Make the Change!

By: Tania Patino

Climate change has been around for many decades and was believed it was a natural phenomenon, until
recent years scientists have discovered that we are whom to blame for this change. The planet is warming,
humans are mostly to blame (Than, 2005). One of the biggest causes of climate change are greenhouse gases.
Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2) caused by the burning of fossil fuels, methane (CH4) emitted by
the production of coal, natural gas, and oil, nitrous oxide (N2O) produced by agricultural and industrial activities,
and fluorinated gases that are produced by certain industrial processes. Many gas emissions are being released
by industries and even by the cars we drive every day. According to the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 82% of the greenhouse
emissions affecting the planet are caused by carbon dioxide (

). Electricity
having the highest percentage of this emissions by 32%, transportation having
a percentage of 28%, and industries having 20% (United States Environmental
Protection Agency, 2014). The U.S. government is already controlling
industries with their gas emissions, but they cannot control it all. Energy and
transportation is something they want to regulate but it can be almost
impossible to achieve that. You can make the difference, you can help your
planet, and you can build a better planet for the future. Saving energy does
not only benefit the environment but it benefits you, economically. I invite
you to use light bulbs that save energy, to unplug every cable connected to the wall, to turn off the lights, and
make a change! By a survey performed, 55% people agreed that by saving energy, recycling, and that by using
bikes and car pulling climate change can be slowed down. The EPA assures that by buying and using a fuel -
efficient and low-greenhouse vehicle you can cut gas emissions that affect the planet and you can save money.
Cars made before the 1900s are the cars that create most
pollution to the environment. We should all be buying cars that will
benefit us economically and that will keep our planet cleaner and
away from high temperatures. Now agency cars have created
fuel-efficient and low-greenhouse vehicles. Ford has created
EcoBoost cars that help save fuel, and has created an All-Energy
car that relies only on energy and does not produce carbon
dioxide. Toyota, Honda, Ford and other agencies have also
created Hybrid cars that can be run by electricity or by fuel (Ford,
2014). All hybrid cars are made to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
and to save the nations dependence on oil. I believe that by
using new car models and using LED light bulbs we can make the difference, we can save energy, save oil , save
money, and prevent the planet from warming every day. But it makes clear that lowering emissions, by some
means, is the only way to lower the risks (Gillis, 2014). We the people who made climate change happen we
can control it and create a better planet for the future. Every human being should contribute to make the
change toward a cleaner and better planet. As president Barack Obama said act before its too late (White
House, n.d.).




References
Ford Motor Company (2014). Fuel efficiency. Ford. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from http://www.ford.com/green/fuel-
efficiency/?searchid=63775474|2005964554|18795577&ef_id=UlxYwgAAAKywSyxl:20140511222711:s
Gillis, Justin (2014, March 18). Scientists Sound Alarm on Climate. The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2014,
from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/science/scientists- sound-alarm-on-climate.html?_r=0
Than, Ker (2005, June 21). How global warming is changing the wild kingdom. Livescience. Retrieved May 6, 2014,
from http://livescience.com/3864-global-warming-changing-wild-kingdom.html
The White House. Climate Change (n.d.). The White House. Retrieved May 6, 2014. Retrieved from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/climate-change
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2014, May 6). Climate change. United States Environmental
Protection Agency. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/