy such as fossil fuels. Furthermore, it is obvious that we are demolishing the trees and forests that have the potential to help undo the damage that we have done. Only when we globally accept that this world wide disaster is a man made one, can we do something about it. We are the ones who will determine the future of our planet. When we as a society finally take a moment to look at our habits and the way we live day to day, it will become apparent that global warming is in no way natural, and that we are to blame.