Daily Archives: April 23, 2022

The Arctic is Melting!

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Usually, when individuals think of Antartica, some of the first words that come to mind include “cold, ice, frozen, or freezing.” These words have described the state of Antartica for the majority of its history. However, it is very possible that these words may no longer be applicable to Antartica’s given the issue of climate change. Umair Irfan explains, “Ice loss has accelerated in Antarctica in recent years. Every 40 hours, Antarctica loses a billion metric tons of ice, according to a 2018 study, and at least half that loss comes from ice shelves” (Irfan, 2022). An adverse affect to climate change is the rising sea level. As the climate is getting warmer, the ice in the Arctic is melting, hence causing the sea level to rise. According to Florence Colleoni, “Since 1880, the global mean sea level (GMSL) has increased by 20 centimeters” (Colleoni, 2022). As we have learned, 20 centimeters can be converted to 0.2 meters or 7.87 inches. Although this may not seem like a large quantity, when you think of sea level rise, it is quite a lot. Some may think, what damage could a rise of sea level by a few centimeters due to our environment? Well, “The United Nations estimates that the potential costs of damage to harbors and ports alone from this flooding could be as high as $111.6 billion by 2050 and $367.2 billion by the end of the century” (Colleoni, 2018).

If the emission of greenhouse gases is not quickly reduced, climate change will continue on, sea level rise will continue on, and our Earth will literally and figuratively have to pay the price. Colleoni continues on, “An estimated 800 million people are likely to experience impacts of high-tide flooding by the end of the 21st century” (Colleoni, 2022). Knowing that there are 7.7 billion people in the world, this means that around 10% of the Earth’s population will face the effects of high-tide flooding, resulting in the possible damage of homes, property or lives. The concerning part about this whole issue is that, “There’s a lot scientists still don’t know — including some of the mechanisms behind it, where tipping points may lie, and its ripple effects over the whole planet” (Irfan, 2022). The unknown is what scares the scientists and non-scientists, alike.

Works Cited:

https://www.vox.com/22939545/antarctica-greenland-ice-sheet-shelf-glacier-melt-climate-sea-level-rise

The Uncertain Future of Antarctica’s Melting Ice

Never Pay for Gas Again

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One engine for carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere has to be the driving of cars to various locations. With millions of people needing to drive to work or other activities this leaves the atmosphere and our planet earth taking the hit. It is determined that every gallon of gasoline burned creates about 8,887 grams of carbon dioxide. Now think about how many cars are on the road and how many people go through gallons of gasoline everyday, week, month, and year. The typical car releases 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and this is an extreme amount. If we can reduce the amount of vehicles on the road this problem can be solved. One way to solve this is to turn to electric vehicles. Many high end brands such as Tesla and Audi have developed electric cars but those certainly are not affordable for millions of people in America. Recently cheaper, more affordable car companies are producing electric cars such as Toyota and Nissan. If Americans can become aware of the environment and the emissions of Carbon Dioxide they could be interested in investing in an electric car. Not to mention the extremely expensive gas prices all throughout the U.S., whereas electric cars require no gas. For those that do not have interest in electric cars, there are several other options to protect this earth such as carpooling, trains, and biking. Not every single American will listen to these suggestions, but little at a time I hope America can transform into an electric car dominated country.

 

References:

https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle

The Dangers of Commuting to Work

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Commuting to work is something that many Americans dread. Depending on the person’s location or job, their commute can be very long or it can be full of rush hour traffic to and from the office. Commuting is not just frustrating, it is also very detrimental to our environment. The average one way commute to work in the United States in 2019 was 28 minutes one way, making a round trip to work a 56 minute hour total commute. This is almost an hour of commuting daily. Almost 3% of Americans walked to work in 2019 and less than 1% rode bikes to work in 2019.  This means that the majority of Americans use vehicles to get to work. Cars release emissions that put fossil fuels into the atmosphere, which is harmful to the planet. Cars and trucks account for nearly one fifth of all US emissions, emitting around 24 pounds of carbon dioxide (and other harmful greenhouse gases) per gallon of gas. There are easy ways to decrease our carbon footprint and negative impact on the environment including carpooling, walking to work or biking to work. Additionally, electronic cars are an excellent way to still commute far distances but at much less of an environmentally damaging cost. Electric cars are an excellent, safe alternative to cars that use gas. There are so many easy ways to reduce our carbon footprint and we can start with altering how we commute daily.

citations: https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/car-emissions-global-warming#:~:text=Our%20personal%20vehicles%20are%20a,for%20every%20gallon%20of%20gas.

https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/earth-day-ff.pdf