Car Emissions and Global Warming

 Cars are a major cause of global warming. Cars and trucks are responsible for one-fifth of emission, the release of gas into the environment. Cars release 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other gases for every gallon it uses. The amount of carbon dioxide given is a directly related to the amount of fuel burnt. Heavy cars with big engines use a lot of fuel per distance traveled, releasing more Co2, worsening climate change.

In the past week Phoenix, Arizona received record breaking heat for three days straight.

The Phoenix area broke another record with the recording low being 93 degrees for the day. The record low was 90 degrees in 2011. As a result of the heat, wildfires are blazing in the west after the record heat. All these are contributions to Global Warming. 

Car salesmen around the United States have families to feed and it is there job to sell cars. However, monthly sales goals that led to competition are counter-productive to climate-change. The more cars on the road, ran by gasoline, the more our environment is effected.

These specific cars will be sold soon adding more cars to the road. This is a liability to the future of the planet. Fuel emissions have to be cut back.

Climate scientists contribute global warming to the "greenhouse effect." This occurs when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space when we release gas, the atmosphere blocks heat from escaping.

The Earth gets energy from the sun in the form of sunlight. The Earth's surface absorbs some of this energy and heats up. The surface of a road can feel hot even after the sun goes down, because it has absorbed energy from the sun. Before radiation can escape to outer space, greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorbs some of it. This makes the atmosphere warmer.

The ways to improve the environment, it starts with personal responsibility. We as a people can do small things to create change. More trees have to be planted, they absorb harmful gases and release oxygen into the environment. We have to conserve energy, turning off the air conditioning and lights while not at home. Recycling can improve our environment, by using reusable supplies.

As summers become longer and hotter, Americans must identify these issues. Our planet's well-being is a priority not a hobby.

Political Attitudes and Values

Why many Americans do not believe in Global Warming?

The most common response among some Americans is that temperatures are not rising because of human involvement. Some Americans think it is rising as part of a natural cycle. Some people think there are temperature trends where the temperature goes up and down as part of a natural cycle.

Climate change is an issue that is ongoing. The year 2017 is not the start of global warming. Why did we wait so long to confront this issue?

In 2015, the Huffington Post did a study on people who do not support issues regarding global warming. 56 percent of Republicans in Congress denied these changes to the climate.  Despite at the time, 97 percent of climate scientists insist climate change is real and caused by human actions. Sea levels and global temperatures have risen.

Why do people not believe in global warming? What factors shape political attitudes and agendas? All Americans do not think alike, we know that conservative Americans tend to vote Republican. Some that are liberal tend to vote Democratic. Some have more negative attitudes toward officials than others do.

According to USA.gov Family, Gender, Religion, Race and Ethnicity, and Region all shape political attitudes and values. These factors all lead to division and confusion. Some Americans believe politicians are bias and only self-interested.

Family shapes political attitudes because children tend to grow up and vote the way their parents do. The family life is the first social environment a child inadvertently participates in. Children slowly learn how to walk and talk by directions of the parent.

Gender affects values and attitudes, historically women were not always able to vote. Women issues are different, because they had to fight for equal work, equal pay, and equal education. Today these issues still affect them and their behavior.

A study on CNN showed, the more diverse America becomes, the more religion will affect political attitudes and values. Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, and more denominations of religion all view issues differently.

Region and demographic plays a huge role in issues of political importance.  Regional effects of global warming can vary. Every region is affected differently by global warming.

Protecting Clean Water

In the future, water shortages will be likely for most people on the planet within the next ten years. We are currently destroying our drinking water sources without knowing it.

Fresh, clean water is a limited resource. Most of the Earth is covered with water, but our main source of water comes from rivers and lakes. The ocean is filled with saltwater and it is expensive to separate the salt and the water. 

We rely on rivers and lakes for water consumption. Half of the world’s most important rivers are being depleted and polluted. 40 percent of the rivers in the United States are polluted even for fishing and swimming.

Forests, grasslands, and wetlands play a significant role in preventing pollution. They stop erosion and pollution from entering our waters. They send water into underground supplies.

It is our duty to conserve water. This starts with taking personal responsibility for our actions. Simply throwing thrash into a river polluting water is irresponsible.                                            

Water conservation reduces energy use and can even save households money. The less water a household use, the less money they would have to pay in the region or city.

Luxury activities like showers, washing machines, and dishwashers use a lot of energy.

In America, we look at water consumption as an entitled good. In other parts of the world like Africa, agriculture is predominantly rain fed, farmers access to water is limited based on time. Some countries go through severe droughts and dry seasons. Some countries lack the economic investments in water resources. Water is necessary for all humans to survive. Some of us have access to water and take it for granted.

