Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Proposal
Proposal
Kevin Gonzalez
Carrie Hatfield
ENGL1302
Climate change is a problem which has plagued society. Climate change can have
devastating effects, from the melting of various ice sheets, to rising temperatures all
across the world. These things happen as a result of the greenhouse gas effect. When a
greenhouse gas, such as the extremely common carbon dioxide (Co2), gathers in large
amounts in the atmosphere, the gases trap in heat from the sun. This process already
occurs, but in manageable amounts. The Infared rays from the sun pass through the
atmosphere and after absorption into the nearest land mass, the heat releases back into
outer space (Baum et al). However, this process can be unhealthily interrupted by excess
clouds of gas which restrict this flow of heat back into outer space, causing global
heating (Baum et al). The severity of this climate change is possibly life threatening to
the human species. As the sea levels rise with the melting of the enormous ice sheets,
millions of lives could be disrupted or even lost (Foss). The rising heat would change the
way of life for billions of wildlife creatures, depleting their food sources due to drought,
and drastically disrupting the food chain and the way of life for regular humans
(Kabish). In order to prevent these things from occurring, the process of harvesting
trees needs to be reformed to better control those who harvest the lumber, the civilian
gasoline motor market must be phased out over the time span of a century through a bill
passed by Congress, every state in the United States needs a mandate requiring them to
record and meet a certain recycled waste requirement per capita, renewable energy
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needs prioritization from energy producing companies, and green and blue areas need
Tree harvesting companies must replant the massive amounts of trees they are
cutting down. These trees not only convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, they also release
their stores of carbon dioxide from within them. Not only is the planet losing its ability
to recycle the waste that humans produce, the planet is also increasing its emissions of
carbon dioxide. Each tree which is cut down must have a seed planted in its place. The
tree harvesting companies would be required to hire, using their own finances, a team of
laborers who ensure the new seed’s growth to adulthood, this action financially possible
through the massive profit these companies make through outsourcing their labor to
atmosphere, seeing as vehicular transport is needed by many for simple tasks, such as
going to work, or dropping off their kids at school. The carbon emitted by these
automobiles contribute to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which trap heat on
Earth. Although increasingly eco-friendly options for transport are being created using
hybrid electric engines, or even completely electric engines as seen in Tesla's design, in
the majority of countries on Earth, there is no plan to officially phase out the gasoline
engine for a friendlier counterpart. The governments of the world need to pass bills
civilian, gasoline powered engines for much more ecofriendly options. The only way this
companies operate at maximum efficiency for the highest profit, meaning that if they
would have to go out of their way to create a completely new design of cars, they will not.
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However, if the phase-out is required, and well designed to avoid loopholes, the
companies will have to comply and proceed to modernize. The manufacturers need to
improve their standards within cars to reduce the effects of climate change and
eventually lessen the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The reason the bill would be
a phase-out and not a ban, is because not everyone is able to pay for a brand-new
vehicle, and the banned vehicles, which in turn may then reside in the scrap yard, would
produce mass amounts of waste for no reason. This means that gasoline engines will still
exist in one hundred years, just not as something the civilian market can purchase. The
gasoline engines which already exist should still be able to operate freely. The phase out
would grandfather the current and the future gasoline engines that will be produced
Green and blue spaces should be required in every urban area to reduce the
effects of climate change. A green or blue space is simply an area of ecological value
within an urban area, such as a wildlife preservation area or a public park. These areas
not only alleviate the eyesore created as a result of miles of paved roads, they also
the modernization of the developed world, urban areas will continue to pop up around
the world. These densely packed urban areas can either contribute to the environmental
degradation associated with industrialization, or they can compromise and help sustain
exponentially, the need for urbanization will continue. This urbanization reduces the
vegetation available to convert greenhouse gases into oxygen. Along with this, more
