Global Terror?

Morality—Global Terror
Life as we know it depends on cycles. Every morning the sun rises and we roll over, hit our alarm clock, and jump into our daily routine. Our routine or cycle gives us comfort and frees us to live our lives. In the same way, our world is dependent on cycles. The earth is on a 24 hour cycle which spins around the sun every 365 and ¼ days a year. It is this cycle that gives our seasons. In the summer months we experience the warmth of the sun and in the winter months we feel the strong bite of winter.
These seasons keep our world working together like a perfect symphony. And like in a symphony, if any instrument is off tune, then the entire peace of music is pulled out of tune. There must be balance. All of history has enjoyed this song—this balance. The topic of Global Warming is in fact the signaling of an out of tuned instrument, which is causing this highly orchestrated world that we all call home, to lose its balance. Global Warming is in fact a global terror. If left unaddressed, this unbalance can have drastic effects on earth bringing life as we know it to an end. But, Global Warming is not so much a political problem but more of a moral issue within society.

What is Global Warming?
As the earth rotates around the sun, we receive solar radiation and the planet is heated. Some of the heat is absorbed while other radiation bounces off and is trapped by the atmosphere. This trapped air is essential to the planet as it keeps a relative stable temperature that is needed for life. However, in the recent years there has been increased consumption of fossil fuels. When the consumption is coupled with a decrease of Photosynthesis due to deforestation, we are left to a growing amount of Carbon Dioxide in the environment. Carbon Dioxide is known and widely accepted as a Green House Gas which, by definition, acts as a blanket trapping solar radiation heat, thus causing an increase in the global yearly average temperature, called Global Warming. Like in the human body, when temperature is affected even by a few degrees, the body responds dramatically with chills, aching, and fatigue until the temperature falls back to the normal range. The earth is very similar in this regard, once the temperature begins to rise there are drastic effects that can be seen in environment such as heat waves, glaciers melting, and even recent studies show emerging viruses. We are tied to this cycle around the sun in its normal and unchanging form. Our life, body and world depend on the balance of seasons.

The key Players
But what causes Global Warming that would be considered of moral significance? A key player, as stated earlier, is the recent increased consumption of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are primarily hydrocarbons that are created through the decay of plants and animals. When the natural decay of pants and animals has been broken down by the Carbon Cycle the result is the production of fossil fuels deep in the soil (eg. Petroleum, coal, etc) sometimes, released by way of Methane gas. From the time of the Industrial Revolution, 1750’s, humans needed a reliable source of energy, fossil fuels were found to be cheap and vastly available. However, history as our witness, the leading edge of technology always needs to be guarded with cautious restraint and diligent research. Over the past thirty years we have turned away from such research and caution. Now we are faced with a problem of Global proportions.
From the 1950’s, the rise of Green House Gas has been on the steady incline. Not only due to the use of fossil fuels but also deforestation which is another key player in Global Warming. The decrease in photosynthesis for the expansion of our human economy and production has caused several natural-man made disasters. For example, in 2003 the entire continent of Europe was stricken with a heat wave. This heat wave consisted of higher heat for a longer period of time than ever on European record. Globally speaking, since time of records, the ten hottest years have all been in the last 14 years. Recent data from both polar ice caps have been released claiming that the ice sheets have already began to split and separate, breaking off into the ocean. Many, if not all, of the scientific society attribute the polar ice caps breaking off, to the elevated oceanic temperatures. A consequence of the breaking ice caps, if left unaddressed, would raise the ocean level by 20 feet world-wide. Naturally, this would have catastrophic results.

Misconceptions of Global Warming

Among the world’s countries, regretfully, America is among the top contributors to the out of tune instrument – Global Warming. The reason America leads the world in the problem of Global Warming rather than the solution is lack of knowledge and misconceptions about the facts contributing to Global Warming. The first, which is trivial when one looks at the logic behind the thinking, is people believe that Global Warming is directly tied to our economy. They believe we have to choose between environment and economy. Al Gore once said, “What gets us into trouble, is not what we don’t know, but rather what we know, that just ain’t so.” Judging by our need for energy specifically in transportation and communication it may be easy to jump to this conclusion. However if life as we know ceases to exist, which would be the final product of Global Warming, then there is really no need for economic growth!
The second misconception is there is a great deal of division among the scientific community. However, a recent study claimed, among the scientific community, nearly all parties involved agree that the current weather cycles and recent rise in emerging viruses, all directly correspond to the rising Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of knowledge gap between science and the American public. This opens the door for our leaders to stand in the gap and relay the vital message of what to do about this serious problem.

Solutions: Tribal vs. individual

One of the advantages of finding solutions to Global Warming lies near to the general public. In addition to writing new laws and mandating new guidelines for Carbon Dioxide emissions, one does not need to be a political leader to be a power player in finding a solution to Global Warming. There are several important areas which an individual, requiring little time or work, can have drastic effects on Global Warming. First, find ways to recycle more. A family of four can save 2400 hundred pounds of Carbon Dioxide production if they recycle half of their yearly household waste. Secondly, by using less hot water on clothes and extended showers. Interestingly, an individual can save 500 pounds of Carbon Dioxide just by change to a low flow shower head in their home. Also, by turning off electronic devices which are not being used, called phantom volts, DVD players, stereos, computers, and printers a household can save thousands of pounds of Carbon Dioxide a year.
All of these small elements, if applied by everyone, add up to a huge savings in the production of the harmful Green Houses Gases that have already begun their destructive pattern on our planet. So while the politicians do what they can in creating laws and scientists do what they can in researching solutions the general public is now left with a moral responsibility in the solution.