A Slow, but Steady, Journey to Building a Healthier World

It is hard to find a soul on this Earth that either does not know about global warming or is not concerned about the change in temperature and weather habits of the past century. The warming of the Earth’s surface has been studied and researched furiously the past few decades by countless scientists and experts, but there are still those handfuls of people who believe that this drastic change in temperature over the last century is simply just part of Earth’s natural climate cycle and we need not to worry or change our way of living. The way we have been living has developed a variety of different trends that have been linked to having a negative effect on the atmosphere and the Earth itself, such as warming temperatures and rising water levels. Now, it has become our duty to fix what we have done. We can do this by changing our everyday mundane routines, putting regulations on carbon emissions, controlling our population growth.
There are many things a typical person in North America does in a day that consumes a vast amount of energy more than what they could be using instead by simply switching to different methods. Cold water detergent has swept the nation in the last few years, occupying many homes instead of the regular detergent, and for a good reason: for every home that uses cold water detergent, they are saving 1600 pounds of carbon emissions every year, plus using 90% less energy to heat up the water! Electric cars are also occupying drive ways rather than the gas-guzzlers we have been using since the Ford Model T in 1908. By using an electric car, you stop depending on foreign oil and gas and decrease the amount of carbon emissions you release into the atmosphere. Cars are not the only things that emit thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide each year; there are also the giant landfills everywhere. The average person only recycles 30% of their waste, when approximately 75% could have been recycled. Also, by recycling your aluminum cans, you’re saving 95% of the energy it took to make it, that means you could almost be neutralizing the amount of energy used! There are so many mundane things we do in a day that could do a whole lot for our environment without us even noticing!
Creating carbon emission goals for our governments to strive for was a great idea put into action in 1997, when Canada and other industrialized countries signed the Kyoto Protocol. Canada was agreeing to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions based on the amount emitted in 1990; this meant a 6% greenhouse gas emissions reduction for Canada. Then, in 2009, the Copenhagen Accord was signed; almost all of the countries involved were disappointed in the meeting, but some still looked forward to the future to see what improvements would be made. Canada’s goal after the Copenhagen Accord was 17% less emissions than the 2005 levels. 612 megatonnes of carbon emissions was the goal, but Canada is still at 734 megatonnes. “The Canadian government is dragging its feet”, said an environmental advocacy group, but Canada has begun a “sector-by-sector” approach to building a better environment, while also targeting the two biggest emitters: transportation and electricity. If Canada had taken no action, we would still be emitting 862 megatonnes of carbon dioxide – 128 megatonnes more than what is being discharged now. Thanks to the Copenhagen Accord and Kyoto Protocol, most industrialized countries have made incredible improvements like Canada and will hopefully continue to do so.
Over population has become the most apparent world issue as of late and many new issues have developed as a result. With more people on the planet, we