Olivia Collins

As many may know, April 26th was Earth Day; a national day celebrating the natural resources and places this world has to offer.  During this day, many organizations posted on instagram advocating for change.In the past couple of weeks however, awareness has died down from Earth day to the next celebrity gossip or political news.  As a community and society it is the duty of the people to keep this awareness going year long, because this is a legitimate concern and issue. Not only is the wildlife affected, but the human race as well.

For example, the excess greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide, is leading to global warming. Global warming is defined as the increase in temperature in the earth’s atmosphere. This increase in temperature can lead to changes in climate; affecting the natural rainfall, snow, and evaporation.  Changes over time can cause excess flooding, wildfires, and health problems due to possibly polluted air and water.

However, these effects can be prevented; through individual change, community change, and global change.  Making minor changes in your lifestyle can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere.  Northwestern University published a list of minor changes that can impact the environment in a huge way. One example of these changes is taking shorter or cooler showers and washing clothes in cold water, by doing this more than 500 pounds of carbon dioxide will be saved each year.  These statistics show by just small changes we can improve the environment on catastrophic levels.