Almost everyone has sat down in a science class and been taught about the greenhouse effect. As boring as it may have sounded, the greenhouse effect is one of the most important elements in the sustainability of life on Earth. The greenhouse effect is the trapping of the sun’s warmth in the lower atmosphere of the Earth (Dyne). This keeps the Earth warm whenever the sun is not directly heating it. The greenhouse effect however, has been exacerbated by humans. Global warming is defined as the “human induced intensification of the greenhouse effect.” (Cohen). The main cause of this is human consumption of fossil fuels. It is causing an increase in temperature that is destroying habitats for animals, worsening weather conditions, and causing illness and death for the people on Earth. Many people would argue that in America, our capitalist society could not function without the use of fossil fuels. Americans could decrease their impact on the environment by turning to alternative sources of energy and being more aware of their consumption.

Data collected over the past century reveals the increase in the overall global temperature attributed majorly to the increase of greenhouse gases caused by human activities. The four major gasses active in the greenhouse effect are carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and ozone (Dyne). So how exactly are humans creating more of these gasses? Forty-two percent of greenhouse gases come from oil consumption (Dorsey). This burning of fossil fuels can take the form of driving an automobile, manufacturing products in a factory, powering homes with electricity, or even digging for more oil. Another way humans are creating more greenhouse gasses is through the burning of trash. America is a capitalist country. This means that we go through many products and throw many products away daily. Many communities do not have the financial resources to cleanly dispose of their waste. They turn to burning trash as a fast and cost effective disposal method. An estimated forty to fifty percent of garbage is made up of carbon by mass, which means carbon dioxide is the major gas emitted by trash burning (Thompson). A third major cause of excess greenhouse gasses is deforestation. When trees are cut down and burned or allowed to rot, their stored carbon is released into the air as carbon dioxide (Union of Concerned Scientists). In America we use trees for paper, lumber, heat, and many other things. This leads to a lot of trees being cut down, which means a lot of carbon dioxide emissions. Every day humans take actions they may not even realize are affecting the environment. Every time you drink water out of a plastic bottle you are increasing the effects of global warming. Drinking more bottled water increases the demand of plastic. This increases the amount of oil that needs to be drilled; one major cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Then a factory must use more fossil fuels to manufacture the bottle. Then even more fossil fuels must be used to ship the bottle to a store where you go to buy it. When you drive to the store to buy bottled water your car is releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  Multiply these effects by everyone who drinks bottled water on a daily basis and you are left with an astronomical amount of carbon dioxide emissions. Scientists have observed that the rate of carbon dioxide emissions is steadily increasing. They predict this will lead to major catastrophes in the future. 

We can already observe many of the effects of global warming. These are very worrying. One noticeable and rather worrying effect of global warming is the melting of ice. The North and South Pole are the largest areas that remain in heavy snow due to their position on the globe. As the greenhouse effect intensifies and temperatures rise, the ice is beginning to melt(Dyne). This brings a variety of problems. Many animals live in the Northern and Southern ice caps such as polar bears, seals, whales, and krill. They depend on the ice as their habitat. What is going to happen when all of the ice melts? All of the just-born baby penguins will begin to die when only a few chunks of ice remain. Not only are increasing temperatures causing the ice to melt, they are also making it difficult for animals to live in their usual locations. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2014 assessment, many land, freshwater, and ocean species are shifting their natural habitats to cooler climates or higher altitudes, in an attempt to escape warming. Yet, many still face an "increased extinction risk due to climate change." Humans drilling for oil also destroys animals’ habitats. Animals deserve to live in their natural habitats and humans should not be responsible for the destruction of these habitats. What if your house, your neighbor’s house, your entire neighborhood, or your entire town went up in flames?  As humans, we would have others to turn to for help, but animals cannot speak for themselves. It is our job to protect them.  

But what if you do not care about animals? The melting of ice caps can still affect you. As the ice melts, the volume of the water expands. This leads to rising tides (Dorsey). Threatening water levels can bring trouble. High tides and storm surges riding on ever-higher seas are dangerous to people and coastal infrastructure. Natural protections against damaging storm surges are increasingly threatened. Barrier islands, beaches, sand dunes, salt marshes, mangrove stands, mud and sand flats retreat inland as water levels rise (Hulme). Or these natural protections are washed over or drowned. This leaves  more susceptible to the dangers of large waves, thunderstorms, and hurricanes. Many shorelines have sea walls, jetties, and other artificial defenses to protect roads, buildings, and other vital coastal resources. In these areas, sea-level rise increases erosion of stranded beaches, wetlands, and engineered structures (Hulme). Sea-level rise can, unfortunately, mean that saltwater intrudes into groundwater drinking supplies, contaminate irrigation supplies, or overrun agricultural fields. This leads to crop failures which means less food for humans. Low-lying, gently sloping coastal areas are particularly vulnerable to contamination of freshwater supplies (Hulme). In other words, rising sea levels can impact the amount of water that is usable for humans. Without water, humans cannot survive. As available fresh water becomes limited, water prices will soar as well as prices of everything made with the use of water.

