Fighting Climate Change: These 5 Practices Can Solve 90% Environmental Problems.
Some people think that we are still waiting for the climate to start warming up due to the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, studies have found that the temperature of the planet has been rising in a gradual fashion since around 1880. Every decade or so, the earth gets warmer by a fraction of a degree.
As the planet continues to warm, fighting climate change will become a more and more pressing issue. Many people are experiencing a sense of panic as they feel that climate change is unstoppable. However, many people have come up with strategies to try to slow down or even reverse climate change.
Read on to learn all about the most powerful options out there to help us fight the changing climate of the planet!
5 Ways To Fight Against Climate Change
Read on to learn all about the most powerful options out there to help us fight the changing climate of the planet!
Overview:
- How to Combat Climate Change With Reflection
- Addressing the Climate Crisis With Inspiration From Volcanoes
- Individuals Can Decrease Their Carbon Footprint
- Passing Laws to Decrease Carbon Emissions
- Stopping Global Warming With Carbon Capture
1. Follow the Reduce, Re-Use and Recycle Plan
These 3Rs are the saviors we need. However, we need more “reducing” and “reusing” than recycling. For example, we can reuse the plastics that we can’t recycle easily.
Imagine packets of bread, tortillas, and other packed foods. If you use the same plastic bag to carry these every day, you can save wasting one plastic package daily. In the same way, we can shift towards refurbished fashion and avoid fast fashion.
Here are some stats about the fast fashion challenge:
- 57% of fashion waste goes to landfills
- Over 25% of waste goes through incineration
- Fast fashion pollutes around 20d% of our global water reserve
To solve this problem. We can spend more time in thrift and secondhand stores than fast fashion stores. Even celebs like Rihanna flaunt vintage thrifts from Chanel and Dior. Eva Mendes wore a $6 thrift store gown for the maiden red carpet event.
We must also join in the drive and try to make the world a better place.
That’s not all. It still makes sense to consider other avenues for addressing the warming planet. After all, the only reason greenhouse gases lead to global warming is that they increase how much energy our planet captures from the Sun. That makes climate change an exciting product of greenhouse gases and how much sunlight reaches the earth.
This is How Global Warming Affects the Climate
Earth reflects less sunlight and captures the majority of it. That’s why the average heat index on the planet is on the rise. Let’s understand how global warming works. When sunlight hits our planet, the energy in its photons is transformed into thermal energy, in other words, heat.
However, those photons bounce off when the sun strikes something light in color. Many of them are then reflected into space. This is one of the functions of clouds.
Plenty of sunlight bounces off them, keeping the planet from getting as warm as it would if clouds were not reflective. Some scientists have proposed that we can make the planet’s surface more reflective. We could do this by making all our buildings’ tops white.
We could also try to do this near the North and South Pole. Reflecting extra sunlight around the poles might allow more ice to form. When there is more ice at the poles, that ice reflects even more sunlight.
2. Addressing The Climate Crisis With Inspiration From Volcanoes
Some people have heard about volcanic eruptions so large that they affected the climate for a few years. In fact, this used to be one of the major theories for how the dinosaurs died.
Scientists used to think that volcanoes filled the atmosphere with so much smoke that it blocked out the sun. These days, scientists know that an asteroid strike filled the atmosphere with dust that blocked out the sun.
However, the same basic principle applies. Blocking out the sun cools the planet down. Of course, we would only want to cool down the planet a little.
Fortunately, we can look at smaller examples of this effect in recent history. Large volcanic eruptions sometimes lead to a noticeably cooler climate for two or three years.
Scientists have proposed that we add similar amounts of material into the atmosphere to block out light from the sun. In theory, this would only cool the climate as much as eruptions from volcanoes have done in recent decades.
3. Flex how you use power
It’s good we are shifting to EVs. But is that making a lot of difference? Probably not. And we all know that, too. An EV causes 1850 times more SPM pollution. So, we need to address such basics. What can we do?
- Try to charge EVs during the day
- Prefer charging points that use wind and solar power
- Don’t try to charge more during the night
- It stresses the local neighborhood grids
Less Power use means less carbon Pollution
Another significant way to fight climate change is by reducing our carbon footprint. Many people are shocked to find out how much the average person contributes to the increasing prevalence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
There are several things that people can do to decrease their carbon footprint. Some are difficult and expensive and do not decrease carbon footprints very much. Others are somewhat easier to use and can reduce carbon footprints significantly.
For example, most people don’t realize that eating beef requires producing many more pounds of greenhouse gases than eating other meats. Some people are reluctant to give up meat to decrease their carbon footprint. But they are much more amenable to simply eating meats that do not require as much carbon dioxide to produce.
Most people do not realize that air conditioning consumes vast quantities of electricity. Most of that electricity comes from power plants that generate greenhouse gases.
In some cases, your AC might use up half of your entire household’s energy consumption! Improving your home’s insulation or using suitable curtains can help keep your home cooler. That way, your air conditioner will consume less electricity to keep your home comfortable.
4. Passing Laws To Decrease Carbon Emissions
Many people think that policies like cap and trade can efficiently decrease the carbon footprints of our companies and governments. With the right intervention of laws, it is possible that we can slow down the progression of climate change.
5. Stopping Global Warming With Carbon Capture
Climate change started with adding too many greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Carbon capture addresses this problem directly. Carbon capture technology absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, returning carbon dioxide levels to what they were prior to the industrial revolution.
If we can improve carbon capture technology enough, this could directly reverse climate change trends.
Be a Responsible citizen!
Fighting climate change is one of the most difficult problems we face today. At the same time, people all around the world are putting their heads together to come up with strategies to fight climate change.
As technology continues to progress, there is hope that we will be able to manage even a problem as large as the changing climate of the planet!
To learn more about the latest information in science, technology, and more, take a look through our other pages!
Additionals:
