2008 Woodie Awards
EDITORIAL | Global warming calls for less dawdling and more attention
Amanda Finnegan
Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
As Americans, instant gratification is our middle name. We want what we want before we even know we want it. When our cell phones are on the fritz, we need them fixed instantly and we expect the body of our dreams after one trip to the gym. We're impulsive and only care about what directly affects our own lives.
Americans feel the same about the nation's problems. When our nation experienced the atrocities of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, we immediately wanted a quick fix to cure it all. Because it was right in front of our face, everyone wanted to take action.
But there is a greater problem looming over our heads, a more subtle one that isn't flaunted in the news every day but still needs just as much attention. It's global warming and it isn't just a theory anymore.
Global warming-sounds pretty good right? Longer summers, shorter winters, more sun, less snow. Wrong. Global warming is not just weather change, but complete global climate change and we as human are at fault. It affects everything from wildlife to economics to everyday lifestyle.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released an assessment this month that stated that 90 percent of global warming is a result of human activity, according to Time Magazine. Six hundred scientists from 40 different nations contributed to the assessment.
The issue of global warming is so significant that former Vice President Al Gore has devoted his life-after-politics to the cause. Gore released a documentary called "An Inconvenient Truth" in fall 2006 in hopes to get the world on board with his latest campaign.
Gore is so passionate about global warming that he and Virgin founder Richard Branson started the "Earth Challenge." The two are offering a $25 million dollar prize to the first person who can come up with a way to eliminate greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. If someone is willing to give away an obscene amount of money all in the name of global warming, then maybe we should be taking a second look at what we as a nation and as individuals can do.
Americans feel the same about the nation's problems. When our nation experienced the atrocities of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, we immediately wanted a quick fix to cure it all. Because it was right in front of our face, everyone wanted to take action.
But there is a greater problem looming over our heads, a more subtle one that isn't flaunted in the news every day but still needs just as much attention. It's global warming and it isn't just a theory anymore.
Global warming-sounds pretty good right? Longer summers, shorter winters, more sun, less snow. Wrong. Global warming is not just weather change, but complete global climate change and we as human are at fault. It affects everything from wildlife to economics to everyday lifestyle.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released an assessment this month that stated that 90 percent of global warming is a result of human activity, according to Time Magazine. Six hundred scientists from 40 different nations contributed to the assessment.
The issue of global warming is so significant that former Vice President Al Gore has devoted his life-after-politics to the cause. Gore released a documentary called "An Inconvenient Truth" in fall 2006 in hopes to get the world on board with his latest campaign.
Gore is so passionate about global warming that he and Virgin founder Richard Branson started the "Earth Challenge." The two are offering a $25 million dollar prize to the first person who can come up with a way to eliminate greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. If someone is willing to give away an obscene amount of money all in the name of global warming, then maybe we should be taking a second look at what we as a nation and as individuals can do.
Be the first to comment on this story