What's the damage?

Most of the information I've gotten about the damage that has been caused has come from the book Our Angry Earth by Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl (published 20 years ago.. this is where I first understood just how late I was blooming) and the video Home:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU
I have learned about this from other sources as well, but these are the most recent sources, and the ones that made me really ready to take action.


So here's the inventory.
Our ozone layer is being depleted. Our water supply has been severely diminished. We are pumping carbon into the air that is supposed to be kept under ground. Our fast-paced method of farming is leaving our soil infertile. We are raising so much livestock that it is taking a serious toll on our land and water. We are burning fossel fuels and consuming fossel water, both which took thousands of years to create. Our ocean water is polluted. Much of our fresh water is unsuitable to drink. Many species are becoming extinct each year. Our coral reefs are dying because of climate change. Our polar ice caps are melting. Our rivers are drying up, and our ocean levels are rising. We are experiencing "once-in-a-lifetime" severe weather patterns several times per year. We are cutting down way too many trees (way too many is an understatement). The global temperature is rising. Nature's natural system of checks and balances is much slower than our rate of consumption. This means that the water cycle, tree life cycle, the ocean, the sun, the animals, bacteria, plants... they can't keep up. They can't help us.

These are serious problems, and they need serious solutions. We can do something about this! Here's why I think we can do something about it, because some the reasons we're polluting so much are kinda, well, dumb... and easy to fix.

What can we do?

Let's look at ozone depletion. Ozone is depleted by man-made chemicals called chloroflourocarbons, or CFCs. These chemicals are not poisonous to us, but react with and destroy Ozone molecules. CFCs have an extremely long life span. Let's hear what good old Asimov and Pohl have to say about it: "It takes about fifteen years for CFC to migrate from its source in a chemical factory to the stratosphere. Then, once there, it is estimated that each molecule of CFC will last for about a century, during which time it will destroy about 100, 000 molecules of ozone." 100,000 molecules of Ozone for every one molecule of CFC!

What do we use CFCs for? They used to be in hair spray and spray-on deoderants, but that was outlawed (in North America, but their use is still prevalent elsewhere in the world). They are still used to make the bubbly styrofoam that keeps everything warm/cool and they are used in air conditioners and fridges. Other ozone-unfriendly gases, called dioxins, are produced when paper products are bleached. That's a high price to pay for white toilet paper and tampons.. What's wrong with a slightly darker color?

For ozone damage, let's work on some alternatives, and use unbleached (preferably even recycled) paper, toilet paper, napkins, etc.

Let's look into the issue of global warming and carbon emissions. Fossil fuels is simply energy from the sun that's been captured by leaves, kept inside trees, buried, compressed, and fossilized. What it comes down to is oil is fossilized energy from the sun. Why don't we use the sun directly- solar panels? Wind energy? Alternative energy in its various forms?

What about water pollution? Let's not pollute!! Let's buy less plastics, use natural cleaning products, and encourage manufacturing that doesn't product hazardous waste.

Fresh water depletion? Let's harvest rain in rain barrels and water our lawns. Let's forget about fancy sprinkler systems and pools (this one sucks for me.. my dream house definitely includes a gigantic pool with fountains and waterslides... but oh well. there is still lakes/oceans to swim in.). Let's stop wasting it!

We can fight deforestation by increasing the demand for products that use annually renewable sources such as corn or hemp, and encouraging the manufacture of products that use recycled materials.

WE can control the market. WE ARE THE MARKET! WE ARE THE CONSUMERS! YAY FOR US! ~I'll be posting on this topic soon~ I love this topic! It gives us a lot of control and the solutions will make our society thriftier, and more community oriented. We can't lose!~


Scientists say that we have about 10 years to make some big changes. Let's make them! :)


I would love comments/elaborations. Please feel free! :)