Going green and keeping it clean

There are many green issues affecting our society. The public needs to be informed about these issues in order to make informed decisions on how to keep our planet clean and also preserve it for the next generation.

Four environmental issues that affect me personally as well as in my community are Global Warming, Rainwater Harvesting, Climate Change and Biodiesel. These will be discussed and explained in more detail as they are all linked together.

Global warming is the increase of the average temperature on planet Earth. As the Earth gets warmer, natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts and floods occur more frequently because of the heat. There has been a fast temperature rise over the last thirty years and this has never happened before. The Earth should be in a cool-down period, but instead it is in a heating-up phase.

Global warming has affected my community in a way that the temperatures are rising even though winter is approaching. My father owns a piece of land in Salem, a farm outside Grahamstown. He’s been complaining that the rivers are dry, limiting the amount of drinking water for his livestock and the people who live there.

This has a link to climate change, being the constant changes in weather. The average pattern of weather, called climate, usually stays the same for centuries if it is left to itself, but this has not been the case because people are taking actions that have changed the earth’s climate in a significant way. Carbon dioxide is to blame. The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas play a large impact on climate change. So far, we have seen this in the increase in volcanic activity like the volcanic eruption in Iceland which occurred last year.

The burning of fossil fuel for energy adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and with this happening everyday in my community, the average temperature will rise. Another effect on my community is that climate change has an impact on the increase in water levels, for example when the levels rose in 2008 in Port Elizabeth. The new risks involved now are that it will have a threat to food security and availability of water resources because people in my community grow their own food.

There are ways of decreasing harm to our planet like using the technology of rainwater harvesting. This is a method used for collecting and storing rainwater from rooftops. Rainwater harvesting is convenient as it provides water at the point of consumption. Water collected from rooftops is used for domestic purposes. The only problem with this method is that there is uncertainty of rainfall.

Another way to decrease harm is the use of Biodiesel. This is an alternative fuel made from virgin vegetable oil or animal fats. The use of biodiesel produces 80% less carbon dioxide and contains no sulphur. This affects me personally because I walk to school, therefore I inhale all the bad gases from the cars driving past.

We all need to raise awareness of sustainable energy sources. Everybody needs to play a role in keeping our planet safe to live in and start making changes in our community. The little change one makes can make a big difference in our planet.