A sink left on in a bathroom. A light forgotten and not turned off. A car started and left idling in a driveway. That’s all it takes, with millions of people adding to it, to contribute to the one of the greatest hazards facing the entire world today: Global Warming. Global Warming, which is how gases humans produce in many ways are rising up into the atmosphere and creating a greenhouse affect, is a serious danger that is facing our world, and in order to stop it we must immediately take action. Global Warming is a huge threat to all humanity, and the way we currently live today. Global Warming has made changes in our environment already, including a decrease in snow and cold weather. Many people in America ski, snowboard, or other activities in the snow, but Global Warming can decrease that. Already in America the snowfall has decreased greatly, and decreasing snowfall also means less water in the summer in major river basins (NWF). Global Warming is looming on the horizon of our society, and something must be done to decrease it. The changes in Earth and our atmosphere are already taking place, and they will only get worse. The actual damage Global Warming can do is colossal, and it is advancing at a terrifying and fast rate. Melting polar ice caps, raising sea levels, increasing intensity and frequency of hurricanes are just some of the horrible things Global Warming can do. Almost 100% of hurricanes and tropical storms have increased in intensity and duration because of Global Warming (Numbers). If this continues, the number of death and destruction due to natural disasters will rise. But that is not the only thing that will rise due to hurricanes. The United States government has spent over $100 billion dollars in hurricane damages alone in 2005, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. And where do these expenses come from? Who pays for them? You said it, “The taxpayers of America.” These changes in the Earth are coming closer and closer, and if we do not act now Global Warming will only get worse, and that in turn increasing the tax money. Many people think Global Warming is just a phase the Earth is experiencing. Some people don’t even think Global Warming is real. What these people do not know are the facts. Global Warming is not a natural phase the Earth is experiencing. People are causing it by cutting down trees, burning fossil fuel, and other things (Myths and Facts). Although the Earth has survived through natural changes in the environment, Global Warming is not unnatural and is completely man-made. Because more forests and trees are being cut down and fuels are being burned, more CO2 is being released into the air than what was released in past thousands of year (Myths and Facts). Today’s CO2 levels are 25% higher than they have been in the past 650,000 years (Myths and Facts). The Earth has gone through many natural changes in the past, but none have been this bad or sudden. Another common belief that some people think about Global Warming is that it is not real. Some of the top scientists have disproved this thought, according to the Environmental Defense Agency.
“The scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action. It is vital that all nations identify cost-effective steps that they can take now, to contribute to substantial and long-term reduction in net global greenhouse gas emissions.” The National Academy of Sciences said this in partners with many other counties around the world (Myths and Facts). Global Warming is not natural, and because humans are the ones who have caused it, we are the ones who need to take action now. Overall, Global Warming is a looming disaster in the future of the Earth. Global Warming affects everything and everyone, and something must be done to stop its progression.