In America, we take the little things for granted. Many of us can walk into a store and buy a bottle of water, an excessive amount. There are many people who do not have this luxury. Billions of people are affected by the water crisis.

In Afghanistan only 13 percent of the country has clean drinking water available. Some areas are physically scarce of water, but majority of the population is affected by lack of safe access to clean water. Ethiopia is also in need of water, only 11 percent has access to clean water. 

The lack of water contributes to health problems and a lack of education. A country such as Haiti is still recovering from the 2010 earthquake that killed an estimated 316,000 people and devastated many buildings and residences. Lack of water treatment facilities are contributing to Haiti’s water crisis.

 Being more responsible with water can save our planet for the long-term. Americans have to take personal responsibility for these privileges. The planet is in desperate need of preservation. 

Preventing Global Warming

      On local government levels, governors and mayors have promised to complete the goals of the Paris accord. This is after President Trumps announcement to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate accord.

States such as Massachusetts, California, Oregon, New York, Colorado, Hawaii, Washington, Connecticut, Virginia, Rhode Island, and California governors disagreed with the withdraw from the Paris accord.

This is important for the mayors and governors to make a stand. Scientific evidence shows the global climate rapidly changing. The climate is becoming unstable due to human caused pollution. For example, the burning of fossil fuels. All of the problems our nation faces today only worsening due to escalating global warming.

The Prevention of Global Warming starts with personnel responsibility. The acknowledgement of the issue is the first step. The second step is creating ideas to successful prevent global warming. Global Warming is harming our planet. Future generations will be in a bad position.

 Citizens in the United States have the freedom to prevent global warming. It is our responsibility to protect Earth regardless of Trump’s plan to exit the Climate accord.  Daily actions have a significant effect on global warming. Personally, we can choose to not overuse energy. Reuse and recycling is important in preventing global warming. Reusing or Recycling can help to limit the non-recyclable waste, contribute to reducing the environmental pollution. Reusing shopping bags, recycling newspaper, plastic bags, bottles, and cans can effectively contribute.

Planting Trees can also lead to prevention. Trees bring more oxygen and they also take away the bad toxins. Stopping cutting down trees and planting more trees is also a great way on how to prevent global warming from getting worse. The trees we plant absorb CO2, create O2 and they make the air fresher and purer. Unfortunately, millions of forest acres are cut down every year. This action contributes to Global Warming, one tree absorbs one ton of carbon dioxide during its life.

These are easy ways we can contribute to a healthy environment. Implementing the ways on how to prevent global warming is everybody’s duty and responsibility. Daily actions can contribute to increasing or decreasing global warming,.

The Urgent Issue of Global Warming

President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on Thursday.

The Paris Agreement is a deal between 195 countries to reduce emissions that cause climate change.

Global Warming has caused an increase in temperatures, raised sea levels from the polar ice caps melting, and dangerous storms. Global scientists agreed that global warming does exist. Many have come to a conclusion; man-made activity is the cause.  

Climate change is already impacting the planet. A specific goal of the Paris Agreement is to prevent the world from warming by more than 2 degrees Celsius. Scientist think this could have damaging consequences on the World.

In the past, Trump has not accepted or spoke on scientists view on climate change. He has tweeted and said in campaign speeches that climate change is a “hoax.” He also stated that China was behind the whole idea of global warming.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said earlier this week he did not know if Trump believes that climate change is a hoax.

Trump believes that the Paris Agreement was a threat to the United States economy. President Trumps election and campaign tackled job reform. Trump wanted to bring back coal and steel jobs.

President Obama pledged to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. The Clean Power Plan in February 2016 made the Obama administration and supporters the global warming regulations on power plants could be in legal Global Warming is important because it secures the planet for future generations. 

The current administration is halting the prevention of Global Warming for superficial reasons.

 The consequences of Global Warming are already here. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina, one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States introduced us. At least, 1,245 people died in the hurricane. Total property damage was estimated at $108 billion. While hurricanes are a natural part of our climate system, recent research indicates that their destructive power, or intensity has been growing since the 1970’s, particularly in the North Atlantic region.

Longer and more damaging wildfire seasons also is a consequence of global warming. Higher spring and summer temperatures and earlier spring snow-melt results in forests that are hotter and drier for longer periods of time.

If Americans don’t take personal responsibility, dangerous storms can be harmful to our well-being.

My name is Jeremy Hilson, a student in the Hall of Journalism at Troy University. 

My blog focus is current events and important issues.

My publication plan is weekly. 

The blog can be found  http://jeremyhilson.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-urgent-issue-of-global-warming.html

The interaction of my blog is to improve my writing skills, also to inform.