Most people in Palos Verdes, California, my hometown located in Southern California, do not believe in using the term global warming, instead they call it “climate change”. In their minds, changes on earth were brought about by an increase in temperature; however, they never really cared about learning more about the effects of “climate change”. So you can say that I grew up in an area that is not very environmentally friendly.

Luckily I have my dad who is extremely interested in global warming and wanting to save our earth. He made me watch the Al Gore movie, The Inconvenient Truth and explained to me what global warming is but at that age I still did not really understand it. After a couple years my dad went out and bought a Nissan Leaf which I was not too happy about. I thought it was the most unattractive car on the market and did not want to be seen it. To me it looked like a space ship and looked like it was from the future. My dad had to explain to me how this car is going to help our earth and to see pass the unattractiveness. After I started understanding global warming, I started seeing more electric cars everywhere.

I think many people do not buy electric cars because of the way they look which is true but they need to see the pros about the car. Some things you may not know about the leaf is it is 100% all electric, it provides an 84 miles of driving range on a single charge of its 24 kilowatt-hour battery pack, and you can lease it for $200 which is cheaper than putting gas in the car for the month. If the homeowner has solar panels installed in their home than charging the car is totally emission free. It also provides you with an on-the-go charger in case you run out of miles, you can plug it in anywhere. But charging stations are becoming more common in places like malls, grocery stores, drug stores, and even have front row parking. There is also an app where you can see on the go how much charge you have instead of going in your car to look. Other then the fact that the car looks like a space ship, the inside has a button that you move around to put the car in drive, reverse, and neutral.

Getting a Nissan Leaf will save the 100,000 ppm of carbon monoxide from driving a car for a minute. An article I read about electric cars says, “drivers should feel confident that owning an electric vehicle is a good choice for reducing global warming, pollution, cutting fuel costs, and slashing oil consumption”. Buying a Nissan Leaf is one big change to our earth and I read that Nissan Leaf outsold every other electric car manufacturer. In 2011 almost more than 40,000 Americans own a Nissan Leaf and 92,000 globally. Could you imagine what it would do to our environment if 50% of our population owned a Nissan Leaf or an electric car? It is not only saving you money on gas but it is also helping the environment. In conclusion, after owning a Nissan Leaf for three years we put $60,000 miles on the car and it still charged up to 70%.

While searching the internet to learn more about the Nissan Leaf, I came across a blog from a guy about his life owning a Nissan Leaf. I attached the link so you can all read about it

By definition global warming is the gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. What does all of that mean?  Those that are unaware of global warming and the fact that it is a real thing, and it’s happening to the very planet that we all live on need to know that it’s important we start to pay attention. Because it is due to our lack of attention that this is happening in the first place. I think that the lack of knowledge and publicity about global warming can be attributed to a lack of understanding. So, to put it in simpler terms, air pollution is collecting in the earth’s atmosphere and thus trapping in the suns heat causing the entire planet to gradually warm up. How is it affecting us? This is a question that is difficult to answer and is a reason why there are so many people that don’t believe that global warming is real. Because there is no direct effect on our daily lives, apparently that constitutes non-belief, which in turn results in lack of action to work toward any kind of resolution. Because the effects of global warming are hard to predict, I feel as though that is all the more reason to care. As humans, we possess this fear of the unknown. We fear our futures because none of us know what it entails. But in most cases that is in reference to things like careers, relationships, and our individual person in general. But not knowing anything about global warming isn’t cause for concern? Apparently the fact that the world is essentially dying doesn’t strike as much fear in people as potentially having to work at McDonalds for the rest of their lives, or potentially ending up alone. Some very real and recent effects of global warming to name a few, are various droughts, wildfires, rising sea levels, animal extinction and in some cases human death due to heat stroke. What can we do to be proactive about global warming and what preventative steps can we take in our daily lives now before global warming actually affects us on a day-to-day basis? It’s simple! Conserve energy. Use florescent light bulbs, be conscious of how much water you’re using, walk more drive less, or, bike more drive less. If walking or biking isn’t a suitable option for you then look into hybrid vehicles and just smaller vehicles in general. Another great way to help is just to talk about global warming, raise awareness and create a sense of urgency, I can understand that we don’t want people in constant panic mode because that would result in chaos but it is something that we should be scared of and that warrants a fire to be lit under all of our feet because not enough people are doing anything about it when everybody should be.

Before taking this class I had very minimal knowledge and awareness on the subject of climate change/global warming. After doing a couple of the assigned readings and hearing discussions in class I have come to the realization, like many of my other classmates, that climate change is real, it’s happening now as I sit and write this post, and it’s effects are tragic resulting in immeasurable calamities. Water and food shortages, lack of social services, diseases, floods, and droughts are just a few calamities that come to mind. Before, when I would hear or read discourse on global warming and climate change I would blow it off my shoulder, thinking that other people in higher positions of power have it under control.

