Thursday, November 15, 2007

Brief (revised)

As global warming is detrimental to all human life, it is up to the individual to take action against it. It is also imperative that corporations take action in their factories and transportation methods to combat global warming. I will support my argument by demonstrating the inability of politicians to pass adequate legislation to mandate the reduction of emissions, such as the Kyoto Protocol. I will explore the reasons behind this lack of political action. I will also show how even the smallest actions, such as using public transportation, buying local goods, and using energy-saving appliances, can impact climate while minimizing inconvenience. I will finish my argument by looking at environmentally responsible companies- their motives for “going green” and the effects (both financially and economically.)


Reason: The political arena has been unable to pass proper legislation that would limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Evidence: The Kyoto Protocol, which would only cut emissions by 5.2% of the necessary 94% for the U.S, was not ratified by the Senate (George Monbiot's Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning.)


Reason: Small actions on the part of the individual can drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Evidence: One liter of gasoline will fuel a car for 4 to 5.5 miles. The same amount of gasoline can power a bus full of 40 people for 31 miles and a train of 300 passengers for 34 miles. A five minute shower, as opposed to a bath, can save 400 liters of water (and the energy needed to heat the water) per week. If your car tired are properly inflated, your gas mileage will improve by at least 3%. This is important, considering every gallon of gasoline burned releases 20 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.


Reason: Being environmentally-friendly has many benefits for a company.

Evidence: Becoming more fuel-efficient has benefits for the company and the environment. Continental Airlines has invested billions of dollars into more fuel-efficient aircraft and aircraft accessories. For example, a winglet on Continental's Boeing 737 and 757 airplanes reduce emissions by 5%, while saving the company on fuel (Fortune magazine's website.)



Sunday, November 11, 2007

Global Warming

The world is warming at alarming rates. This is due to unprecedented amounts of CO2 and other gases being emitted into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels. While there is a certain amount of gas that needs to be present in the atmosphere to sustain life(greenhouse gases,) these additional emissions are flooding the atmosphere. The result is the atmosphere trapping too much sunlight, thus raising the global temperature.

In recent years, the theory of global warming has been almost unanimously accepted by the scientific community (there are, however, still politicians and government-backed scientists that resist the very existence of global warming.) Thus, the reality of global warming is not being contested. My argument is this: as global warming is detrimental to all human life, it is up to the individual to take action against it.