“Ice caps are melting!”

“Penguins are losing their habitat!”

The earth’s climate is warming at an alarming rate and something needs to be done about it. All too often we hear yet another news story about raging wildfires and severe floods, or we hear another scientist ranting about the dangers of climate change and global warming. However, to truly feel the significance of global warming you do not have to listen to the experts or the alarmists, all you have to do is look around. Summers are hotter. Snow is either not present locally or completely unpredictable.  Rain and storms are seemingly more violent. Ultimately, one must ask herself: Is global warming to blame or is the whole idea of it overblown and unrealistic?

Global warming is the theory which concludes that the earth’s climate is getting warmer because of greenhouse gasses that trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere. Scientists and experts claim that global warming has gotten worse and has increased the speed of its impact due to human activity.

Since the time of the industrial revolution, we have been adding more carbon dioxide and other toxic gases to the atmosphere by cars and other sources of pollution. The Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) states, “Coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution — they produce 2.5 billion tons every year. Automobiles, the second largest source, create nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually.” This information supports the fact that mass production and factories has extremely negatively affected our climate while also depleting our natural resources.

The significantly high contributions of carbon dioxide and other gases to the atmosphere by human industrialization and pollution leave extra unusable amounts of gas. These gasses accumulate and leave less pure oxygen in the air. Impure air is especially dangerous to people with asthma symptoms who already have enough trouble breathing as it is. Cities are easy targets for the buildup of dangerous gasses which can be seen in a form of smog hanging over buildings.

While the negative impact on the earth’s climate – which we will feel in our lifetime reports Washington Post reporter Lenny Bernstein – may potentially be disastrous, on a more personal and basic level I am concerned.   I love snow and the scarceness of it in recent years during winter scares me and also saddens me. Due to global warming the heat that is trapped in the atmosphere affects us all year round, not just in summer. This is significant in our lack of snow in December and in the extreme weather occurrences worldwide. The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) recently reported that, “Although local [geographical location] temperatures fluctuate naturally, over the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history.”

Ocean and sea levels have risen momentously recently. This is not a coincidence as rising temperatures have caused polar ice caps to recede and melt near the poles. The number of national wildfires has also increased considerably as heat levels have gotten higher. Summers are now hitting historically high temperatures and causing extreme heat waves. Global warming is tied to the national 2012 heat wave that caused it to be unsafe to go outside. It was a code orange (ozone pollution will reach unhealthy levels), many people got heat exhaustion or had heat strokes and were hospitalized. Small children and senior citizens are more prone to heat exhaustion. “High temperatures, such as those experienced in the U.S. in 2012, are now likely to occur four times as frequently due to ­human-induced climate change,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) claimed.

Global warming may not be noticeable at first glance, especially on a beautiful fall or even summer day, but the consequences in the future are lurking just around the corner. In fact, Bernstein’s article implies that this change is imminent.  “Locations around the globe will soon reach climatic tipping points… the transition will occur by 2020 in Manokwari, Indonesia; by 2023 in Kingston, Jamaica; by 2029 in Lagos, Nigeria; by 2047 in Washington; by 2066 in Reykjavik, Iceland; and by 2071 in Anchorage.” Critics of global warming science believe global warming happens with or without human interaction and believe there is no point in trying to work against it. However, if we know it is happening – even if one group feels it is “natural” – then we should do something to change it.

We can try to repair the earth and attempt to reverse the damage we have already created. Cutting back on carbon and nitrogen emissions can help reduce the amounts in the air. Setting a pollution limit will force factories and companies to adhere to the rules. Even small things we can do every day, like carpooling or walking instead of driving, will help.

Global warming is real and we need to start opening our eyes. Nature is giving us every sign it can. If we don’t start trying to do something, it might be too late someday.