Whitted, 5

Chemistry
3/19/14

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Prompt: Climate Change - 2 of the most controversial words you can string
together today. Is it natural, is anthropogenic (man made)? Can we stop, can
the Earth handle it? Write a 700 word persuasive essay to support your
opinion over this. You must cite at least 5 separate sources.

Climate Change
Climate change is an anthropogenic issue. The theory of global warming has grown very
popular, and with evidence popping up frequently it has been proven to be fact. With carbon emissions
being the nucleolus of the problem, it certainly does not help that pollution rates are exponentially
growing. The scariest part of this whole situation is that no one knows when the Earth will not be able
to handle any more climate change. However, Earth does have hope, more eco-friendly solutions to
common polluters are being developed and produced everyday. As long as the next generation of
humans continues to view climate change as an issue and take action, there is still a chance to save the
earth.
Climate change has many contributing factors. The biggest of all being carbon emissions.
According to the United States Environment Protection Agency Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary
greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. In 2011, CO2 accounted for about 84% of all U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions from human activities (EPA). Global warming occurs when sun rays pierce
the air and reflect off of the earth and back up into the ozone which is full of an accumulative layer
carbon dioxide. This causes problems because the sheet of CO2 keeps the heat trapped within
atmosphere which stems climate change. NASA has collected data on climate change and have boldly
made the statement: The current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is very
likely human-induced and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented in the past 1,300 years (NASA).
For all of the non believers out there, if NASA has proved global warming you might want to rethink
your opinion.
There are no quick fixes for climate change, but there somethings that can be done to reduce
individual carbon footprints. Zero-emission vehicles are eco-friendly vehicles, such as electric
vehicles (Evs) and fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) that have no tailpipe emissions of CO2 or other gases
(Nissan). Zero-emission vehicles are a great way to reduce carbon emissions because they have none.
The potential is enormous because of the shear number of cars driven. According to the Huffington
Post the number of cars in the world has surpassed one billion (Tencer). That would mean around one
seventh of the worlds population could dramatically reduce their carbon footprints if every car was
replaced with electric cars. Another way to reduce greenhouse gasses would be to harness solar power
using solar panels. According to Penn State University Photovoltaic systems convert solar radiation to
electricity via a variety of methods. The most common approach is to use silicon panels, which
generate an electrical current when light shines upon it (PSU). Using energy collected from the sun
can help reduce carbon emissions because they do not require a power plant, therefor if one were to use
solar energy along with electric vehicles, that persons carbon footprint would almost be completely
eliminated.
The are many reasons that climate change is negative. The changes that have occurred are
catastrophic and keep increasing in size as well as abundance. A classic example of this is the melting
of the polar ice caps. September Arctic sea ice is now declining at a rate of 11.5 percent per decade,
relative to the 1979 to 2000 average according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(Arctic Sea Ice). The problem with this is that the polar ice is the only place were polar bears live, and
their natural habitat is being destroyed one puff of smog at a time. Some people have tried to make the
argument that polar bears will just evolve and adapt to their environment. This claim is impossible
because the rate of global warming exceeds evolution by thousands of years.

Climate change has been happening for some time now, and few solutions have been found to
reduce the rate of global warming. The only way to fix an issue this monstrous is to get more and more
people involved. If we do not do something soon we will reach the dreaded point of no return, the point
where we know we are doomed. The severity of this situation cannot be understated, so start thinking
world, you've created a storm...literally.

Arctic Sea Ice. Carbon Dioxide Concentration. The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. March, 2014
http://climate.nasa.gov/key_indicators#seaIce
EPA. Overview of Greenhouse Gases. The United States Environment Protection Agency.
March, 2014
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html
NASA. Climate Change: How do we Know?. The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. March, 2014
http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence
Nissan. What are Zero-Emission Vehicles. Nissan Auto Group. March, 2014
http://www.nissan-zeroemission.com/EN/FAQ/
PSU. Solar Energy. Penn State University. March, 2014
http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/energy/solar-energy
Tencer, Daniel. Number of Cars Worldwide Surpasses 1 Billion; Can the World Handle This
Many Wheels?. August, 2011. The Huffington Post. March, 2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/08/23/car-population_n_934291.html