American Responsibility Case Study

Global warming is a major issue that the world faces today. Due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, huge amounts of greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere every day, causing the Earth’s surface temperature to rise. Global warming has some serious consequences, some of which we are already beginning to see. Since America is one of the top contributors to the emission of greenhouse gases, we have a huge responsibility to the rest of the world to take part in preventing global warming in order to keep our environment safe.

Some people may say that global warming prevention is useless since a lot of damage has already been done that we can’t fix, but think of what could happen if we do nothing about it. Many dangers come with global warming, and they will only worsen in time. Extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes and droughts can occur, which would cost a great amount of lives, damage, and money. Another danger is that the Earth’s rising temperature can cause the polar ice caps to melt. When they melt, the sea level will rise very high, and it could cause the extinction of certain animals that cannot adapt. In addition to that, “the oceans absorb about 30% of the carbon dioxide that seeps into the atmosphere, so eventually, as more fossil fuels are burned, ocean life will suffer.” (Simmons).

            America is not the only country that is responsible for global warming, but we have definitely left our mark. “America contains only 5% of the world’s population, but dispensed 22% of the world’s carbon emissions. Put another way, Americans contributes the equivalent of 54,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per person per year.” (Marland, G., T.A. Boden, R. J). As a nation, we use approximately 20 million barrels of oil a day, which is all being released into the atmosphere. Since we have done so much damage, it’s partly our responsibility to prevent it. If Americans continue to emit that much carbon dioxide a year, the Earth will be in big trouble. And I think once America does what it can to stop global warming, other countries will follow in suit. Only good can come from prevention.

            There are many ways to make America’s carbon footprint smaller. If just 30% of the nation recycled, it could reduce just as much greenhouse gases as taking nearly 25 million cars off the road would. Another thing that could be done is driving energy efficient cars. Every person who drives one could reduce up to 16,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Even something as simple as planting a tree or switching to energy saving light bulbs could help prevent global warming. It really isn’t as hard as everyone makes it out to be, but it makes a huge difference.

            In conclusion, it is our country’s responsibility to take the steps in preventing global warming. It’s very dangerous and could cause countless amounts of problems for the Earth and for mankind. If the rest of the world sees what America can do to reduce its carbon footprint, then they will most likely do the same. It won’t take much work if everyone bands together and helps out just a little bit. If you could make the world a better place for generations to come just by recycling or planting a few trees, wouldn’t you?

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