Solutions for a Warming Planet

“How can we help with this issue? To begin with, we can all start using public services.”

Students+sign+a+sustainablility+pledge+to+be+more+environmentally+friendly+in+a+school-wide+effort+to+combat+the+effects+of+climate+change.

Shannon Leith

Students sign a sustainablility pledge to be more environmentally friendly in a school-wide effort to combat the effects of climate change.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of The Prowler.

Global warming is having a big impact on our lives right now. Trees burning down — cutting them, too — affects the amount of oxygen in our atmosphere. Millions of animals are losing their homes, and, at the same time, we are burning fossil fuels and producing CO2. As more and more CO2 enters  the atmosphere, the atmosphere gets thicker, which traps the heat then makes the earth hotter. Making the earth hotter creates rising sea levels, stronger hurricanes, drought, forest fires, and acidic oceans. 

How can we help with this issue? To begin with, we can all start using public services. That could be the number one best thing you can do. Imagine if we all use the bus, then take an electric scooter or something that does not create emissions to get to our last mile destination. As more hybrid cars get on the street, and as they become cheaper, more people will start to buy them, which, of course, creates fewer emissions. 

The average use of a plastic bag is around 14 seconds. Making them creates a lot of harmful toxins, and hundreds of thousands of them are used in the US alone. If everybody buys a sturdy plastic bag once, then the demand will be a lot less for cheap, unreliable bags. 

The best thing you can do as a whole is to vote for a candidate who cares about climate change. The government has the most power: for example, by reducing coal production, taxing gas just like they did to cigarettes, and pushing manufacturers to transport and sell eco-friendly products. 

On September 20, 2019, people all over the world protested to the government to raise awareness, showing horrific pictures on signs, with explanations and outcomes if we don’t solve this issue. The more you do, the more you will see the effects of what you have done to help.