waste is created with the increased population, requiring some sort of wildlife to offset
the increased waste. Creating green or blue spaces in already developed urban areas
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would invite many “potential challenges for successful implementation,” meaning that
well established areas are out of the question (Raskin). If future urban areas were
required to build or preserve a green and blue space within city limits, the negative
The dependency on fossil fuel for production requires a drastic reduction before
it is too late. The burning of fossil fuels is the largest contributor to “atmospheric Co2”
(Bala). Since the early 1990’s, the global Co2 amount has increased by “65%”, resulting
in an annual emission rate of over “40 billion tonnes” (Bala). Innovations in renewable
energy technology could reduce the global dependency on fossil fuels. Unfortunately, the
the energy produced from the burning of fossil fuels, evident by the amount of Co2
waste created every year. A dependency on renewable energy could also alleviate the
threat of dangerous nuclear meltdowns in nuclear power plants. When there is a nuclear
meltdown, toxic waste and radiation render entire cities uninhabitable, endangering the
wildlife and inhabitants in the surrounding area. This, only somewhat preventable
through placing plants out of reach from high activity areas, such as the San Andreas
fault line. However, nothing is fool proof, and accidents will happen. If the advancement
of safe, renewable energy can reduce the possibility of a nuclear meltdown, along with
reducing the yearly Co2 emissions, then renewable energy needs prioritization.
To increase the amount of waste being recycled, states must be held to a recycle
standard for every year. The recycle standard would cut the state’s funding to their
highest yearly expenditures if not properly met, encouraging states to raise the
awareness of their citizens. In response, the states would then have to start campaigns
to increase awareness, spreading facts and eye-opening evidence about the changing
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climate. It is currently understood that many people will not accept the reality of climate
change, unless “the effects can be seen locally” (Castree). The actions by the state could
be seen as a local effect by many Americans. Since the states would receive budget cuts
to their most important expenditures if the requirement is not met, they would prioritize
the awareness campaign over all current activities, being that many more changes would
have to be made to accommodate the lost budget. The ad campaign would then become
recycling in the minds of millions. Currently, the inhabitants of the world create such an
abundance of waste, that the Earth cannot meet the requirements needed to recycle this
amount every year. This waste stacks onto the current waste on Earth, resulting in worse
climate change as time continues. The effects of such vast amounts of waste can see
mitigation though, through the collective actions of the masses. If every person in
America were to recycle every bit of waste they could, then the total amount recycled
would be enormous. Such effects can be seen in the revenue collected by taxes, the
government has the ability to spend billions on a whim, only through the yearly
contribution made by the millions that pay taxes. Due to the increased recycling and
need for more convenient methods to do so, someone will likely innovate and create new
ways to recycle products. Innovation comes from a need for convenience and the large
amounts of recycling would attribute to that, helping to alleviate the effects of climate
change.
Climate change is an extremely serious problem, not to the Earth, but the
humans which inhabit it. The human species as a whole will need to adapt to the drastic
conditions that are setting upon the Earth, or face extinction. To avoid doing so,
gasoline engines need to be phased out, awareness of recycling must be raised, the tree
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areas must come with the addition of green and blue spaces, and renewable energy must
see prioritization. The results of these will help mitigate the negative repercussions and
Works Cited
Sustainability Crisis Eluding Us?." Current Science (00113891), vol. 112, no. 7,
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Baum, Seth D., et al. “Climate Change: Evidence of Human Causes and Arguments for
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11948-011-9270-6.
Human Geography, vol. 39, no. 1, Feb. 2015, pp. 115-118. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1177/0309132513516916.
Foss, Andrew. "Notes on the Essay Review by Henry Bauer of Climate Change:
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s-live.
Barriers, and Opportunities for Action." Ecology & Society, vol. 21, no. 2, June
Raskin, Ellis. "Urban Forests as Weapons against Climate Change: Lessons from
California's Global Warming Solutions Act." Urban Lawyer, vol. 47, no. 3,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=112460170&site=eh
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