global warming

Who is Killing the Earth?

environment, News

It is an indisputable fact that the Earth is getting warmer. Study after study after study has proven time and time again that temperatures are rising at an alarming rate. Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, and creatures everywhere are losing their homes to human growth. 97 percent of climate scientists agree that there is a problem. We cannot ignore this any longer.

Every day we see articles giving advice on how you, the average citizen, can stop global warming. If we all do our part, they claim, it will make a huge difference.

It’s time to stop pretending that the average citizen is to blame for this record level pollution. Only 100 companies produce 71 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the 2017 Carbon Majors Report. Most of these companies are fossil fuels producers.

Starbucks has started to phase out straws, but the new straw-less lids use more plastic than the straws and old lids did. These lids are recyclable, which is an improvement, but only if they get recycled. Statistically speaking, they won’t be. Only 9.5 percent of plastic is recycled. Over 75 percent ends up in landfills. According to the New York Times, Memphis’ airport (which has three Starbucks) has recycling bins, but everything placed in them goes to the landfill with the trash. Furthermore, an ocean clean up project found that 65 percent of plastic products cleaned up were from Coca Cola, Pepsi, or Nestle.

We blame residents for not recycling when many areas don’t pick up recycling. According to a 2016 report from The Recycling Partnership, only 53 percent of the United States has automatic access to curbside recycling. Curbside recycling is when it gets picked up from your house, the way garbage does. Without curbside recycling, residents have to take their recycling to a facility, sometimes across town. Many people don’t want to put this kind of effort in.

Alternatively, residents may pay for a private collector to pick up their recyclables. However, this could cost anywhere from $5 to $25 a month. In addition, fees could be added if you have more than one bin. Some may not be able to afford this, while others simply don’t care enough to pay for such a service.  

The government must lead the way to save our planet. Many are trying. Nearly 200 counties signed the Paris Climate Agreement, an agreement to make plans to cut emissions. In 2017, President Donald Trump pulled the United States out, despite overwhelming nation-wide support for the agreement.

Source: Marlon, J.R., Fine, E., and Leiserowitz, A. (2017). A majority of Americans in every state say the U.S. should participate in the Paris Climate Agreement. Yale University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

That being said, even in the countries that are still a part of the agreement, goals are not being met. Furthermore, an article posted in Nature claims that the goals set by member nations are not enough to save the planet. But the Paris agreement is not binding. Nothing is stopping any country from not doing its part.

We, as humans, have to make a change. I want to see a world that future generations can thrive in, and not one plagued by extreme weather, decreased biodiversity, and rising sea levels that consumes the land we live on. Rejecting science and ignoring evidence will kill the Earth if we’re not careful.

So please, be careful.

For more information, review the sources below.