For over 150 years, cars, planes, power plants, human
activities, and the burning of fossil fuels have pumped enormous amounts of
carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into our atmosphere. This pollutant, along with other gases, has greatly impacted the Earth's ozone layer.
Legislation has been passed to help this problem—for
example, chlorofluorocarbons were used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants
until banned for the effect they have—but nothing has stopped or
reversed the condition of our atmosphere.
Other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, a component of smog and acid
rain, affect the climate. Governments,
particularly in industrialized nations, have worked to diminish the levels of
these pollutants, but a lack of understanding exactly how the gases impact the
Earth and how they should be taken care of leaves scientists and government officials confused on how to solve their problems.
Personally, I believe that individuals should take
the initiative to lessen his or her carbon footprint. With each person producing less harmful
gases and pollutants, a change will be seen.
Governments should also look into building "green" cities or
renovating existing cities to make them more efficient and less polluted.
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/pollution-overview/
The Underlying Problem
ReplyDeleteAs I read through these environmental issues, I have noticed a big trend. Most of the world's issues with the environment is caused by this increased amount of carbon dioxide(or other greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere. This underlying problem causes a domino effect, spreading into more problems. For example, these greenhouse gases cause climate changes, those climate changes affect places such as the arctic, which in turn, affects the animals living in it, such as polar bears. I agree that everyone should try to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released. This way, we would be "killing multiple birds with one stone".
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhile visiting Hong Kong and the Philippines, I noticed how overpopulation caused for the need of more cars and the burning of more fuel. In the Philippines, many people need transportation to get where they are going, and this causes not only a hectic freeway but also greatly hurts the environment. I completely agree with both Andrea and Darian, that one of the main underlying problems is the abuse of carbon dioxide being released in the atmosphere. While in Hong Kong, I noticed a slight haze over the city, blocking the view of many skyscrapers that lined the waterfront. This directly shows the destruction to air from the bustling city below. However, I believe another issue is the lack of education on both family planning and pollution effects. Increasing the education in third world countries, such as the Philippines, could result in a decrease in the population and therefore a decrease in the amount of cars and buses on the roads.
ReplyDeleteProblem/ Solution
ReplyDeleteI've also read a lot of articles about environmental issues. The common factor of all of the articles I've read is the effect humans have on the environment. We are so oblivious to the amount of damage that we cause to the planet. Our carbon footprints are huge. There are many ways to lower our carbon footprints -- like using more environmentally friendly ways of transportation. The impact humans have on the environment needs to be positive instead of negative. To change it, we need to work together and put in actual effort to help the environment.