Lamia Islamovic

POLS 1100

Shari Sowards

Global Warming Crisis

Climate change has never been an easy topic to discuss. It is a very broad topic that

comes with many skeptics as well as believers. As a community, we believe that climate change

is very real and is happening at an alarming rate. We understand that as a community, there is not

much we can do but spread the word to the rest of the world and hope others will catch on to it.

Because climate change is happening all over the world and not in just one place in specific, it is

Fair and logical for us, worldwide, to pitch in and help with this global issue.

Although this may be a controversial topic, I believe that with the evidence provided in

this paper, you will find that the truth behind climate change lays within us as a human race.

When we hear of “Climate change” or “Global warming”, most of us think of glaciers in

Antarctica melting. Although that may be true, there are dozens of other factors at risk with

climate change. These include an “increase in extreme weather events, heaver precipitation and

floods, and costly and growing health impacts; due to rising temperatures, will likely lead to

increased air pollution, a longer and more intense allergy season, the spread of insect-borne

diseases, more frequent and dangerous heat waves, and heavier rainstorms and flooding.”

(www.ucsusa.org).

It is true that the Earth is getting warmer at an alarming rate. In fact, “the global average

surface temperature has increased by more than 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius)-

even more in sensitive polar regions” (www.nationalgeographic.com). It is all linked together

whether you believe it or not. Greenhouse gases and CO2 are polluting our air causing the ozone
layer to deteriorate slowly which causes our climate to get warmer. When the climate changes,

gets warmer, it starts impacting our sea levels and causes the sea levels to rise. All while making

the glaciers melt in the North and South Poles. That then just adds on to the rising sea levels.

“Sea levels are expected to rise between 10 and 32 inches or higher by the end of the century”

(www.nationalgeographic.com).

What a lot of people might not remember is that although this is a serious and real issue,

it is very controversial. When looking at the political side of things, our world’s population is

growing drastically. Which means that we have to make more energy and we have to build more

factories and find more jobs to give to people. Third-world/undeveloped countries are becoming

much more developed and we are in a much bigger need of supply and demand. When taking all

of these things into consideration, we the people are unconsciously creating global warming

ourselves by emitting all of these gases into the air. But it is very difficult to pinpoint one single

culprit to this global issue.

Because climate change mostly consists of hazardous gases being emitted into our

atmosphere, we have to take a step back and realize where those gases (CO2) comes from. For

starters, human’s breath out CO2, we breath it out into our atmosphere. It is essential for our

biosphere and is used by plants and animals. But too much of anything is never good. It starts

becoming a problem when this gas starts to be made by big factories and vehicles, oil refineries,

etc. Because then it’s not just CO2 alone, but it is CO2 mixed with even more dangerous

chemicals that impact our atmosphere.

By now you may be wondering how you can help as an individual? The truth is simple,

you can’t. Unfortunately, humans have destroyed much of the Earth’s atmosphere and sadly

there isn’t much that we can do as individuals, but rather we must come together as mankind and
a community, and start taking more precautions. Limiting and slowly erasing our carbon

footprint.