So, we’ve been hearing the past year or so about the thinning ozone layer, raising temperatures and melting ice at the North Pole. Sometimes, I like to think, ‘So what? It’s not going to affect me; by the time the ozone layers completely destroyed and the world is burning up, I’ll probably be dead.’ And I’ll turn off that TV or radio telling me about it. Then, I get around to realizing what is really causing the warming. Humans.
In the past century, people have been busy building all these new inventions letting out greenhouse gases (which let out water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone) into the air, which cause rising temperatures and humidity. Glaciers on both Poles are melting; I too, have noticed rising temperatures in my own town. There is much more pollution and garbage that is just laying around. Humans have been careless and now we have to fix our mess.
With that realized, what is there to do?
1) Walk, Don’t Drive
– For starters, people can start walking more instead of driving all the time. Driving may be much faster, but it allows gas fumes into the air. Think of all the chemicals we’re letting into the air with all the cars on the roads now days! Walking would not only be beneficial to the environment but to the people as well; it is an easy way to get exercise and can relieve stress. When you do drive, though, make sure your car is running good and your tires are inflated right; it can improve gas mileage by three percent. Car-pooling with others to work or school can also lessen the carbon dioxide levels from gas. Or if you really have the money, I suggest buying one of those Hybrid cars. They can be expensive but it’s worth saving the environment from global warming.
2) Recycle and Re – Use
– Another thing harming us is the recycling. Nobody does it and it’s wasting all of our natural resources. The next time you have a bunch of old newspapers, cans, etc. go and send them to a local recycling center where the products can be re-used. Or re – use old products like water bottles and fill them with tap water from the sink.
3) Turn the Lights Off!
– Yes, it may be easy to forget turning off the lights when you leave a room in your home, but it’s wasting electricity!
4) Never Leave the Water On
– If you’re brushing your teeth or washing your car or dog, just turn the water off while your doing that; only use the water when you need it. We need all the fresh water we can get. The world may be made up of mainly water but the majority of the water is not usable because it’s salt water (ocean water). Try not letting water drip either; fix leaks or plumbing problems whenever you see them.
5) Plant Trees
– Do you realize how many trees humans destroy every day? For example, rain forests used to cover about 14% of the Earth. They now cover less than 6%. Scientists estimate by the year 2025, rain forests could long be gone. So, go find some seeds and just plant a tree in your backyard, park, or wherever! It doesn’t have to be Arbor Day to plant a tree! It helps to save paper, as well, by not double spacing, using smaller fonts, and recycling it.
Those are just a few basic things you can do – they aren’t hard. Go tell more people the effects of global warming; learn more about it. The more people know, the better. If enough people can get involved, we can stop global warming from ever coming.
