The earth is dying, right in front of us and yet we do nothing to stop it. Do I have your attention? If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m talking about global warming. Some say that the concept of this destruction isn’t real, but all they need to do is look around. Global warming is a serious problem, and if we don’t take steps to fix it now, we won’t be able to fix it.

Many have already realized the severity of this problem, and those people have started to take steps towards attempting to fix it. Granted these are steps in the right direction but it isn’t enough. One main thing that is causing this issue is the excessive amounts of pollution that is dumped into the atmosphere every year. On average, there is 37 billion tons of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere. 37 billion tons, and this amount is slowly rising each year. This pollution has slowly started tearing open a hole in our atmosphere. This hole has risen global temperatures about 33 degrees Fahrenheit. That is mind-boggling. This rise in temperatures has caused polar ice caps to melt which has resulted in more devastating floods and more occurring tsunamis. This isn’t the only problem though.

Not only is there excessive air pollution, but there is also tremendous see and ocean pollution. The earth’s waters are slowing beginning to fill up with items that don’t belong such as plastic, styrofoam as well as chemicals. On average, 14 billion pounds of trash is thrown into the ocean each year, and each year more and more sea-life die due to this debris and garbage. These deaths have caused a disturbance within some ecosystems. Many people may not see the effect of this issue now, but given time without proper care certain fish and crustaceans may no longer be widely available on store shelves due solely to the endangerment of their species. In addition to the debris that is now within our world’s oceans and seas, there are also chemicals residing within our waters. These chemicals have started to aid in the development of harmful algae, and harmful algae not only to the wildlife but also to us as humans. This algae if it is unchecked, can lead to huge problems down the road if unchecked. And yet again this isn’t the only other problem that we face.

In addition to the excessive pollution in both the air and water, there is also land pollution. This land pollution consists of all the waste that we humans throw out every day. I guarantee that you have walked down the street and looked around and noticed trash thrown anywhere that it could, beside curbs, in yards, etc. This garbage leads to issues within the natural ecosystem. Birds and many other animals eat this trash which in turn can either kill them or spread a sickness throughout that animal’s nest, pack or herd. These deaths and sicknesses throw off the natural balance of these ecosystems which in turn affects us. This could lead to a lack of seed being spread as well as the destruction of hives which would then lessen the already low pollination levels. These problems are real and are dangerous.

Granted there are many problems that have arisen due to mankind, they are not yet irreversible. We still have time to fix what we have done. We have time to go to more eco-friendly alternatives to power, which would cause less air pollution. We have time to figure out better ways to dispose of waste such as garbage and chemicals. Nothing we have done is permanent yet. We have time, we just have to open our eyes and see what is happening right in front of us.