The Invisible Threat

By Walker J.

 

A looming, dark storm floats overhead, growing into a monster of massive proportions. That stormy cloud is just waiting to downpour on humanity's future, and few believe it’s even coming. Carbon dioxide is being created as a byproduct of most of man’s creations, and it’s pushing us towards our demise.

Ozone is one of the most important things in our atmosphere. It blocks out the sun's ultraviolet rays or solar radiation. Without it, life would suffer until death from skin cancer. The massive emissions of CO2 are slowing the production of this precious gas. Deforestation is also a micro problem contributing to this macro threat. Trees take carbon dioxide and turns it into oxygen, which is needed for all life on earth. As our civilization expands we need to clear the pesky life-supporting forests. Ocean Acidification is also an appearing threat on our horizon. The ph (how acidic something is) of the oceans is 8.1 on the ph scale or a weak acid. Although 8.1 is a small number, it is an increase of 30%. It is also estimated that by 2030 ocean acidification could destroy all shellfish in our oceans.

        Those are just the micro problems that all need to be addressed before the true threat can be stopped. Global warming is the main problem that needs to be silenced. Statistics show that the average temperature has increased since 1850 by around two degrees Fahrenheit. The world has been affected by this with glaciers melting, shorter winters, and plants are flowering sooner. The Antarctic and Polar ice have been melting over the years, causing the oceans to rise by 7.87 inches. By 2100, it’s estimated to rise by 8 to 10ft! It is also estimated that by 2050 the arctic will be ice-free in the summer; that's millions of tonnes of ice all melting into our oceans. Coastal cities will be flooded with massive amounts of acidic water. It’s also expected that temperatures will rise even more over the next century by anywhere from 2.5 to 10 degrees.

There are alternatives available that are eco-friendly, but why aren’t they already being used? Fossil fuels make a lot of money for mining companies. Oil is needed worldwide to power machines, and that’s why these companies are there. Oil mining companies need to realize that they are being paid to ruin our future. It will take time to complete, but in time we could replace the great oil rigs in the oceans with towering wind farms on land. Hydroelectric power would be perfect for coastlines, lakes, and rivers. Fossil fuels are not needed as shown in the north Atlantic. Iceland has been almost 100% on green energy, only using its environment to its advantage. Geothermal energy is used by Iceland to generate most of its electricity, but geothermal energy isn’t stranded on an island. Geothermal energy can be used almost anywhere in the world. Solar panels can be used everywhere on Earth and are more available to the public now. If all of these power sources were combined to power our world we could weaken climate change and its armada.

Our fight isn’t ending against climate change and won’t be anytime soon. We need to switch to renewable energy as soon as possible to slow down this global threat. For all of humanity we have been taken from our planet just to progress a little farther. We need to start giving back to our planet before it’s too late. After all, this is our planet, and we share it with billions of lives.