The Earth is Making a Comeback

I woke up Friday morning, checked my calendar and realized it was Earth day. I searched the web to see if there were any interesting articles and came across an article on CNN titled Earth Day 2016: We're Not as Doomed as You Think. This caught my attention. How could we not be headed for disaster? People treat the Earth like garbage and think that there won't be any consequences for their behavior. I clicked on the article and it listed five positive steps in the right direction towards making our Earth healthy and beautiful again.

The first step explained that in December 2015 195 countries agreed to address climate change with The Paris Agreement. The agreement's goal is to wipe the world clean of fossil fuel pollution and limit the warming to below two degrees Celsius.

The article explained that we're transitioning into the solar era. Solar power is becoming much cheaper, making it easier to make the switch. The International Energy Agency says that "the sun could be the world's largest source of electricity by 2050."

In 2015 the world invested twice as much money in clean energy as in coal and natural gas. That brings us to the third reason why the Earth might not be cursed. The world spent $286 billion on clean energy. Bill Gates is also finding the funds to work on "moonshot" technologies that could help us meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The article explained that we're going to "need advanced nuclear technology and possibly carbon-capture technology to halt warming short of 2 degrees."

Electric cars are also gaining popularity. Transit sectors from diesel cars account for about 15% of all global warming pollution. Tesla Motors came out with a new electric car that is seen by many as a monumental shift. I wrote a blog post all about electric cars and Tesla motors. I'll link it down below.

Lastly, China is pledging to sign the Paris Agreement. They are experimenting with carbon-pricing systems to reduce pollution. The World Resources Institute says that "with China's new target for an 18% reduction in carbon-intensity form 2015 levels, we estimate that China will actually reduce its carbon intensity 48% from 2005 levels by 2020 exceeding its original target of a 40% to 45% reduction by that year."

Instead of focusing on the negative aspects, this article emphasized the positive actions that are being made to reduce global warming and pollution. Earth deserves to be celebrated everyday, not just April 22. The Earth is valuable and should be treated with respect. Everyone needs to participate in a cleaner, greener future.

CNN Article: http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/opinions/sutter-earth-day-hope/index.html
Blog Post on Electric Cars: http://ridewithmark.blogspot.com/2016/04/feel-electric-about-electric-cars.html