Is Man Contributing?

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By all the time we mean many times over the 4.5 billion year history of the earth. These fluctuations have been from non-life supporting atmosphere composition to life supporting atmosphere composition. From ice ages that covered the whole earth to warmer periods, from smaller ice ages where the whole planet is not covered to warmer periods. The earth has been hit by asteroids and as a result gone through major changes.

It is natural even for the earth to go through large changes in temperature creating small ice ages in just hundreds of years some research is showing. This is a big focus because if we can find the causes of short-term large temperature changes then we can possible know what to expect with the current warming.

Ice age is not a scary term for those that it sounds like a big deal. Granted a lot of colder areas would be a pain for humans to adapt to, but the earth naturally goes through cooler and hotter periods and the cooler always has more ice.

Is man contributing?
Yes, because even with all this research in to the natural fluctuations over long periods of time and the research in to the quicker changes that have happened, the results still show that it is happening faster than anything we have seen so far. The warming is also happening outside of the normal earth warming and cooling cycle, suggesting an outside influence that has never been around before. As well, the concentrations of the greenhouse gases of today are higher than anything we have seen before, during cooler or warmer periods.

How can i as an individual help?
There are many little ways to help, but adopting a respect and consideration for the variety of life and the earth as a mentality is the best we can do. When one sees things from a certain mentality, all things they see come from that perspective.

We can recycle, buy locally made products, only support ecologically responsible companies and investments, support renewable resources, talk with and learn from others, work closer to home, etc. All these things will help reduce ones daily consumption as well as set an example for others. As we set this example for others in our communities then this will spread to other communities. One thing we really want to do is spread this to developing countries that have such high populations, we really want them to learn the best of what we know about living the good life with out consuming a lot, on their way to being 1st world.

The overall mentality is what will not be as easily seen and mimicked by others. Only use one napkin at a restaurant, don't take leftovers if it is in a styrofoam container, use the same glass all day at home, water your garden with rain water, filter used water at your house to be used again, wash dishes in the sink, only wash your clothes after wearing them a couple times, compost all organic matter, only buy quality and what you need, etc. Sometimes the thrill of the purchase is the best thing people get out of a purchase, and we need to say no to that.