Due to the high concentrations of CO2 in the United States, the temperature has increased. Globally the amount of CO2 released in the entire world is influencing climate change, according to the article “Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases continue to climb, despite reductions from some nations” the atmosphere is now saturated with “142 percent more carbon dioxide, 253 percent more methane and 121 percent more nitrous oxide.”
The high concentration of gases in the atmosphere are absorbing more ultraviolet light rays and therefore increasing the amount of diseases and the temperature on Earth. Innovative technologies have emerged in order to fight the increase of carbon dioxide. I believe that some of the ways that can help to reduce the amount of CO2 being released in the NYC area is by using electric vehicles, solar power and wind power.
Since the population in NYC is large, the number of cars is also large. Many of these cars do not follow the different restrictions given by the environmental departments to reduce CO2 emission. If we want to make a change in the area, we should begin to start using electric cars. But the problem is that the cost of electric cars is higher than a car that uses gasoline for its functioning. If every person in the NYC area made an effort to buy an electric car instead of a gasoline car, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would reduce, and by reducing the amount of CO2 we will help the Earth and fight climate change.
Many of the energy plants that provide energy to the community release large amounts of CO2.
The NYC are has many skyscrapers that do not use their rooftop space. This space can be used in order to install solar panels in the rooftops of these buildings. By installing solar panels in these buildings, we will harness the solar light that is converted to energy, by using it in our daily live activities. This will help in the reducing of the amount of energy that is produced in the energy plants, and the amount of CO2 that is released from these energy plants will be reduced.
NYC is a first world city, but if we would like to become a “green city” and an innovative city we should begin to start using the natural resources in order to have the energy that we use in our daily live activities, and with this, show an example that our city is fighting climate change.
The space in the NYC area is small to install wind turbines that produce energy by using the force of air. But if the government starts to use a certain area in which these turbines can be assembled and use the green energy that they produce, this will be another way of helping the Earth by fighting CO2 emissions.
3 Responses
Another important aspect of reducing CO2 emissions in a big city such as New York City, is using public transportation. Increased use of public transportation will reduce the amount of congestion in the streets of New York, which in turn translates to less CO2 emissions from fewer cars on the road, as well as less time being stuck in traffic. Idling cars continue to burn fuel and emit greenhouse gases even though no work has been done. As per the APTA, it is estimated that the use of public transport in the United States saves the equivalent of 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline yearly, or about 11 million gallons a day. The use of public transport is also a energy efficient method of moving people, as moving one passenger one mile on public transport uses less energy and produces a much lower amount of emissions as compared to using a car to move one person one mile. Fully occupied, a bus is six times as fuel efficient as a car with only one passenger, while a fully occupied train is 15 times more efficient as the car. With these savings in fuel as well as emissions, it is imperative that more people use public transport in New York City. This in turn requires an increased investment by the government into the aging MTA public transport system, which has been in the news recently for its many delays and breakdowns over the last few years. Only after the system is revitalized will we see an improvement in the streets of New York City.
Thanks for this very informative comment, Kristy. It gives us a clear idea of how so much gas is used on a yearly basis. Not a small number.
Great topic as well as great comment on the carbon dioxide issue! Especially for a resident living in New York City, CO2 emissions are part of our daily life experience. As the population has increased every single year in NYC, the amount of vehicles on the road showed a dramatic increase over the last few decades. Each state has tried to improve the current situation by reducing the amount of cars on the road everyday. One of the helpful ways is to use public transportation as it reduces a lot of CO2 emissions. Another way that has just begun here in NYC is carpooling. In another word, cab sharing services. People usually call and ride the taxi/cab with only one passenger in the car. The amount of CO2 emissions that taxis produced is on a large scale as compared to taxi sharing, where one vehicle picks up multiple customers that are heading to the same area. It has not only saved the amount of CO2 emitted it also helps the customers pay less, and drivers earn more. Other methods to decrease the CO2 emission in NYC are being developed. There are always new methods to help the environment for such an advanced and populated city like New York City. Residents of this city should be educated on how to reduced CO2.