The dangers of global warming have been on the agenda of many world governments lately. Everything started to go viral when a couple of videos hit the Internet. These videos showed what were glaciers a few years ago. They melted leaving the shore exposed, along with the carelessness which us humans have been showing for the problem.
I remember in the late 80s when I first heard the term “Global warming.” I listened to a thorough explanation of how our ozone layer was being depleted because we were using a lot of spray cans. Everything from hair-spray to shaving cream seemed to be the culprit. Along came the “environmentally-friendly” tag that needed to accompany all the ‘safe’ products.
Each time that my family bought one of these products, I would feel I was doing my share and helping extend the “shelf-life” of our planet. Everyone I knew soon got into the craze and were buying the ‘greener’ alternatives. After a few years, I didn’t hear of the term anymore, except for the occasional newscast from what the air looked like in places like Tokyo and Mexico City.
I remember asking myself: “So, what about all the non-dangerous products that we’ve all been buying, wasn’t that enough?” Apparently, it hadn’t been. Hairsprays, I found out, were only a small fraction of what the real problem was. Trash and pollution from factories, cars, and buses seemed to be the biggest contributors to this problem that now was affecting the ‘rest of us’.
As I grew older, I learned about sorting your garbage, recycling and a bunch of other ‘green’ alternatives that kept me pretty busy at the time. I even started my own recycling business by recycling as many aluminum cans and glass bottles. Despite being very proud of myself, I knew that what I was doing was simply not enough. Something like this needed to be done but on a global scale.
I tried talking to some companies, but being only a kid, I wasn’t taken that seriously. I would get the occasional, “you’re doing a good job, kid” every now and then, though. Many years passed, and I got to see those videos about the ice melting. I know of a few organizations that have been working very hard, but nothing seems to be making much difference. We need to do something fast because, in very little time, there won’t be much planet earth left to save. The following video shows you just how serious this problem has become. Watch it while we still have time!
