Environmental Destruction: What have we done?
Kent, OH- According to Stephen Hawking humanity has only 1000 years left on this planet. That is unless we find another planet to live on. He says this is due to global warming and the possibility of nuclear war (http://www.iflscience.com/space/stephen-hawking-says-humans-only-have-about-1000-years-left/). This comes just a couple weeks after Donald Trump is named President of the United States. Trump is a known global warming denier. Climate change and global warming are not the same although they are related. Climate change includes everything that is happening including temperatures, weather patterns, ice, etc. Global warming is the warming of temperatures on the earth’s surface. At this point, you may be asking yourself how does this concern me? Climate change affects everyone no matter what part of the globe one lives on.
The earth has been warming at an alarming rate. According to Nasa, “In the past century alone, the temperature has climbed 0.7 degrees Celsius, roughly ten times faster than the average rate of ice-age-recovery warming”. Although the earth has warmed and cooled several times in the last million years this time is different. Typically, it takes the earth 5,000 years to warm just 5 degrees. Unfortunately, the predicted rate for the next century is 20 times faster (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/).
There are several reasons for this change. One of the reasons being deforestation. Trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. When trees are cut down, burned or left to rot they release that carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which is the main cause of global warming. People cut down trees for wood to build houses, paper products, and to clear land for farmland. The world’s demand for farm animal meat and products are fueling this. Ways to help prevent deforestation are: to eat vegetarian meals whenever possible, plant a tree, use recycled goods, go paperless, and look for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification on wood and wood products.
The main reason for this is human overconsumption. This includes natural resources as well as products. The natural resources alone that have been extracted for human use has tripled in the last 40 years (http://www.ecowatch.com/humans-consumption-of-earths-natural-resources-tripled-in-40-years-1943126747.html). When we burn fuels such as coal and natural gas they create greenhouse gases. The richest countries in the world, such as the United States, consume 10x as much as the poorer countries. Products such as food are thrown out constantly when there are more being produced than we can consume. 40% of food in America alone is wasted (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/10/05/food-waste-reduction.asp). We buy more products than we need or can consume as well. Our products today are made to be disposable and not to be durable. At this rate there will be nothing left for future generations. The world we see today will not be what they see.
There are ways to prevent this from getting worse. Recycling is a big part of it. Only 14% of all plastic products alone are recycled (www.cnn.com). That would help reduce the huge amount of landfills and waste that is accumulating. Unplug electric cords when they are not in use. They continue to use electricity even when plugged in. Ride a bike or walk more, this will save you gas as well as help the environment. These are all simple ways to help but most importantly stay educated. There are resources all over the internet. Stay informed on what is happening and solutions that may be unfolding.
Watch my video related to this article here: https://vimeo.com/195220686