Reflection Post

       It doesn't matter who you are, everybody is impacted by global issues in some way. Take climate change in Washington for an example, they are only one of the many places taking the hits because of what we are doing. Since we all share the earth, when somebody does something harmful to the earth, doesn't necessarily mean there region is going to be punished for it, unlucky for Washington as of right now they are taking the punishment right now.

       Yes, everyone is capable of contributing to a positive change when it comes to climate change. What many people think is you have to be a millionaire to even think of helping stop climate change. Well, you don't because when you are talking about such a large issue like this, it is the small things that will eventually add to make a difference. For example, recycling, everybody is capable of recycling.

       Even the smallest of actions like turning the lights off when you leave a room can bring about the biggest change. If everybody could shut their lights off when they are not of use imagine how much energy we could be saving. The more energy that we save means the less energy that we need which then leads to less greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere and a better chance at stopping climate change.

       Global and local issues really do require a logical and problem solving approach. If we all randomly went and tried to be that big super hero that stopped climate change what good would that do. If we all teamed up and went over possible solutions to stop climate change, we would be more beneficial that way. So yes I truly believe that whether it is a global or issue they do need a good, logical, problem solving approach.

       How do we balance the world's need for resources and products with the protection of the people and environment? First of all, instead of only buying from one place in the world we should try and spread out where we but our goods from as evenly as possible so one country doesn't run out of that good. Also, I think that if they made more products fair trade, it will be more beneficial for the producer because they would get the money they deserve for producing their product.     

       Who should be in charge of finding a solution to climate change in Washington, the government, different corporations, or individuals? I feel that even though us as individuals can do a lot in helping, it is the government and some corporations that would give the biggest push into helping end climate change in Washington. Climate change is such a big issue, and everybody  has to be pulling their end of the stick if they want to find a solution. As of right now it is only the corporation that are pulling their end of the stick, if we want to find a solution us as individuals and the government have to start contributing.

       I wish I could say that things have gotten better or even stayed the same over the past few decades, but I can’t. Although, we have grown economically, I strongly believe that things have only gotten worse and are going to stay like that is we don't do something about. For the past few decades it certainly seems like climate change has been steadily going up and nobody has done anything about it. When you stop and think about it, we should be thankful that we are not in the position that the citizens of Washington are suffering through.

       After reading my blog I hope everyone has learned a lot from it and seen my point of view on climate change. I encourage everybody to raise awareness to this issue by telling your friends, family or by sharing it via Facebook. The people of Washington are suffering through climate change so I feel by raising awareness of this issue is the least we can do to help them and stop climate change.  

 

 

Who Is Involved Detrimentally

       When people hear the words climate change, they immediately think of the places that have been seriously affected by it, such as Washington. The one thing they don't think of though is who is making it worse and why are they making it worse. What some people don't realize is that Canada is actually one of the places making worse, Along with the USA and China. What is making it worse is the amount of greenhouse gases these countries are putting into the air. As of 2012, those three countries are in the top ten for most greenhouse gases produced and that is what is making climate change worse. Not to mentions all of the people in Washington who are suffering because of this.  

       

Firstly, Canada is ranked eighty out of all the countries in the world from most greenhouse gas emissions produced. They released over 560,000 tons of carbon dioxide in 2012.  What this shows it that Canadians use way more energy than they need, and when this happens it  forces us to make more energy and produce more greenhouse gases or carbon dioxide. Also, this shows that we have yet to find a good clean alternative source of energy. Nothing has happened to stop this since 2012, so it would not surprise me if we stayed at the same rank or even moved up.

      

Secondly, USA is ranked second when it comes to most greenhouse gases produced. In 2012 USA released a little over five million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. There is no wonder why climate change just keeps steadily getting worse and worse. USA’s population is so big you can understand why carbon dioxide production is might be bigger than other countries, but there is no reason it has to be this big.

        Lastly, China, it is good to be at the top of the charts when you are talking about music but not so much when you are talking about the production of greenhouse gases. China has produced just under ten million tons of carbon dioxide. If we were to compare countries, China produces almost twenty times more carbon dioxide than Canada. That is Crazy! If there is any country in need of a desperate change it is China. They are the biggest contributor to climate change and that has to stop. If they and the rest of the countries that are ranked in the top ten don't do something now, we could start seeing more of the undeservingly countries get hit by climate change.

