Hello, I am Sejal Butala, a rising 9th grader from Parsippany. I have been hearing and seeing a lot of terrifying news from both the internet and my own experiences of how the world is changing. One minute, I went to help shovel the snow, but only in a few days, it unnaturally all melted. People still argue if climate change is actually really happening or not. I wanted to put it out there that yes, it is happening, and action needs to be taken. I feel that by supporting efforts to stop climate change, in either small or big ways, our world might go back to how it was before.
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When the term global warming was first introduced, he heard that it was this scary phenomenon that would completely change the Earth’s climate zones. Then, as time went on, the force was called climate change, a better term to describe the events ensuing in the world. Due to the extra greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, he has seen climate change cause extreme weather all across the globe. And despite the amount of scientific evidence suggesting this, people are still refusing to listen. However, time is precious and he knew people have to start acting before it is too late. Just as Engineer Robert Buccino recalled, climate change is forever changing the globe and humanity needs to limit its greenhouse gas output before It is too late.
The Problem
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures
Humans have been harming the environment for a long time, allowing climate change to rise. There are many different types of actions that caused this, but one of the most debated is the use of fossil fuels, including oil, coal, and natural gas. However, despite the alarming amount of pollution caused by these sources, the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the country still generated 60.3% of electricity from fossil fuels as of February 2021. It is common knowledge that new innovative forms of clean energy are out there, and are becoming more prevalent, but why is society taking so long to change? And it is not like nature is waiting for humanity to change, because change is already happening across the globe. The northern ice sheets are melting, animals are dying, and the Earth’s climate zones are completely changing. People are even seeing these changes just by looking out the window. If humanity stays on the current route of relying on old-fashioned fossil fuels, what is the Earth going to look like? Surely, these noticeable differences are not going to go unnoticed by higher authorities? What steps can even be taken to stop this calamity before it is too late?
Dangers of Fossil Fuels
To take the measures needed towards lowering humanities’ carbon footprint, humans have to limit their use of the most polluting forms of energy, fossil fuels. These include coal, oil, and natural gas. All of these different fuels are found underground and are naturally forming, meaning lots of carbon is locked within them. However, this becomes a problem when the fuel is burned to create power, which emits carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring compound that is only one of many greenhouse gases or substances that cause climate change. Also, methane is another example of these gases, which is the main ingredient in natural gas. However, it is far worse as it can capture 86 times more heat than carbon dioxide over its 20 year lifetime. Together, greenhouse gases contribute to the phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect, which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) describes as “…the way in which heat is trapped close to the surface of the Earth by ‘greenhouse gases.’ These heat-trapping gases can be thought of as a blanket wrapped around the Earth, which keeps it toastier than it would be without them.” Essentially this causes the Earth’s atmosphere to get hotter, causing unnatural heat spikes around the planet. This can lead to unprecedented weather and rising sea levels, two catastrophic changes. However, despite the information out there, the United States still emitted about 5,130 million metric tons of fossil fuel-related greenhouse gases in 2019, according to the EIA. If this number does not come down, climate change will only grow more. However, there is hope as leaders such as António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, believe the next step is to take “…immediate action to end the dirtiest, most polluting, and yes more and more costly fossil fuels.” By lowering our dependence on these disastrous power sources, there is still a chance to reverse climate change.
Clean Energy Sources
If leaders hope to eliminate the “dirtiest” sources of energy, there needs to be an alternative to replace them. Clean energy sources can help, which are new innovative sources of energy that produce a small carbon output. “I think that [these sources] for both transportation and electricity generation [are] going to be huge,” Climate change advocate Jennifer Flynn argues, believing that changing converting energy systems will help in the long run. There are many different clean fuels out there, each having different upsides and downsides, but the EIA lists the most prominent ones as solar, or energy captured from the sun, wind, energy captured by the wind, and hydroelectric, the energy obtained from rushing water. To add on, geothermal is another source of energy that is less-known, but vital for daily life. Essentially to obtain geothermal energy, workers have to “…drill deep into the Earth and…you can extract that energy from the core of the Earth,” according to Buccino. There is also a new innovative form of power becoming more popular in recent years, which is using hydrogen. According to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), in simple words, they state that by putting hydrogen and oxygen into a specialized fuel cell, a reaction occurs generating energy and water as a byproduct. This electricity can be captured and used for all sorts of mechanisms such as cars, houses, and more. Lastly, a source of power that has been highly questioned in the energy community is the use of nuclear power, which Matthew Kavanagh, leader of the Parsippany Green Team, described as “… very powerful power plants [which] don’t create…carbon emissions…but I think [we] should have a transitional period to phase out of nuclear.” This is due to the highly radioactive waste produced by these plants that are hard to dispose of and run the risk of polluting the environment. By looking into these different types of cleaner energy, humans can start to phase out of fossil fuel-based power.
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Evolution of Clean Energy
Clean energy is a subject that has gotten the attention of many people over the years, causing people to create advancements in the area. From a technological point of view, these technologies have rapidly changed in the past decade. “…Solar panels 20-30 years ago were very expensive [and] very inefficient…” Buccino recollected, but now there are examples of clean energy being a part of everyday lives. For example, Tesla is a car company that was one of the first companies to help transition into electric vehicles instead of gas-powered ones. According to their website, they strongly believe that “…people [don’t] need to compromise to drive electric – that electric vehicles can be better, quicker and more fun to drive than gasoline cars…” With this innovative mindset, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla helped change an entire industry. Examples like these show that clean energy can have a future, causing people to put their faith in it. In a 2020 global report conducted by BloombergNEF (a leading energy research group), the United States spent $55.5 billion on clean energy. With the current momentum, power sectors can be converted into better electrical sources, and with more action, the future can be clean and sustainable.
Making a Difference
When waiting for a less polluted world to come, society needs to work together, and that can start with the actions of small communities. Currently, it may seem like nothing is being done, but every day, the world is moving towards a cleaner future. Many organizations and programs are contributing to solving climate change, such as the REA (Renewable Energy Aggregation) program, which is about New Jersey towns “…using [their] bulk purchasing power to get the very best… price on electric [power],” Kavanagh explained. This energy is much cleaner and cheaper compared to other providers such as JCP&L, encouraging locals to make a switch. If all Parsippany residents were to join the REA program and use 100% clean energy, it would reduce the town’s carbon footprint by about 26%, according to the Parsippany Green Team’s website. This is a dramatic decrease in greenhouse gases and almost no effort is required of residents. Also, there are even more ways beyond the REA program to help make a difference in the community. One way is by raising climate change awareness, and giving the environment a voice. By joining local organizations, such as Parsippany’s Green Team, everyday citizens can make their voices heard, and people in power can make better decisions for the future. However, by simply caring for the environment, and making small daily-life changes can have a big impact. Examples such as turning off the lights when not in the room or unplugging wires when not in use help reduce the amount of energy used by a house, helping conserve it for when it is needed. By coming together, and being mindful of the environment, the world can be turned into a cleaner place.
To find out more about local Parsippany initiatives, you can head to https://www.facebook.com/ParsippanyGreenTeam/, and more information about the REA program can be found at https://parsippanygreenteam.com/rea/.