Simple Things to Prevent Global Warming - Research Paper Example

Simple Things We Can Do to Prevent Global Warming I In the of human history, energy have played a vital role towards cultural, social and technological development. From the time that man discovered fire for warmth and cooking that change his culture; to steam-power locomotives that paved way to other technological advances, man have been dependent on energy. So dependent in fact that it is quite hard to imagine life without it. As man progress in so many aspects, the need for energy and energy consumption have grown in such an extent that the mainstream energy resource is fast depleting. Since most of the countries in the world are dependent on fossil fuels, the way we extract and use it is far greater than what the environment could produce and could cope up with. This imbalance is such a serious concern because it could cause a domino effect that does not only directly affect man, but everything in his ecology. I am talking about Global Warming. This paper would try to investigate how energy use is directly linked to global warming, what causes global warming, and what self-initiatives we could do to help prevent global warming. Global Warming Global warming is the term used to refer to the rise in the earth’s atmospheric temperature. By nature, the earth is being warmed by the radiation from the sun. The earth’s atmosphere acts as a barrier so that only the right amount of heat passes through for the planet to maintain the right temperature for the survival of man and his ecosystem. The atmosphere constitutes of layers of gasses also known as the greenhouse gasses. Greenhouse gasses on its right amount are the earth’s thermal blanket (Maslin 4). But too much greenhouse gasses will increase the earth’s temperature; if these happen negative repercussions will affect not just the ecosystem but every living organism on earth (Union of Concerned Scientists). Main Causes of Global Warming The main cause of global warming is carbon dioxide production. Largely of which is attributed to power plant emitting carbon that is a byproduct of burning coal to produce energy; about 95 percent manmade carbon dioxide is from the use of fossil fuel. Compared to burning natural gas, coal emits 80 percent more carbon. Another major source of carbon dioxide emission is burning gasoline from vehicles that attributes to the twenty percent of carbon that goes up in the atmosphere (Low Impact Living; Time for Change). Another major cause of global warming is deforestation. Deforestation is denuding of the Earth’s forest in a massive scale. Twenty five percent of the carbon emission is attributed to deforestation. Since plants uses carbon for photosynthesis to produce oxygen, less fauna would mean more concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. Moreover, the process of deforestation itself emits heavy amount of carbon as people use large vehicles to cut down trees and clear the forests (National Geographic). Self-Initiatives to Reduce the Impact of Global Warming Because fossil fuel is the cheapest source of energy at present, shifting to a cleaner, more sustainable energy source would cost money. The initiative of one nation is not enough to stop or prevent global warming, thus global effort should also be employed to address the problem. But who should finance it, the private sector or the government? (Silverstein, Silverstein and Nunn 69-70) Rather than employing the ‘wait and see’ attitude, each individual could do their share in preventing global warming through simple steps that they could do in their own. Though there have been efforts made by local, national, and international government regarding initiatives to prevent global warming, private sectors and individuals could also do their part. Reducing household and transportation carbon emission could do wonders for the environment. Some self-initiatives to consider: Invest in a Green Car One is to purchase a hybrid car or a vehicle that is powered by renewable energy source. A Hybrid car like the Toyota Prius for instance could save over two and a half tons of carbon dioxide per year while a biodiesel powered vehicle could save even more, up to four tons of carbon per year (Low Impact Living). Imagine if you switch to a hybrid or a biodiesel-run vehicle, you are one less car that contributes to the 20 percent that the transportation contributes to global warming, so just imagine how many people have cars and if switching to more environment-friendly transportation becomes a movement, it would do wonders for the environment! Take Care of Your House Another simple step you could do to help prevent global warming is to simply take care of your home’s insulation. Insulate and seal your entire house effectively. Invest in insulator contractors that offer good quality insulation services. Do your research and ask for recommendation, check their website or their portfolios if they have good track record. Get an energy audit of your house before having an insulation installed so you could check which areas of your home you could save energy. Poor insulation that causes leaks in your windows and doors, and leaks in your heating and cooling systems could waste as much as 20 percent of your energy consumption and produce unnecessary carbon dioxide. Moreover, you could also insulate your hot water heater and hot water piping for added benefit that can save as much as 5 percent of your energy use. And depending on what type of fuel you use for your hot water, you can save as much of your household carbon dioxide (Low Impact Living). Look for the Energy Star Logo Because home appliances consumes one third of the total household energy consumption and is the largest producer of carbon dioxide, installing Energy Star appliances can save hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide emission per year. Depending on the age of the appliances, installing appliances with the Energy Star logo like refrigerator, washing machine, computer, and thermostats could all contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emission. For instance, home heating and cooling system produces the most carbon dioxide among all of the appliances at home. Replacing your thermostat with an Energy Star programmable thermostat could save you hundreds of pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and not only that, it could actually pay for themselves in just twelve months! (Low Impact Living). Make the Most of Free Solar Energy If you live in an area where you receive most sunlight, make the most of it i.e. temperate climate. Install solar panels and or solar powered hot water heater at your house. At the right area, solar panels and solar powered hot water heaters can reduce electricity or heating fuel from 50 up to a hundred percent, saving thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide emission per year in the process! What is more, solar panels are now readily available in the market and could easily be purchased on stores or online and installed. Better yet, you could even build your own solar panel if you’re the DIY type. With the ever increasing electricity bill, having solar panels and or solar powered hot water heater in your home would be a great investment that would virtually pay for themselves in no time. If your area does not get the most out of mister sunshine, just reducing the temperature of your hot water heater to 120 degrees cuts your energy consumption ergo cutting your carbon dioxide production (Low Impact Living). Moreover, since hot water usage is the largest producer of carbon dioxide in the household right after driving cars and home heating/cooling system, switching to solar powered water heater could save several thousands of carbon dioxide per year. But if your area does not get that much sunlight to make it feasible to install, just try to use cold water if and when possible. For instance, instead of using hot or warm water for laundry, you could just opt to wash your clothes in warm or cold water. Doing so could save as much as twenty gallons of hot water per load that could save several hundred pounds of carbon dioxide in one year (Low Impact Living). Use Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Lastly, replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Not only will you save energy and carbon dioxide but you also get to save money from your electricity bill. Each incandescent light bulb you replace with compact fluorescent bulb eliminate 100 pounds of carbon dioxide emission per year. Thus if your household uses ten light bulbs that mean your already eliminating a thousand pounds of carbon dioxide production in your home just by replacing your light bulbs. Conclusion Global warming generally is not harmful, but increased global warming is a potential cause for natural imbalances that possess catastrophic ramification. Mother Nature needs all the help it could get to prevent the increase in global warming. But the best offense is always the greatest defense. Awareness and knowledge of the problem will be the best defense we could ever position ourselves into. Educating people about the greater impact of global warming will help not just simple individuals but also the government, environmental organizations and commercial corporations in the effort of preserving our natural resources in reducing the greenhouse gasses, ergo preventing global warming. Simple initiatives that we could do at home could all add up and create a big impact in the fight against global warming. Works Cited Low Impact Living. Carbon Dioxide & Greenhouse Gas. 2010. 8 December 2010 . Maslin, Mark. Global Warming: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. National Geographic. Deforestation. 2010. 8 December 2010 . Silverstein, Alvin, Virginia B. Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn. Global Warming. Minnesota: Twenty-First Century Books, 2009. Time for Change. CO2 - The Major Cause of Global Warming. 8 December 2010 . Union of Concerned Scientists. GLobal Warming. 2010. 8 December 2010 . Read More