 

 

      

How is Canada Involved

  

Since climate change is only affecting a few places all over the world as of right now, Why should we as Canadians worry about what's going in let's say Washington, when it won’t benefit us in anyway. You can think of this like a cause and effect situation, if we keep doing what we are doing, the affect will be that Washington keeps getting hit by climate change. What if the tables were turned and we were the ones getting affected by climate change. It would suck! That, why we should follow the golden rule, treat others the way you want to be treated. One way Canada is involved is in the last decade we as a country have been ranked in the top 10 for the most Greenhouse gas emission produced and we are on our way to being in the top five. A drastic change has to happen sooner rather than later if we want to get off this list. Secondly, Canada does not support any foundations that are trying to raise awareness of climate change. We as Canadians are just pushing climate change to the side and not worrying about the people who are suffering through it like the people of Washington. Lastly, although all of the bad things that Canada has done to contribute to this issue, we are taking some actions into finding a solution. For example, Canada has just recently starting investing money into helping places adapt to climate change like Washington. I think this is a good first step into finding a way to stop climate change but we have to keep building off of this.

 

 

 

 

My Plan To Help

My plan to help climate change is to focus in on raising awareness of this natural upcoming issue to the citizens of Washington and on a smaller scale for the rest of the world. I am going to try my best in to promoting and sharing my blog to friends, family, and quite possibly social media. Secondly, I am going to try to be more energy efficient. I am going to try to remember to do the little energy saving necessities that most people forget to do. For example, shutting the lights off when I leave a room and unplugging my chargers when I am done with them. Thirdly, i am going to start recycling and start promoting recycling. What many people don't know is that pollution is one of the main causes for climate change, so if everybody took a few seconds out of there day and actually put their garbage in the right container, they would be helping stop climate change. Also, I am going to start taking my bike more often and start car-pooling to my sports events. When you drive a car, you are releasing carbon dioxide into the air. The carbon dioxide heats up the earth and that's what causes the climate to change, so I am going to limit the amount of time I spend in a motorized vehicle. Finally, I am going to look in to foundations that support climate change and are willing to start making a change as soon as possible. If i do find one I will make a donation towards that foundation, it might not be a lot, but a little can go a long way.

 

 

 

Challenges Involved

There are lots of problems and challenges with regards to climate change in Washington, but I believe that the most significant are getting people educated/getting the word out, Switching to clean alternative forms of energy and that this issue is not an short term fix, it will take time to make a different.

People around the world, are not educated on this topic nor do they even know this natural issue exists. One of the reason climate change is getting worse is because people don't know it is happening therefore they do nothing about it and Washington like many other places are taking the hits because of it. If more people knew about climate change and it deadly affects more people would make it a priority in finding ways to help stop it.

Another big challenge we face is tiring to which from using greenhouse gases to good clean alternative sources of energy. The reason this is one of the bigger issues we face is because in 2010 the studies show that in Washington, out of all the electrical energy they used, forty percent of it was from greenhouse gas emission and since then, it has only been raising. Luckily for Washington, this is one of the easier challenges to overcome. All they need to do is switch to an alternative source of energy and limit the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced.   

 

 Like most of the challenges we face, it takes time to fix it and climate change is no exception to this. You can't just wake up and expected climate change to be gone and I think that is what most of the citizens of Washington are doing. They and all of us need to realize that even though you many have taken your bike for a change, it doesn't mean you stopped climate change. We as global citizens have to be persistent with doing the little things to help end climate change, but we have to remember it takes time.

How Can Individuals Get Involved

      

Many citizens of the world under estimate what climate change can do and they just push it to the side and focus on what they think are the important issues such as global poverty. Although, global poverty is a big issue, we should not try to avoid climate change because it can cause a lot of damage to people that are not expecting it. Take Washington for an example, they can be considered as one of the unexpected places to be hit by climate change. Everything was relatively normal with Washington until they got a drastic change in their climate which leads to a rise in the sea level, which leads to more floods. You may ask “What can I do as an individual to help with this issue and wouldn’t it cost a lot of money to try to tackle this issue?” well, facts show that it is not as expansive as people for take it to be. The reason it is not as expensive is because there are lots of little thing that occur in our everyday lives that we can do to play a role in helping stop climate change. We could do something as simple as turning of the lights when you leave a room, taking your bike instead of a car or putting your garbage in the right container. When you are leaving a room and you don't turn off the lights, you will not only get a high electrical bill, you would be considered one of the many people who are contributing to climate change. The reason not turning the lights effects climate change is because the majority of people in the world get there energy from fossil fuels and when you do so it releases too much CO2 into the air where it is trapped by the atmosphere. When this happens, and the CO2 heats up the earth, this will lead to changes in the climate. By taking your bike instead of a car, you are actually stopping CO2 from getting out and heating up the earth. As it stands right now, transportation causes around twenty five percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, so if we can limit our transportation time we would be doing the world a big favor. After you are done with you garbage if you can take the extra two seconds and put it in the right garbage can, it will eventually start to add up, and make a difference. Similar to transportation, Buried garbage such as paper or plastic produce methane which contributes to about eighteen percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. So in the end, if even half the people in the world could do these harmless events we could be that much closer to helping stop climate change.