By Angela Alfano
Staff Writer
By the late ‘90s, large U.S. businesses began to accept that greenhouse gases must be extracted from the economy, according to an editorial in The Washington Post from Aug. 24 last year. The same editorial states that by 2008, the presidential candidates of both major parties were in favor of the strong national climate strategies. No matter who won the election that year, earnest action seemed certain.
Since the year 2000, land temperature changes are more than 50 percent greater in the United States than ocean temperature changes, according to a 2010 Earth Observatory article, written by Michael Carlowicz. Global Warming is a global issue and is not going to improve on its own. The people must do something.
According to the Live Science website, global warming is defined as the gradual increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and its oceans. It is believed to permanently change the climate.
There is no denying that there have been some definite climate changes in the past ten years alone. Watching the Discovery channel for 15 minutes can break one’s heart when the polar bears are mentioned. Recently, it has taken longer than usual for the polar waters to fully freeze. This is proof that the temperature of the planet is getting warmer.
Cars are driven everyday, even to locations close enough to walk to. With the exception of the few and far between vehicles that run on electricity, most motor vehicles run on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are a finite source that will run out if persistently used at its current rate.
The general public does not seem so concerned by these facts. It was a fad at one point to bring reusable shopping bags to the stores, but now that has passed. Very few people are conscious of their effect on the environment.
It is going to take a lot more than this generation to change anything about the current state of global warming, but we can definitely start.
“Global Warming is definitely a real life issue,” said junior Broadcasting major Kaitlin Veygel. “We are abusing our natural resources without finding alternative means of functioning in the world.”
Not all students at LIU Post feel this way. Senior Broadcasting major William Bruner, for example, does not believe that global warming exists. “How did the dinosaurs die?” he asked. “How did the ice age happen? It is because the earth evolves!” Bruner agrees with the fact that people are polluting the Earth, but said we do not control it.
Global Warming is not an issue that can be swept under the rug. This is affecting our generation, and will affect the generations to come. Unless a policy is not put into immediate action, which directly influences our generation to act against global warming, things will only grow worse for the world as we know it.
Be First to Comment