Persuasive Essay on “climate Change Deserves to Be a Huge Priority” – Bill Gates

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Some scientists, however, claim that the damage is already done and it is far too late to act now. ‘Hansen argues that 350 parts per million are the highest level we can maintain “if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted.” But because we're already past that mark the air outside is currently about 387 parts per million and growing by about 2 parts annually global warming suddenly feels less like a huge problem, and more like an Oh-My-God Emergency.’ (Qtd. in McKibben 33) Following this, the global warming that has been inherent will trigger natural events out of our control — the loss of the Arctic sea-ice and the excess release of carbon dioxide from the warming oceans. To make matters worse, the northern permafrost has started to thaw, releasing huge amounts of methane long trapped below the ice, methane is an even more potent gas than carbon dioxide. In retrospect, they ignore the efforts that have been underway to prevent this trigger by not only slowing down the rate of greenhouse gas emissions but also, eradicating the already existing sources of radiation. Such an effort is seen in the building of coal-fired plants, without CO² sequestration (the process whereby CO² is separated and stored in the ground), adopted by China, India and USA. Future promises of slowing down this process can be seen in the outcomes of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris; whereby for the first time many national governments offered support in the form of financial pledges - including developing countries such as Vietnam pledging $1 million to the new Green Climate Fund (GCF).

All things considered, it is safe to say that despite the toll global warming has taken - it cannot be refuted that the rate of climate change can, in fact, be slowed down. The above propositions have been implemented, and various governments have financed further research into the discovery of alternate energy sources, students are being educated to carry out afforestation techniques on a small scale, and China has already introduced a plethora of clean fuel cars which will soon be adopted by a large number of countries. These factors coupled with increasing awareness in individuals about efficient energy sources will mark a steady landmark in slowing down the rate of climate change.

Word Count: 1365

Works Cited

Geo Risks Research. “Loss events worldwide 1980 – 2014”Munich RE. NatCatSERVICE. Jan. 2015. Web.

Hamilton, F. E. I. “YUGOSLAVIA'S HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY,” Geography 48.1 (1963) 70–73. Print.

SHUIFA, KE et al. “The Situations and Potentials of Forest Carbon Sinks and Employment Creation from Afforestation in China” The International Forestry Review 12.3 (2010): 247–255. Print.

McKibben, Bill. “Climate Change.” Foreign Policy 170 (2009): 32–38. Print.