Mountain Echo

Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: Forum

Within the span of one century, Jamestown, Va. will be flooded. The site of the first permanent English settlement (founded 400 years ago) will be lost forever. So will Key West, Fla. and Silicon Valley. Why is this happening? It is due to Global Warming.

Polar bears step out onto water thinking that they are stepping onto ice when in fact they are not. Instead they are drowning because of the melting polar ice caps. Temperatures are on the rise- 2005 was one of the hottest summers in a century, 19 of the 20 hottest summers occurred after 1980.

In the meantime, wildfires have been increasing and droughts have more than doubled since 1970. Why is this happening? Again it is due to global warming.

Now some believe that global warming is a fake science- it is not real but scientists are trying to be alarmists or that it is a political stunt used by Democrats such as 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore. That is not the case as Pope Benedict XVI, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, is even worried about this. In a Sept. 6, 2007 statement while in Loreto, Italy he said,

"Before it is too late, it is necessary to make courageous decisions that reflect knowing how to re-create a strong alliance between man and the earth.

" He said that attention given to global warming is very important, "this is God's creation and it needs to be protected."

Now I can continue to go on and continue to state all the effects of global warming and the harm it is doing to us such as causing more heart and lung ailments, the spike of asthma and allergies, as well as an outbreak of malaria and cholera.

Ultimately global warming is leading to human suffering and death. There is so much evidence that I could continue to state but in the end it is up to you. Do you want the droughts, wildfires, physical ailments and melting polar ice caps to influence your life?

In the generations to come, the Earth may very well not exist, but you can help now, you can help stop the deterioration of the Earth. Some may say that this is all natural progression when in fact that is a lie.

The effects are happening much faster than they would have had it been the natural progression of the Earth. The truth is no matter how much it hurts and how much people do not want to believe it, the Earth, in the next 100 years, is heading for another Ice Age.

We cannot stop this, but we can help. We can help to slow down the process of global warming with some simple actions. Change a light, drive less, recycle more and buy recycled, check your tires, use less hot water, avoid products with a lot of packaging, adjust your thermostat, plant a tree and turn off electronic devices when not in use.

We need to stand up and pay attention; we need to preserve the Earth, God's creation. It is not a time to be selfish but a time to work together as a community and save Mother Earth.

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