Meg+-+Editorial

**Editorial** Global warming has been a prominent issue in the world for the past couple of years. And the rising concern has increased in the past few. The Earth’s climate is warming and it has begun changing at unnatural rates, including rising global temperatures, rise and the distribution of precipitation around the globe. These climate changes are best explained by the increased atmospheric abundances of greenhouse gases and aerosols generated by human activity during the 20th century, such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation. It is us human’s who have helped further global warming to come to a dangerous stage. And it is us humans who must come together to help stop what we have created. The time dedication that we give to enhance the further research for alternative sources of energy the closer we can get to slowing down global warming. Our world is completely dependent upon energy and oil, because without them we are not able to do the things we normally do. However, this demand for oil and energy has been a major influence on global warming. If you asked many people on the street if they have felt the effects of global warming, it is guaranteed that they will answer yes. The winters have been shorter as the Polar Ice caps and many other natural ice places have been melting. As well as our springs and summers will be getting hotter and hotter as each year goes on, unless we do something about it. There are many alternatives sources of energies that people can use other than greenhouse gases and burning of fossil fuels. Two prominent and most common sources are solar energy and wind energy. Solar energy is radiant energy produced by the sun, the energy comes from hydrogen atoms from the sun combining to produce helium, which is called nuclear fusion. The sun is 150 million kilometers away, and is over one million degrees Celsius at the core; if we could harness the energy at its core we would have enough energy to cover our needs 10,000 times over. There is direct solar energy and indirect solar energy. Direct is a one step process by turning sunlight into electricity. Direct gain attempts to control the amount of direct solar radiation reaching the living space. While indirect is a multiple step process where the energy that is gathered from the sun is then used to power another type of energy source. . Solar panels are a prime example of solar energy, where you place them on the roof of your house and the sunlight’s rays are absorbed into the panels. The electrons then split for their atoms and flow through the panel which creates electricity. Furthermore, people are becoming more and more conscientious of our footprint on the environment and the fact that our natural resources that were once thought to be infinite are not in the same category anymore. Wind energy is perpetual and self-renewing, as it guarantees a secure supply. It also lessens the dependence on foreign suppliers, and environmentally cuts emissions of carbon dioxide. If you are one of those people who don’t like the idea of solar energy as much, don’t give up ad try wind energy. Wind energy’s primary purpose is to create and generate electricity. There are two types of wind energy turbines: horizontal axis and vertical. The towers are mostly tubular and made of steel, and the blades are made of fiberglass-reinforced polyester or wood-epoxy. A horizontal wind turbine is more common to see and use than a vertical one. A modern wind turbine produces electricity 70-85% of the time. The power available in the wind is proportional to the cube of its speed, which means that doubling the wind speed increases the available power by a factor of eight. Thus, a turbine operating at a site with an average wind speed of 12 mph could in theory generate about 33% more electricity than one at an 11-mph site (AWEA). The important thing to understand is that what seems like a small difference in wind speed can mean a large difference in available energy and in electricity produced, and therefore, a large difference in the cost of the electricity generated. This is something we should all consider, considering the economy we are all in today. Finally, for those who do not believe in global warming, and mistaken it as a myth are the ones who will in the end being apologizing for their mistaken thoughts and will be ashamed of how they could have overlooked science and its factual evidence of something so dangerous to our lives. We the people must all work together and everyday play a part in the fight to help save this planet from a fate that none of us will be able to endure. Every little thing that you do plays a major role in slowing down global warming, and with people moving to more energy efficient sources, the impact we will have will be greater than anyone can imagine. Thus, giving our children and their children a safe wonderful place to grow up and do great things in.