Persuasive Global Warming

Large restrictions on water, mass wildfires, droughts in every part of the world, and endangered animals; with the rising temperatures of today, this could be the description of our not too distant future. For years, scientists have been studying Earth’s rising temperatures, otherwise known as global warming, and warning the public of the consequences to come if mankind does not react and respond quickly to this issue. Even so, we choose to turn a blind eye to the problem of global warming, taking little or no action to make a difference. The result? A huge and critical one-degree rise in earth’s temperatures over the past year! According to an article read in the Toronto Star, while this milestone in temperature rise may not seem like much,
it is, in fact, halfway to the two degrees celsius that the government has set a limit on to evade hazardous levels of warming! Scientists, who have been comparing the temperatures of today with that of the latter parts of the 19th century, believe that this phenomenal jump in climate is due to the large releases of greenhouse gases, due to human activity, and will remain this way because of the El Nino, which is a weakened jet stream. To make matters worse, on Monday, The World Meteorological Organization reported that levels of carbon dioxide and methane, which are the two main greenhouse gases, reached abnormally high levels, continuing earth’s warming process! This is said to be the main cause of global warming, as due to our continued burning of fossil fuels, global CO2 levels are now 143 percent greater than they were before the industrial revolution, years ago.
Even worse, methane levels have been measured to have reached extreme levels as well,, with 60 percent of this excess coming from human activities like cattle breeding, rice agriculture, and, once again, the extraction of fossil fuels. As terrible as this event may seem, it does, however, have great significance in our awareness of global warming. World governments are meeting in Paris to create a U.N. pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but will it be enough? Even with top greenhouse gases generators, such as China and the U.S. promising to cut or control their greenhouse gas releases in the next decade, climate change has already taken a devastating toll on our environment. With melting arctic ice, abnormally large storms and heat waves, and a third global coral reef bleaching event, our planet, has only faced a small portion of what is to come if no action is taken to preserve our environment. We are, nonetheless, improving in our efforts to save our Earth, our home, and hopefully, will enhance them even further after hearing about this devastating, but inspiring,
truth. Personal Response: Shocking, yet motivational at the same time, this article not only conveyed the harsh truth of climate change and global warming to me, but left me with strong feelings of inspiration along with a desire to protect our planet.
The environment’s rising temperatures have always been important topics to me, but reading this article completely reshaped my view of really, how devastating, climate change really is. I was shocked to discover and read about how drastically levels of greenhouse gases have been increasing, and was even more stunned to learn that we, humans, who were intended to be good stewards of this planet are the ones destroying it. In today’s society, not only are fossil fuels being burned down, but so is our quality of life, oxygen, and environment. This issue is not to be taken lightly, and therefore, I chose present this article, in hopes that those same feelings of urgency and shock that had been aroused in myself upon reading this text will be created in others as well. Climate change is not a new issue, and has been going on for years, yet mankind still refuses to fully acknowledge it. We have waited for so long to take action that irreversible damage has already taken place, and eventually, leading to such a terrifying rise in temperatures. Only through devastating news and frightening facts can the public truly begin to realize how severe global warming is, to the point that the world’s temperatures have reached extremes and are halfway to reaching our
government’s limits. Even so, change is still possible, and I, by speaking to the class about Earth’s increasing temperatures, will help others to see the negative direction the future of our planet is taking, and become motivated to take, even small actions, to make a positive difference. Everyone can take part in the race to slow down climate change, even if by simply recycling waste into the right bin, by walking to school, or even by carpooling. In my opinion, however, on a larger scale, the government could greatly contribute by promoting the use of reusable products, funding the construction of more renewable energy generators, and setting stricter laws on the usage of fossil fuels, and vehicles that release greenhouse gas emissions, such as cars. Additionally, countries could continue to hold meetings to discuss the reduction greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, while even combining their technology and knowledge to create newer, more innovative ways to create renewable energy, and influence their citizens to practice the three R’s; reducing, reusing, and recycling. Certainly, mankind has a long way to go in order to improve the condition of our environment, but with the many actions already being taken, thanks to wake-up calls such as this article, hopefully, in the future, the only ‘steps’ that are seen by mankind will be, not carbon footprints, but those from walking on the path towards a ‘greener’ Earth.