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Fighting Climate Change Starts With Us by City Tech Blogger David Kirsch

While our government disagrees about climate change and its effects on our planet, it is pretty obvious to most that we have a problem worldwide. If we don’t act now, it may become too late to save our planet half a century from now. With surface temperatures rising about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century, we are already seeing the effects. If greedy corporations or our government won’t fix it, then it is up to us to try.

There are many things we as students can do to help slow down the effects of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions that are being added to our atmosphere not only come from manufacturing plants but to how we dispose items. To do this, we should remember the 3 R’s, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Consider the combustion of fuel used to generate electricity at plastic processing facilities that emits greenhouse gases. According to ScienceDaily  researchers “have found that several greenhouse gases are emitted as common plastics degrade in the environment. Their study reports the unexpected discovery of the universal production of greenhouse gases methane and ethylene by the most common plastics when exposed to sunlight.”

When we reduce, we keep from buying new products when we don’t necessarily need them, which can keep companies from manufacturing more of these products. Also, if you need to buy something try to buy it from a place that uses packaging. When we reuse, we find a new use for something old. If you have clothes that are out of style or do not fit you anymore, then donate them to a shelter or to charity. These items can be beneficial for those who may be less fortunate and prevents them from ending up in the landfill. Lastly, we should recycle. Bottles, cans, and papers can be recycled and should be. Keep a separate container for each type so they can be easily sorted.

If we each do our part with the 3 R’s, we can help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are polluting our atmosphere. Also, when buying products, we should aim to buy products that are made from recycled materials.

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One Response

  1. Reading through the blog by David Kirsch, I must say that I agree with him. The 3 R’s is the important take away from this article, he amazingly stated that we should reduce, reuse and recycle. Many of us are already doing that by now. The biggest issue is that we are not taking this in count as a community or a country or as the whole of humanity. Everyone needs to take part of the 3 R’s, however, our government believes something else. According to the globalchange.gov, it stated that “Global climate is changing. Most of the warming of the past half-century is due to human activities. Some types of extreme weather are increasing, ice is melting on land and sea, and sea level is rising.” So clearly, the government believes that there is a problem, however, our president doesn’t seem to believe that there is an issue with climate change. According to a CNN article, President Trump said, “I don’t believe it.” They also said that Trump made that statement after reading different articles on climate change and its effects. Climate change is a problem for the Americans and for everyone else in the world, we as humans are contributing to climate change on a daily basis and we should start following the 3 R’s. I also believe that we should start planting more and more trees around the city and make it more green. We should start building more greenhouse roofs and which can help us reduce our use of air conditioning, greenhouse roofs can help reduce temperatures in our houses or buildings. However, our government first needs to understand that climate change is a problem and we need to take action sooner, rather than later.

    “Menu.” National Climate Assessment, nca2014.globalchange.gov/report.

    Cillizza, Chris. “Donald Trump Buried a Climate Change Report Because ‘I Don’t Believe It’.” CNN, Cable News Network, 27 Nov. 2018, http://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/politics/donald-trump-climate-change/index.html.

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