By Parker R. Los
The advent of the Industrial Revolution has brought forth longstanding consequences for Mother Earth and the natural balance of the ecosystem that stand at its most dangerous extent and growth today. It would most likely be safe to say that a great number of people are educated to a basic extent on topics such as what climate change and global warming is, or how deforestation and desertification affects our biological diversity and global health.
To those unaware, wanting of a recap, or not so caught up in the manner, the most widely accepted cause and contributor to global warming occurs due to the mass amount of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, released into the atmosphere, via the burning of fossil fuels, that traps sunlight and heats up our globe. Another, much more effective and dangerous, greenhouse gas called methane is escaping into the atmosphere as various ice pockets around the world begin to melt and release trapped air. In addition, the near-black ocean of the Arctic acts as an absorber of sorts, as earth gets warmer and warmer and more sunlight gets trapped the Arctic has to absorb more and more sunlight which increases its temperature and begins to melt the ice caps more often. It’s a cyclical issue, in the end, as more heat and melting of permafrost in the world releases more and more greenhouse gasses which just make the situation worse. It is to be remembered that, even if we could fix the root of these problems immediately, the greenhouse gasses will remain in the atmosphere for quite some time.
That being said, today we experience warmer summers and colder, yet shorter, winters much more often and erratically. However, while on the matter of temperature, the distinction between weather and climate needs to be made.
“You cannot use a hot day and say it is evidence of climate change or use a cold day to work against climate change, weather is different than climate,” mentioned Ecology and Biology teacher Ms. McKellop.
Ways we can help with this catastrophe can manifest in many ways, big or small. A change in our diets that would include less meat and more plant matter would be a large jump, should we be able to do it on a massive scale, as it would greatly reduce the greenhouse gasses expelled from mass cattle farming operations. Building a sustainable garden in your backyard not only produces fresh food, but also increases the biodiversity of the immediate area. Other sacrifices such as choosing to use a bike instead of a car when possible. It’s important to remember that the best use of a resource is to not use it at all.
Today, the dangers we face aren’t so far from us and neither are they so existential. The increased stress and pressure on people is beginning to concern the American Heart Association, and the increase in pollutants and humidity in the air is prone to cause asthma. Coastal cities that already exist need to drastically change their infrastructure, changing how they get water and maintain their buildings’ structural integrity in the case of a flood. Birds and other migratory animals are returning earlier than normal, and dying because there is nothing for them to eat, and harming the biodiversity of their regions; all the while other animals are living in places where they should not be able to, becoming invasive.
The Walnut Street Journal 
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