Preview

A Modest Proposal: the Environment

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1207 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Modest Proposal: the Environment
Something akin to panic is communicated onto my sterile computer screen, then my furrowed brow and soon my troubled mind when I sit alone, in the dark of my room and explore ideas and possibilities. Turning the light on and the computer off doesn't dissolve my disturbed mood; nothing does until the outside can creep in and warm me. It's usually a human voice; something more real than the essays and articles I read on global warming and remote ice caps that melt slowly every year. The fear settles until someone with a weaker sense of reality can convince me that "something is being done" by environmental scientists and none of it will affect me when I am dust.
<br>
<br>In just the last fifty years, humans, namely Americans have virtually remodeled the Earth and everything on it. We have changed its landscapes, wind patterns, migration routes, and weather; diminished its greenery and killed its animals. Nature did not seem a force that could be controlled and yet it has been. We are conducting an inadvertent global experiment by changing the face of the entire planet. We are destroying the ozone layer, which allows life to exist on the Earth's surface, clearing the majority of the earth's forests, and disrupting countless ecosystems. The result has been an unfavorable alteration of the composition of the biosphere and the Earth's heat balance. If we do not slow down our use of fossil fuels and stop destroying the forests, the world will become hotter than it has been in the past million years. This warming will rearrange entire biological communities and cause many species to become extinct.
<br>
<br>The desperate plight of the environment should by all means be the first priority for every single government and person on this planet. With today's common knowledge of what might happen in the near future if significant changes aren't made in the lifestyle of most people it's hard to understand why 70 million cars continue to vomit their poison into the air everyday.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Ever since the dawn of industrialization, humans have caused serious, irreversible damage to the biosphere. And as the world progresses and Canadians looks on, they realized the impact of their environmental damage. Sometimes new ecofriendly technology enters the market and replaces the old environment damaging one. But that is not enough, human society as a whole must completely rethink and change themselves individually to so that their actions causes minimal environmental backlash.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Advancement of modern technology and scientific discovery, as well as the sociological developments of the past century, has changed the way humanity relates to the world. Human culture, particularly American culture, has developed a predominant world-view of earth’s resources and human relationships as things to be used and manipulated for personal gain. Scientists are warning with increasing urgency that the survival of the planet is at risk. Global warming caused by depletion of the ozone layer is negatively affecting climate change and the polar ice caps are melting at previously unimagined rates. Pollution, deforestation, manipulation and indiscriminate consumption of the planet’s natural resources have also contributed to an ecological crisis. Much of the environmental destruction can be directly connected to exploitation of people and cultures by business and industry for purposes of economic gain.…

    • 7236 Words
    • 29 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Interestingly, there is a very continuous debate as to how significant human, or economic intervention is to affecting Global warming, and how much of it can be put down to natural causes. Nonetheless, there are clear pieces of evidence provided that suggests global warming is down to anthropogenic causes, and that of economic activity. Firstly, the mass amount of deforestation that takes place across the world today can have drastic effects on global temperatures. For example, vegetation works in harmony with human life as they help to keep the balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by absorbing it, with the growing number of trees being cut down, and an ever increasing population, the balance is being lost. As a result of this, there is a noticeable increase in CO2 within the earth’s atmosphere. The Amazon for instance; absorbs approximately 35% of the worlds annual carbon dioxide emissions and produces over 20% of the worlds oxygen. In addition to this, the Amazon is home to more than half the world’s estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects that’s are rapidly losing their habitats. Mass deforestation can cause huge climatic problems in the future, for example, it has been estimated that there will be an increase in temperature of around 2-3 degrees Celsius by 2050 if deforestation continues to occur at its current rate. Environmentally, this causes great damage to the environment as the earth’s natural resources are being…

    • 1307 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prince Hall

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Did you know that by our everyday habits and choices, the average American puts out 22 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year? Experts studying the recent climate history of the earth agree now that global warming is occurring at a precipitous rate, and human activities are the dominant force driving the trend. Our smokestacks, tailpipes, and burning forests emit CO2 and other gasses that add to the planet’s natural greenhouse effect, allowing sunlight in, but preventing some of the resulting heat from radiating back to space. Many climate experts say that without big curbs in greenhouse gas emissions, the 21st century could see temperatures rise 3 to 8 degrees, weather patterns sharply shift, ice sheets shrink, and seas rise several feet. The problem of global warming seems overwhelming, but there is a lot you can do to help. Reducing your personal share of global warming emissions is easier than you think.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some may ask what the Anthropocene is. Before this moment, I had never heard of it. The Anthropocene is very important because it is able to show just how humans have impacted the earth, and how we have changed it. As humans, we are pushing the wildlife into smaller areas as we create new homes, and disrupt their habitat. The earth is facing its sixth extinction, and studies show that humans are to blame. This does not mean every single animal species has suffered a loss of 25%. Some are impacted more than others. Humans are to blame, as the killing of animals, and change of habitat are two major factors in the decline of species. Not only are animals being killed, but we are also polluting the air we breathe. The most familiar change according…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unless you live under a rock, you will have noticed what’s happening around the human race due to global warming and climate modification. It is not only affecting us humans, it is also affecting our vegetation, our animals, and our oceans. I recently watched a video by National Geographic about the precious coral reefs in the Florida Keys and it talked about how the coral reefs cannot keep up with the rising sea level, so eventually they will all just die (“Fighting to Save Coral in the Florida Keys”). Additionally this will lead to habitat loss and then species dying off. If this scenario belonged to one area it would be tragic but climate change is disrupting habitats and killing off dependent mintage humanity worldwide.…

