Ice and snow are aspects of living in Iowa that not many particularly like. Besides the days off from school, the harsh weather is more of a hindrance to daily activities. One of the reasons that Iowa has been getting excessive snow in more recent years is climate change. A common misconception about global warming is that it only creates warmer weather. However, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Warmer temperatures cause more water to evaporate from the land and oceans, which leads to more precipitation, larger storms, and more variation in precipitation in some areas.” We can all agree that global warming is becoming a more detrimental threat to endangered species and the human race, but what is the main cause of the rising temperatures?

     There are several leading causes of climate change, all of which could easily be prevented from getting worse. One of the biggest causes is generating power. More specifically, the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil.

According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, “[Fossil fuels] have been powering economies for over 150 years, and currently supply about 80 percent of the world’s energy.” There are environmentally healthy and sustainable forms of energy generation such as solar and wind-generated power. Still, they don’t currently produce enough to withstand the high demand that society relies on to function. 

     The concept of saving energy to lessen carbon emissions may seem incomprehensible to some, however, there are ways to improve our climate from home. It can be as simple as turning off lights if they aren’t serving a purpose, or it could be as drastic as making a lifestyle change. A few ways to consciously conserve energy are reducing household waste, looking into renewable energy, or reconsidering one’s carbon footprint in the form of transportation. A common way of reducing household waste is composting. Reusing organic matter that we would normally throw away and turning it into something like fertilizer reduces the need for more of the chemicals in fertilizers to be produced. Another easy way to reduce energy consumption is renewable energy. Solar panels are becoming increasingly popular as an earth-conscious alternative to regular energy use.  A different route to improve the environment is electric cars. According to the American Petroleum Institute, Americans purchased an average of 337.8 million gallons of gas each day in 2023. This is an easily avoidable statistic if electric cars become a primary form of transportation.

     Climate change has become an increasingly hazardous and concerning issue for many years. There are so many ways to preserve the current conditions and even return them back to normal if awareness of the subject can be prioritized within our society. Conditions can only improve if we all make more earth-conscious decisions in our daily lives and encourage others to do the same. This will eventually make the heat of the summer more bearable and reduce the sub-zero temperatures.