The four most common greenhouse gases according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. The greenhouse gases are all fine and necessary in small amounts, but in larger amounts they create a blanket around the earth and trap too much heat in earth’s atmosphere (EPA 2013).
This problem can cause the arctic ice to melt sooner and form later, which limits the polar bear's hunting season. Therefore, humans are innovating solutions to lessen greenhouse gases and their effect on the polar bears. One such solution is legislation to limit carbon emissions. The Clean Air Act (1963) “requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from exposure to airborne contaminants that are known to be hazardous to human health” (RTCC 2013). The EPA began regulating GHGs from mobile and stationary sources of air pollution under the Clean Air Act for the first time on January 2, 2011” (Globe 2010). This measure would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide given off as a waste product into the atmosphere. Most carbon dioxide sources are companies, which are difficult to regulate. All companies are working with the resources that they control to spend the smallest amount of money possible to make the best product possible. Fossil fuels are currently used abundantly to power the world, yet when burned they give off the most greenhouse gases (Biello 2007). To begin to change the world for the better several states have capped the carbon emissions that a facility within its borders is allowed to have.
Individuals can also be a part of the climate change solution. Ultimately human choices affect climate change the most. Carbon emissions from daily life can be dramatically reduced with a few changes to human habits. Whenever possible you can save electricity by turning off and unplugging unused appliances. Saving electricity saves the emissions that come from burning fossil fuels to create electricity. When buying your next car, you can choose to buy a car with a large number of miles per gallon to use less oil, a fossil fuel. Even the products you buy can be contributing to climate change. You can avoid buying products with lots of packaging, such as plastic, which have been created from fossil fuels. Every time you buy a product that was not produced in your area you are supporting a company that used fossil fuels to transport it to you. As you can see, it's not just the overt use of fossil fuels that affects climate change. To solve the climate change problem, every aspect of the human impact must be examined.
This problem can cause the arctic ice to melt sooner and form later, which limits the polar bear's hunting season. Therefore, humans are innovating solutions to lessen greenhouse gases and their effect on the polar bears. One such solution is legislation to limit carbon emissions. The Clean Air Act (1963) “requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce regulations to protect the general public from exposure to airborne contaminants that are known to be hazardous to human health” (RTCC 2013). The EPA began regulating GHGs from mobile and stationary sources of air pollution under the Clean Air Act for the first time on January 2, 2011” (Globe 2010). This measure would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide given off as a waste product into the atmosphere. Most carbon dioxide sources are companies, which are difficult to regulate. All companies are working with the resources that they control to spend the smallest amount of money possible to make the best product possible. Fossil fuels are currently used abundantly to power the world, yet when burned they give off the most greenhouse gases (Biello 2007). To begin to change the world for the better several states have capped the carbon emissions that a facility within its borders is allowed to have.
Individuals can also be a part of the climate change solution. Ultimately human choices affect climate change the most. Carbon emissions from daily life can be dramatically reduced with a few changes to human habits. Whenever possible you can save electricity by turning off and unplugging unused appliances. Saving electricity saves the emissions that come from burning fossil fuels to create electricity. When buying your next car, you can choose to buy a car with a large number of miles per gallon to use less oil, a fossil fuel. Even the products you buy can be contributing to climate change. You can avoid buying products with lots of packaging, such as plastic, which have been created from fossil fuels. Every time you buy a product that was not produced in your area you are supporting a company that used fossil fuels to transport it to you. As you can see, it's not just the overt use of fossil fuels that affects climate change. To solve the climate change problem, every aspect of the human impact must be examined.
Works Cited
Biello, David.(2007) 10 Solutions for Climate Change. Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/10-solutions-for-climate-change/
EPA. (2013) Climate Change: Basic Information. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (Date Accessed: February 15, 2014.) http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/
Seabed Geosolutions. (2013) Arctic Solutions. (Date Accessed: February 15, 2013.) http://www.seabed-geo.com/our-solutions/seabed-acquisition-solutions/arctic-solutions.aspx
Seabed Geosolutions. (2013) Arctic Solutions. (Date Accessed: February 15, 2013.) http://www.seabed-geo.com/our-solutions/seabed-acquisition-solutions/arctic-solutions.aspx
The GLOBE Climate Legislation Study (2010) United States: Flagship Legislation (Date Accessed: February 16, 2014.) http://www.globeinternational.org/images/climate-study/United-States.pdf
RTCC (2013) Climate change laws in the USA. Responding To Climate Change. (Date Accessed: February 14, 2014.) http://www.rtcc.org/2013/02/12/in-focus-usas-climate-laws/#sthash.2XLWN2o7.dpuf
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