Melting ice is not the only way Earth’s water source is being affected. As the greenhouse gases increase in our atmosphere, it is causing the oceans to become more acidic. A 2015 study showed that vertebrate species—animals with backbones, like fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles—are disappearing 114 times faster than they should be, a phenomenon that has been linked to climate change, pollution, and deforestation (Ceballos et al.). Oceans are becoming more acidic, due to their absorption of some excess gasses. As this acidification accelerates, it poses a serious threat to underwater life. This means some foods like salmon or shrimp may no longer be available in the years to come.

The effects of global warming have become increasingly severe in the past several months. Extreme weather events like the historic drought conditions over large parts of the world are examples of the changes to global weather patterns that can be expected from an overall rise in Earth's surface temperature. Higher temperatures are worsening many types of disasters, including storms, heat waves, floods, and droughts. They are also changing weather patterns in such a way that wet areas, become wetter and dry areas become drier.As temperatures increase, so does the incidence of illnesses. In the United States, many heat-related deaths occur each year due to impacts of heat-exacerbated illnesses, such as heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and cardiovascular and kidney diseases (Anderson). Rising temperatures also worsen air pollution by increasing ground level ozone, which is created when pollution from cars, factories, and other sources react to sunlight and heat. 

To stop polluting,  would need to reduce the amount of pollutants sent into the atmosphere. We need to organize mankind to completely clean what has been polluted already. This can be done by providing a realistic alternative to current practices in the business world. While it sounds like an easy task, revamping businesses to be eco-friendly may be more complicated. At the present time, alternative energy resources can be quite expensive. While solar panels will cost American businesses billions of dollars to install, they will eventually pay for themselves, all while reducing pollution. America already has programs in place covering a portion of the cost in the form of subsidies. As more businesses decide to convert to solar power, the cost of this technology will eventually decrease. Even if businesses convert to cleaner energy, there is still the issue of capitalism’s incentive. Capitalism encourages mass production, they do not want people to reduce their consumption because then businesses do not make as much money. Businesses need to realize that their profit is not the most important thing and money will not do them any good if the planet is dying.

Consumption in the United States is a problem that needs to be considered. While measuring how much a country pollutes is difficult, the amount a country consumes is a critical indicator. The United States is the largest consumer of resources in the world (Use It and Lose It: The Outsize Effect of U.S. Consumption on the Environment). This is  because the patriarchy tells men to produce, but lack the resources to perpetuate this ideology. Everything that you consume effects much more than what it first appears. We go through literally—tons of resources, which directly relates to global warming. People consume food, fresh water, wood, minerals, and energy as they go about their daily lives. The waste from consumption contributes significantly to the rising global temperatures. If people were made aware of the extent of their consumption, they may make an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. Another thing most people do not consider is that fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource. One day fossil fuels will run out and we will no longer be able to continue production. While this consumption is troubling, we can reduce the amount we consume. 

You might be wondering, so what? All human beings on Earth are in serious trouble, yet there can still be something done to prevent this world from turning into a garbage can. Humans want to live in a healthy world, have their children grow up in a healthy environment. No one should look forward to their children growing up in a hot, highly polluted, dry, and illness filled Earth. As research has shown, Earth is coming to an end, and the more we pollute, the greater the consequences will be. Everyone needs to participate and join to make a difference. If we can train ourselves to do the little things, such as recycling, and using less water, a big difference can be made. This could be done by saving resources by upgrading to new technology such as, solar panels for electricity, hybrid cars for transportation, or abstaining from using new plastic bags each time a trip to the grocery store is made. Instead of getting gas powered machines, try to go electric, or hydro-powered. Take the bus, carpool, or ride a bike, avoid using a car as less as possible. Always try to recycle paper, plastics, and cans. Try to cut down on water usage when taking a shower, when shaving, cooking, cleaning, etc. Many products are now made from recycled materials which helps the environment because this places less demand for new resources. Trees take carbon dioxide out of the air and improve air quality, so  planting trees is definitely a big step to reduce the carbon footprint. Even though planting a few trees will not recover the trees that have already been cut down, it will surely help the environment more than planting zero trees. Some societies have already taken this initiative to reduce their carbon footprint. Costa Rica, for instance, has cut the funding for their army and invested in alternate energy sources. Nearly one-hundred percent of their electrical energy now comes from hydro, geothermal, wind, solar, and biomass power. Climate advocate, Monica Araya, states that the biggest hurdle humanity faces in “decarbonizing” the economy is creating a transportation system that does not run on fossil fuels (Araya). Overall, in Costa Rica, investing in environmental protection ended up helping their economy.

Global warming is very real and has serious consequences. Animal habitats are being destroyed, tides are rising, and oceans are becoming more acidic. This means less food and clean water for humans. Climate change is causing more severe weather conditions like droughts, hurricanes, and large storm surges. This is leading to destruction of homes and fields. Moreover, an increase in temperature is causing more death and illness. If we keep up with our current consumption of fossil fuels this problem will only get worse. Action needs to be taken.  We need to turn to alternate sources of energy and become more aware of how our actions are affecting the environment we live in
