Global warming, anthropogenic or otherwise,
has been the center of a great controversy.
It is dumbfounding to see scientists rally back and forth with
statistics while neglecting the fundamental issue – that regardless of the
cause, global warming has brought forth devastation of unprecedented scale. The
rate at which our planet is deteriorating has been accelerating every year to
the point that evident environmental changes can be seen over the course of
merely few decades. To demonstrate, the extent of Arctic sea ice measured at
1.58 million square miles at the August of 2012 was 30,000 square miles less
than the previous low set in 2007 and the lowest since NASA records began in
1979 (Gillis,
2012).
The Canadian ecosystems have also been dramatically affected.
For instance, 2005 saw exceptional failures of colonies of seabirds on the
Pacific coast of North America, as only 8% of the Cassin’s Auklets nesting on
Triangle Island were successful (Nature Canada, 2006). Furthermore,
in 2004, Yukon burned twice the average area of forests through fires – an
increment of tenfold from the previous year (Gazette, 2005).
Despite the dire situation, Canadians are overwhelmingly apathetic or skeptical
about the issue, for a consensus has not been reached that humanity, much less
a single citizen, can have, if any, a positive impact pertaining global
warming. In reality, the future of our planet is the in the palms of individual
Canadians who, as a collective, have the responsibility and potential to
rectify the devastating state of affairs. By focusing on carbon dioxide
reduction in relation to home energy, food and shopping, as well as
transportation, every Canadian can make a measurable difference.
On the contrary to the belief that simplicity
is often associated with insignificance, reducing domestic energy usage is a
prime example of how an individual Canadian can fight against global warming
effortlessly and efficiently. First of all, replacing a regular incandescent
light bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb is an ingenious way to cut back on
one’s carbon footprint while conserving energy usage. To demonstrate, a compact
fluorescent lamp (CFL) uses 75% less energy than an incandescent bulb and has
an average lifespan of seven times longer (Fritz, 2008).
This amounts to an annual saving of $250 per light bulb in terms of operation
cost. In other words, replacing a regular incandescent bulb could potentially
save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year per household (Petrone, 2010).
Secondly, the act of recycling domestic waste which would otherwise be
incinerated in landfills has the potential to cut down the bulk of our domestic
carbon dioxide emissions. To illustrate, recycling reduces the amount of energy
needed to produce new products and minimizes the amount of waste going to
landfill sites. It in turn decreases the amount of greenhouse gases produced by
incineration, as one ton of waste generates an astonish 1,246 kg of carbon
dioxide (Hogg, 2006). Namely, one household can
save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide by recycling half of wastes per year (Carbon
Footprints, 2011). To conclude, as an individual, living an
eco-friendly and conservative fashion is an easy and potent way to combat
global warming.
Food and shopping occupies a substantial part
of an individual Canadian’s daily life. By making smart choices as consumers,
one can place a positive impact on the environment. Firstly, with millions of
people shopping every day, plastic shopping bag has become a major pollutant.
By getting into the habit of reusing shopping bags, one could be awarded with a
gradual though unequivocal reduction in carbon dioxide emission. To explain, a
dwindling number of shopping bags are the equivalent to the reduction in the
production total and greenhouse gas emission associated. To bring into
perspective, on average, an individual can save more than 480 plastic bags per
year by reusing a single shopping bag (Reuters, 2007). This means that an average Canadian
can save 72 pounds of carbon dioxide per year devoid of effort. Second of all,
buying locally grown food is also a great way to reduce greenhouse gas emission
that is within the capability of an individual. The benefits are clear and many
– in detail, buying locally grown food eliminate the need for intensive
transportation and reduce the amount of energy required for the crop growth.
Conventional food distribution systems uses shockingly, four to seventeen times
more fuel and emits five to seventeen times more CO2 than local and regional
systems. In this case, replacing imported food with equivalent items locally
grown in Waterloo, Ontario would save transport-related emissions equivalent to
nearly 50,000 metric tons of CO2, which is the same as taking 16,000 cars off
the road (DeWeerdt, 2012). To summarize, every
Canadian can make a positive change to the environment by adopting and maintaining
good consumption and shopping habits.
When humanity has turned car into a necessity
and as Canadians rely on cars more and more as the main mode of transportation,
one is obliged to reduce the environmental damages to a minimal by driving with
prudence and properly maintaining one's vehicle. Firstly, proper car maintenance,
especially the systematic scrutiny of the tires is essential when it comes to
making sure that a vehicle operates on its maximum efficiency. Notably,
properly inflated tires improve travel efficiency, which in turn reduces the
amount of greenhouse gas emitted. Furthermore, inflated tires can improve gas
mileage by more than 4%, and every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of
carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere (U.S. Department of
Energy, 2012). This is particularly significant when put into context,
as properly inflated tires can save on average 200 pounds of carbon dioxide per
year per vehicle. Second of all, since cars are one of the main culprits of
carbon dioxide emission, an individual Canadian can reduce the number of miles
driven by walking, biking, carpooling or taking public transit when applicable.
As an illustration, a dwindling mileage per vehicle means that less fuel would
be utilized, thus cutting off carbon dioxide emission. Moreover, an average
person can reduce the distance driven by 120 miles per week by using
alternative modes of transportation to work, which is a saving both financially
and environmentally. Another way to understand this issue is that avoiding just
10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon
dioxide emission a year per vehicle (Petrone, 2010)
– the equivalent of a five percent carbon dioxide reduction for one car
annually. In summary, cars and transportation is one of the major areas where
individuals can make a significant difference environmentally.
To quote from John Lieberman, “Global warming is not a conqueror to kneel before - but a
challenge to rise to”. It is up to the individual Canadians to amend
the mistakes of the past and champion against global warming. The prospect of
an environmentally stable earth for the future is hopeful – as long as all
individuals strive towards the wellbeing of our planet by doing simple tasks
such as conserving home energy, making smart food and shopping decisions and altering
driving habits. The impact of global warming is more severe than we fathom –
its effects can already be felt globally; however, it is not too late for
individuals to take actions against it, because ultimately, saving the planet
is rescuing ourselves from a potential catastrophe.
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