“ONE WORLD, ONE GOAL”
Pollution
Currently, we the people of the world release over 27 billion tons (and increasing) of CO2 into our atmosphere each year from the burning of fossil fuels. Earth can absorb 3.5 billion tons (and decreasing) of our CO2 each year. Every day you breathe 13.5kgs (30lbs) of air and what happens when you leave your car running in a garage? Polluting your air is no different. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 4.5 million people die each year from respiratory disease caused by air pollution.
We can live without food for over 200 days; we can live without water for 2 weeks; but we can only live without air at most 2 minutes, if you are good at holding your breath. Air is our planet’s most crucial element to survival. So why do we continue to poison our air by pumping more than 27 billion tons of CO2 into it every year? Could this CO2 eventually harm us?
Did you know that over 50% of all CO2 created from the burning of fossil fuels throughout human history, since the first tree was burned, the first coal was burned and since the first drop of oil was burned, is still in our atmosphere? It has been found, that in order to keep world-wide CO2 levels at our current levels that we would need to reduce our current world-wide CO2 emissions by 100% no later than 2050; hence the need for the ‘Letter of Challenge’ to work. Now here is our first dilemma. Essentially by humanity tapping into fossil fuels for our energy, we have become a volcano that has not stopped erupting since the 1700’s.
We are told that we need to limit our Global CO2 emissions to no more than 6 billion tons each year for the next 100 years. However, since 1990 we have averaged over 14 billion tons per year, and in 2007 we topped 27 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere that year alone; at this rate we will have surpassed the 100 year, 600 billion ton limit and attained 550ppm in only 20 years (2030).
Each and every one of us burns oil while driving our cars, use the electricity generated by coal-burning power plants, heat our homes with natural gas, waste our land with the over consumption of animal products and do not notice the daily increases in the levels of pollution all around us. We become accustomed to the air we are breathing and notice no real difference each day.
Over 85% of all ocean pollution originates from our land. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences found that the world’s ocean going vessels dump over 600,000 plastic containers into our oceans daily. What was more disturbing was that over 2.5 million plastic containers were finding their way into our oceans daily from land; either from landfills or washed down storm drains which then flow down streams and rivers to the oceans. Every day over 10 billion gallons of municipal sewage is dumped into coastal waters - lakes and oceans.
Animal wastes account for more than 15 times as much water pollution than the entire human population of the world. It also produces 4 times more water pollution than all other industries combined. The raw materials used to produce livestock in North America account for over 40% of all raw materials used for all purposes.
We have learned to use all of the wonderful things around us; trees, water, air, land, oil, coal, natural gas and even the split atom. We have also become the only animal which pollutes this planet. As we continue to advance our easy and fortunate lifestyles, we are committing the greatest mistake mankind has ever committed. It is our worst mistake, because even though we know what we are doing is wrong, we continue to do it anyways. So let's stand up and do something that will actually change the way our youth and all future humans will be able to live on the only planet capable of sustaining human life.