After reading more extensively and learning about the topic during the past couple of weeks, that doesn’t seem to be the case. I have gained a newfound passion towards preventing climate change and it’s extremely harmful and life threatening effects. In the short story Diary of an Interesting Year, the author Helen Simpson writes a fictional narrative that illustrates the destruction of planet Earth due to climate change.

The narrator conveys her story in first person using the format of a diary. Using a diary to share her story and phrasing her thoughts in sentences that are considered normal dialogue makes it more of a personal and intimate experience with the audience which I personally find to be more interesting as a reader. I find this style of writing to be relatable and helpful in trying to bring your perspectives and points to light. I also believe that conveying a story in this particular format is informative, especially a story with such a serious issue as its main backdrop. Throughout the story there are many parts which describe the drastic effects of climate change on human life such as; untreatable diseases due to lack of social services (102), unhealthy and polluted air (102), rationing food as a result of a permanent shortage (103), lack of water (103), and deaths (107). Contine reading →

After reading stories that summarize our future as humans living on Earth in years such as 2040, I tried imagining where I would be in the situation of climate change and its destruction. I will be 45 years of age, hopefully with a loving husband and kids. Then it hit me, my kids would be living a life not even close to a life I had lived. They’ll grow up in poverty and hunger. Where the idea of “wrong” seems to be the only choice to live by. They’ll grow up without knowing the excitement of reality TV shows or vacations to tropical places. Lavishes will turn extinct and happiness will come from having food on the table that night.

The short story “Diary of an Interesting Year” by Helen Simpson is what makes me contemplate this future. Poverty is the only way of life in this story and even though it isn’t a true story, it has truth within it. If we don’t start changing habits or helping our Earth preserve itself our kids could face a world that’s been destroyed by it’s humans. Even worse, a world myself and all the other people who didn’t do anything to help destroyed. Contine reading →

I personally have never thought about the damages climate change could have until this class. This class talks about what the future holds for us here on earth. We have done some readings about how people are handing climate change. In a story called, The Weatherman by Holly Howitt, talks about a man who gets a job for the weather and gets to control the weather. He gets to make it rain, snow, and make storms. He and his wife Marly are a part of the green people society. That means they are not in harm of damages from climate change. Since the husband works for the weather their family is not in harm. Marly does not think that his job is fair because there are people suffering because of climate change. Marly said, They were filthy starving. Half dead. And here we are, us fat green people, getting everything we want and destroying everyone else”(Howitt, 136). This is a strong message because it shows what the other side is going through. If I was a news reporter and knew what was going on with other people I would try my best to help out in any way I could. It shows that food and water are scare during this period. The wife makes a point to be realistic and think about other people instead of just them.

I picked this picture from a website called, Global Warming: Causes and Consequences because it has as strong meaning it shows the two different sides. One side illustrates a pretty sky and the city is in good condition. The other side is showing what global warming is doing to our planet. It proves a message that one day our planet is going to look like this. The skies will not be blue anymore but instead coved with dust and smoke. This picture makes me worry because when this starts to happen I will be alive during it.

In another story we read in class called, The Siphoners by David Mitchell was a story about how when people turn sixty you have to take a sleeping potion. The sleeping potion kills you because the younger generation needs the food. A man named Hija does not let his grandma take the potion because he wants her to live. I do not think the age sixty is fair because that is still a young age. When Hija was talking to the emperor he said, “your majesty”. The emperor wondered who taught him that and he told him it was his grandmother. Then Haji explained that his grandmother lived past her sixtieth birthday. The emperor got very upset and the Haji said, “ I am afraid, but fear or no fear, how could I alter one world” (Mitchell, 140). This shows that even if Hija does have fear he still wants to change the world. The world is in danger but he still has hope about making a difference. Overall, global warming is a problem that we all need to be thinking about because it can affect all of us in some way.  Contine reading →

It’s safe to say that we all have heard about Global Warming in some shape or form. Most commonly, we have heard of the escalating temperatures it has caused; however, there are many more side affects, such as rising food prices, sea levels, and species extinction. Global Warming has already affected our communities and will continue do so. At this point, we can only slow this problem that we created, so why not adjust according? It’s time for us to adapt to our new conditions by preserving the natural resources we have left, and making the transition to green communities/lifestyles.

We should start with addressing our personal lives. It can be as simple as limiting ourselves to ten minute showers, only doing large laundry loads, unplugging our electronics when we aren’t using them, or just turning our sink faucet on and off when washing dishes and brushing our teeth. We don’t need to cut ourselves off, but just learn to be aware of the amount of resources we are using and noticing when we are being wasteful.

I know it’s hard to believe that one person can make a global difference, but if 300 million people alter their lifestyles too, we will conserve a vast amount of natural resources! But, in order to tackle the health of our atmosphere, we must reduce the amount of toxic emissions that are released from our corporations and vehicles and transition to more energy efficient and environmental friendly techniques. Contine reading →