    • 1989 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The atmosphere is choking from excessive amounts of carbon dioxide. Greenhouse gases are melting polar icecaps and rising sea levels. Deforestation is diminishing our chances of ever discovering new species in forests and destroying the carbon cycle. Humans do in fact have the capability of changing the basic chemistry of this massive planet. Scientific evidence shows that we have already contributed to irreversible climate change. Humankind has an obligation to reconcile its difference with the environment and learn to conserve natural resources. Conservation begins with knowledge, which leads to action, which will save our…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rogerian Argument

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Does the high level of Carbon Dioxide (C02) possibly harm the Earth’s planetary biosphere, or has it already done so; in fact, many worldwide scientists have protested that the Earth is at its ‘tipping point’ but no efforts have been adapted to save the biosphere? A support of this controversial topic; congressional meeting and testimony, is from one of the top U.S. climate scientists, James Hansen to Former Vice President Al Gore, with an emphasis on the cause of C02. Beyond the ozone layer is atmospherically holey, Earth’s temperature is rising, and the climate changing conversely, one that people trivialized the most is: Global warming. Increasingly, subject to concern not only via online discussion, magazine and article but also part of the agenda at the Whitehouse, “We can’t have an energy strategy for the last century that traps us in the past. We need an energy strategy for the future – an all-of-the-above strategy for the 21st century that develops every source of American-made energy,” said, President Barack Obama. Is global warming a major concern when the world is economically depending on the burning of fossil fuels? Is the world merely a tumbled target, yet again, to politically afflict and advertise? All the same, The Whitehouse makes no solid effort in claiming that U.S. and the Earth is facing vulnerability, if the burning of fossil fuel is not imposed immediately. Despite all these controversial discussions, scientists have shown that global warming is at its tipping point, C02 level are historically rising and temperatures are getting hotter because humans continue disregard its actions.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Asfew

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This Time Magazine article published in 2006 talks about how we can tell that Global Warming is affecting the Earth in negative ways. It goes on to talk about how humans are helping to speed along the processes of global warming and what humans can do to attempt to slow down global warming. This article gets more into my focus on global warming of the human impact on global warming while also giving adequate background details.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a poll conducted by expert Michael Bastasch, 91% of Americans aren’t worried about climate change, but little do they know that our planet is going through a disastrous process that we have caused and that it could potentially end up killing us. This process is climate change. Although the rates at which our planet is warming are very slight, this slight warming can have a huge impact.…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Climate change is an incredibly serious issue with so many hazards and risks. If we let it go any further than it already has, it will ultimately lower the quality of life on earth, as well as cause several more problems, as if we already don’t have enough. Yes, it will be much warmer, and eventually we will have fantastic weather a majority of the time, however the amount of disadvantages far outweigh the good. An abundance of animals will slowly begin to go extinct, and as the title entails, devastating climate issues will arise, like more droughts in southern regions, much more precipitation in higher regions, as well as other occurrences like forest fires and hurricanes. It’s easy to disregard these matters, since all of this seems like a slow process and it hardly affects us now. Yet, as the technology industry continues to develop, and the need for polluting factories increases, we’ll be getting closer and closer to destroying the easy way of life on this planet. Perhaps in our lifetime, we won’t be able to witness the extreme effects of climate change, although if we keep doing what we’re doing, our future generations will not be in for an easy ride.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Global temperature averages have increased by 0.23 degrees Fahrenheit from 2014 to 2015. Most of the increase has occurred in the past thirty-five years, in fact, fifteen of the sixteen warmest years on record have happened since 2001 (NASA, 2016). Our planet is currently experiencing a long-term warming trend that is being exacerbated by human consumption of fossil fuels. Researchers in the Arctic have taken ice core samples to measure levels of carbon dioxide over the past 10,000 years; their studies show that never before have carbon dioxide levels reached three hundred parts per million, while in the past thirty years the levels have significantly passed this mark (Endangered Polar Bear, 2013). This study shows the direct human contribution to climate change relating to greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal. We have compounded this problem by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed from the atmosphere due to the deforestation in the tropical regions (Polar Bears International, 2016). Our planet is caught up in a positive feedback loop; warmer temperatures melt the ice so there is less reflection of solar energy, without the ice, the dark open water absorbs the solar energy, and the warmer temperatures thaw out permafrost, which then releases more greenhouse…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    our earth at an ever-growing rate. The condition of our climate has become worse and worse and not much has been done to correct, or lessen, the damage inflicted to it. Through pollution, an incredible reliance and use of fossil fuels, and harmful practices used to harvest resources, humans have taken a huge toll on the earth. Recently many countries are recognizing the damage done, and are actively passing laws and regulations to curb the rate of deterioration. However, one country that has been far behind the rest of the pack on this concern is the United States of America. Although often denied by the Republican Party, and other political entities, many scholars argue that climate change…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The seriousness of global warming is evident. “In the 20th century, the world’s average surface temperature rose by… the fastest rate in any period over the last 1,000 years.” (Source A) In the ocean, the surface temperature increased nearly 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit from about 100 years ago. (Source B) It is not only people who are affected by global warming. Nowadays, “each spring, the robins are arriving in Wisconsin several days earlier than they did a decade ago” (Source F) These significant changes to the world has alarmed people and evoked efforts to stop global warming.…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    An American vice president, Al Gore, said that while the reason behind dinosaurs’ extinction over 65 million years ago was because of a giant asteroid, the species that are dying out every minute of our lives are not just because of some havocs, but it is US-human (Al Gore, 2006, internet). We are destroying our world indirectly which means we do not just go and kill those entire animals, but what has caused their extinction is due to “Climate Change” that is the result of the Natural Causes and Human Activities. We used to look at how natural causes have contributed to climate change, but human is now even playing a bigger role in causing climate change.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays