Energy The American Way of Life
By Karen Morris
Some people say:
That global warming is
a good thing for mother
earth. With warmer
weather there would be
less harsh winters. The
harvest would be
longer. Colder climates
will use less heat which
would save on gas and
electricity.
But this tread has a ugly side
It will create more bugs that
carry diseases, increase in
droughts, water shortages,
flooding in some regions,
health issues and the Green
House effect. Impact of global
warming in the United States
and the measures that need
to be taken to reverse this
trend is a slow process that
we need to take seriously.
 US heat waves normally last 2 or 3 days.
 In the last 50 years it has tripled
 Of Weather related deaths heat waves are
the greatest.
 People die of cardio arrest, respiratory
arrest and stroke.
 In 1995 a tragic heat wave in Chicago
Illinois 7 lives were claim when
temperatures reached 106*, with in a week
or two 800 more die of serious
complication cause by the heat wave.
In 2003 Europe Heat wave claimed
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14,802 die in France
7,000 in Germany
4,230 in Spain
Over 4,175 in Italy
This is a rare event but
evident. Heat wave deaths
are predicted to double by
2020 if global warming is
not curbed.
The Green House Effect works when the sun comes through the glass of the green house. Glass is
transparent, therefore the plants and soil absorb some of the heat, but the heat that is trap can not
escape. This causes the temperatures to rise inside. The absorption of the light turns the sun rays into
energy and the energy becomes heat. If you open the glass windows the heat can escape an the green
house would become cooler inside.
The same thing happens with our atmosphere. Our atmosphere is transparent, which allows the visual light from the sun rays to
enter the atmosphere. The heat is absorbed by the surface of the earth. The earth is then heated up, instead of the heat
escaping into space, it is trap by the ozone layer The green house gases such as water vapors and carbon dioxide are trapped
in between when it leaves the earth surface. This is call the blanket effect. We are putting a blanket over the earth that keeps the
earth insulated, the same way you would put a blanket over yourself at night to say warm.
The concern is that mankind is changing
the green house effect.
 With the increase of
industries we have
increased the amount of
emission of carbon dioxide
that are release into the
atmosphere by adding
coal, water and gases to
the earth atmosphere. We
are just adding more and
more blankets over the
earth. This is making the
earth warmer than it has
been in millions of years.
How did this happen?
-With more cars on the road.
-Dependence on gasoline.
–The use of electricity.– All power was produced by global warming.
Extreme Climate Events
 Extreme climate events like storms, heat waves and blizzards.
 More extreme rain in areas that are already wet will result in flooding.
 In areas that are already dry, they will have increase in drought and
heat waves and water shortages.
 Places with moderate rain will decrease in rainfall.
Our Water Supply
Our society depends on water supply, when we want it and how we
want. This will change as the effect of our snow packs decrease and
are limited to the amount of water we can store. In the western states
75% of the water supply comes from snow packs. States that rely on
snow packs for water, provides our nations’ fresh fruit. The warmer the
climate the less snow we will have.
No water, No fruits , No vegetables, No farmers
– Since 1950, spring snow packs has declined as much as 60%
– Alaska climate has change to warmer weather by 5%
What else could change?

In San Diego alone it is proof
with the firestorm of 2003, which
took 16 lives and destroyed
2,820 homes and buildings.
 Then the 2007, fires that took 9
lives and 1,500 homes and
buildings.
 Today our county is faced with
water rationing with strict water
uses. With less rain this will
increase the number of dead
trees and vegetations, therefore,
a higher chance of forest fires.
Animals are faced with extinction
 Animals that are
 Bugs that do not do
adapted to colder
well in cold climates
climate will be forced
will do well in warm
to move or face
climate which will
extinction. ¼ of all
increase the spread of
plant and animal
diseases that they
species could face
carry.
extinction by the end of
the century due to
global warming.
 In 1999, the West Nile Virus was first detected
in New York City. It has now spread to 48
states in the US. Public health and safety is at
risk, the cost to change is expensive, if we
don’t do anything now, this will transfer the
cost to our children and our children’s,
children. Which by then will be even more
expensive and more damage to the earth
atmosphere will be at risk.
 More than 70% of the earth’s
surface is covered by water.
Since 1970, the average
numbers of category 4 and 5
hurricanes per year has nearly
double. Hurricanes are one of
the most destructive natural
catastrophes that can happen.
Hurricanes coverts heat and
energy into wind energy. The
heat comes from the ocean as it
warms the waters. The average
hurricane can carry 2 trillion
watts of power, that’s enough to
light 20 billion light bulbs.
If you can recall the devastating cat of Hurricane
Katrina in New Orleans on August 29 2005, this is
proof what global warming is doing to our
environment.
The Future Is In Our Control
 The US use more energy than any country in the world. Energy is the
American way of life and we need to cut it out. We need to cut our
emission by 80%. The exhaust from our tail pipes stays in the
atmosphere for about 100 years. Every year cars and trucks admits 1.5
billion tons of carbon dioxide pollutes into the US air. That is more than
all countries combine from source such as, electricity, cars and
industries. If we switched to hybrids we can cut that to half. Solar and
wind power currently produce about 2% of our electricity nationwide,
and about 90% still comes from polluting sources like coal and nuclear
power. Coal burning plants are the nation’s largest source of carbon
dioxide, the heat trapping pollutants contributes to global warming.
These pollutants also increase asthma attacks and worsens the
environmental problems like; acid rain, haze, smog and other air and
water pollution.
Where do you being
 Instead of getting bigger and bigger, we
need to think smaller.
 When you buy a refrigerator look at the
label. Does it read you will save $20.00 a
month on your electric bill?
 Do you turn the lights out when you leave
the room?
 Do you combine your driving errands into
one trip?
 There are 180 plus cities in the Us that are
committed to reducing the green house
gases In 1993 the people of Portland
Oregon took on a climate challenge and
reduce carbon emission by 13% and
increase their work force by 16%.
 There are many ways we can reduce the
green house gases.
 Here are some easy things you can do the
help:
There are many ways we can reduce the green
house gases, here are some easy things you can do
to help:
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1. Plant a tree in your yard or start a garden. Plants and trees help clean the
air.
2. Simply stop using pesticides on your lawn. Pesticides contribute to the
pollution of the Earth, poisons our water supply, endanger human health and
sicken wildlife.
3. Support a local farmer. Farmers Markets are a great way to support local
farmers. You will get some of the freshest, locally grown food available

