The issue of global warming has become an important one in the upcoming elections. All the candidates have accepted its existence and have promised to combat it using various methods.
On the other hand, there are many who deny that global warming is actually happening. They argue that environmentalists are merely blowing the phenomenon out of proportion.
However, they forget that today is the age of fast cars, comfortably heated homes and bright city lights. Modern life is busy and full of energy, which has created an unwanted side effect: excess carbon dioxide and methane in the Earth’s atmosphere. The carbon dioxide and methane that humans are churning out will inevitably contribute to the greenhouse effect building up in the atmosphere.
Still, many continue to shrug off the increasing dangers of our wasteful lifestyles, scoffing at those who advocate slowing down to save the Earth. Skeptics are completely ignoring the already apparent consequences in name of the invalidity of global warming, making it extremely difficult to pass measures in favor of the environment.
People should realize is that even if global warming is not a major problem, something needs to be done to stem the apparent reasons for it anyway.
In 1700, before industrialization, the balance between atmospheric gases was easily kept since only about 600 million people populated the Earth. By the end of the second industrialization in 1900, the human population had shot up to 1.5 billion. Living space and resources were in greater demand. The wilderness was also decimated as carbon dioxide and methane spewing factories took their place.
Over the past century of intense industrialization, these gases have slowly built up in the atmosphere and their byproducts are showing up. The blatant evidence of global warming cannot and should not be ignored.
Beside the obvious consequence of global warming, a Harvard University study has linked an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to an increase in allergies. Already very difficult to ignore, the annoyances of allergies will soon become an even more common plague. People should not sit around waiting for terrible health issues to appear before finally taking action.
Due to the higher temperatures brought about by the greenhouse effect, it is expected that the sea levels will begin rising as glaciers start to melt. Although some global warming skeptics claim that this problem can be easily solved by moving inland, they forget that rising sea levels will destroy precious coastal areas that are home to important centers of the world such as NYC or the Bay Area, and people will end up living in less developed areas.
Those who are willing to risk such a future need to take another look at their faulty reasoning. It is time to take off the blindfold, stop arguing for the sake of arguing and clean up.