4. Buy organic. Look for and ask for
organic produce wherever you buy your
groceries, Or even better, shop at your
local health food stores which carries
only organic produce. Buying organic,
reduces pesticide exposure to the land.

5. Buy energy-saving, compactfluorescent lights bulbs and other energy
efficient products. When your next bulb
goes out, replace it with a compact
fluorescent light bulb. They last 10 times
as long with ¼ of energy, saving you
$30 to $40 bucks on your electric bill.

6. Recycle, Recycle, Recycle, reduce
reuse, recycle still works very will today.

7. Shop Green. Be a consumer that
uses your dollars to support companies
and products that are better for the
Earth.
 8. Join or make a donation to any organization that
supports the environment. There are numerous
worthy organizations that work hard for the Earth.
 9. Try eating meatless meals at least one day a
week. The livestock sector accounts for nearly 18
percent of greenhouse gas emission. If has been
estimated that a 20 percent reduction in meat
consumption would save as much energy as if
everyone drove a hybrid vehicle instead of a
standard sedan.
 10. Junk Mail Reduction If you
are tired of coming home to a
mailbox stuffed with unwanted
flyers, catalogs, credit card
offers and coupons? Simply
send a postcard to the
addresses and request to have
your name removed from their
mailing list. Fact: It takes 17
trees to make one ton of paper,
which means nearly 100 million
trees get used for junk mail
every year in the US. Recycling
junk mail is great, but not getting
it at all is even better!
 11. B.Y.O.B. Bring your own bags. Use reusable canvas cloth bags
and keep them in your car for the next grocery trip. Not all items require
a bag try carrying small or large item in your hands.
 12. Reuse. Plastic grocery bags are multifunctional. Use them for trash
can liners or for pet waste. Find new ways to reuse those bags.
 13 Bike to work or school. Power by you, it is a great way to get your
exercise in and it saves you at the pump.
14. Spend time in nature. Taking a walk,
having a picnic or simply sitting outdoors will
motivate us to be better stewards of the Earth.

We don’t have to depend up on fossil fuel,
there are many alternative. We have a free
resource in the sun why not use the sun to power
the US by solar power?. The US is smart enough
to put a man on the moon, we are surely smart
enough to stop destroying our Earth. We have the
potential to produce almost all of our electricity
from clean energy sources. We have the know
how to move beyond our dependence on polluting
power plants by using clean, safe and affordable
renewable energy. Solar panels transform sunlight
into electricity and wind turbines captures the
winds to produce reliable electricity. With a better
use of energy we can avoid the need of new
polluting power plants. With the US technologies
we can create ways of using less energy.
 Together we can do it,
we can create a
cleaner environment
for our future
generation.
Questions
Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. CCLC
Southwestern College. . http://find.galegroup.com.
Butler, Rhett. “Global Warming Triggers Invasive Species to Spread and Wipe out
Native Species.” Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale.
CCLC Southwester College.
. http://find.galegroup.com.
Epstein, M.D, Paul R., of Harvard Medical School Science advisors and Oppenheimer,
PhD Princeton University.
“To Hot Not to Handle” Documentary Produce by
David Laurie and Susan Lester. @2006 Home Box Office Inc.
Larsen, Janet. “Earth Policy Institute,” October 2003. www.earthpolicy.org
Moore, Thomas Gale. “Global Warming Will Be Beneficial.” At Issue: Is Global
Warming A Threat? San Diego:
Greenhaven Press, 2003. Opposing Viewpoints
Resource Center. CCLC Southwestern College.
http://find.galegroup.com.
Watson, Robert T. “Human Activity Causes Global Warming. “Opposing Viewpoints:
Global Warming. San Diego:
Greenhaven Press, 2002. Opposing Viewpoints
Resource Center. CCLC Southwestern College.
http://find.galegroup.com.