Global warming is a phenomenon that has not only resulted in damage to the earth’s environment, but also to its wildlife. This man-made occurrence is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and results in the loss of habitats for many innocent animals. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, two thirds of the polar bear population will be lost by 2050, because their homes in the Arctic are melting. It was reported that a female polar bear was forced to swim across the Beaufort Sea for over nine days before she could reach ice to stand on, losing twenty-two percent (almost a quarter) of her body weight and her baby cub along the way (National Wildlife Federation, n.d.). Not only has climate change caused the death of polar bears, but it has also caused the death of polar bear prey, such as seals. Polar bears are going hungry, with their average weight dropping by fifteen percent, and have even turned to cannibalism to survive (National Wildlife Federation, n.d.). The unnatural and inhumane state of polar bears today is just one example of a species of animals who are suffering from the harmful effects of global warming. Human intervention in the natural state of the environment has caused these disastrous effects, and thus human intervention should be what remedies these problems. Although the damage already done cannot be reversed, further climate change can be prevented. The solution is clear: the human race must eliminate the use of fossil fuels to power our society. A transition to renewable energy resources is vital to the ending of global warming, and contrary to popular belief, it is a very possible and practical solution.

Global warming has occurred because when fossil fuels are burned, greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are released into the atmosphere. These gases cause what is commonly referred to as the “greenhouse gas effect,” because these elements trap heat from the sun’s rays within our atmosphere, thus causing a warming effect. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, greenhouse gases can stay in the atmosphere for extended periods of time, some for decades and some for centuries (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2014). This means that the warming effects of these greenhouse gases can persist for generations to come, even after the greenhouse gas emissions have been decreased or eliminated, because they will still remain in the atmosphere. To prevent these problems from transcending to a point where the consequences are too disastrous to remedy, humankind needs to put new renewable energy resources into use.

Global warming is fueled primarily by the burning of fossil fuels to create energy to power our cars, houses, and various other machinery. Our society is almost completely dependent on oil, which is very risky, since there are many downsides to using gas and oil as your main source of energy. Not only is gas a main proponent of ozone depletion and climate change, but it is also extremely expensive. The rising gas prices should be a huge incentive for the American people to call for a change in energy sources. This should persuade them to stop consuming so much gas, and instead turn to a more environmentally friendly resource that will save them money. According to the United States Energy Information Administration, gas prices have more than doubled over the past fifteen years, skyrocketing to prices over three dollars per gallon (United States Energy Information Administration, n.d.). Not only is oil expensive, but it is also difficult and dangerous to come by. The BP oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 is a prime example of the disasters that can occur when drilling oil. The spill poured over 3.19 million barrels of oil into the gulf, polluting the habitat of millions of animals and contaminating a beautiful piece of nature.

A Stanford University study declared that energy sources powered by wind, water, or sunlight were the best options for improving the environment in regards to global warming, pollution, water supply, land use, and wildlife (Jacobson & Delucchi, 2009). This study evidently supports the claim that renewable resources such as solar energy, wind power, and hydropower are the most effective solutions to the global warming crisis. However, in order for a complete transition to renewable energy where wind, water, and solar power provides one hundred percent of the world’s energy, millions of wind turbines, water machines, and solar installation must be built.  This may seem like quite a daunting proposal, however extremely large projects similar to the installation of millions of energy producing technologies have been achieved before. The researchers Jacobson and Delucchi cite two major events in United States history as examples of seemingly “impossible” feats that proved to be feasible: the creation of the Interstate Highway System which took thirty five years to build and altered commerce and society forever, and the retooling of car factories all over the U.S. during World War II to produce over 300,000 airplanes (Jacobsen & Delucchi, 2009). History shows that drastic change to a society economically is feasible because it has been done before. Transitioning completely to renewable energy may be difficult, but it is definitely not impossible.

One question often posed in response to the idea of implementing renewable resource projects is whether or not they will be affordable. Individual projects, such as installing solar panels on a home, can be expensive and cause a popular misconception that a large scale shift to renewable energy would be a very costly project. In truth, while the price of conventional power generation has been increasing over time, the price of renewable resources has become less expensive over time as new, more efficient technology is created to allow for cheaper production. The cost of nonrenewable energy resources currently in use is about seven cents per kilowatt hour, but is projected to become eight cents per kilowatt hour by the year 2020. The only renewable energy resource more expensive than the current source is solar, while geothermal, hydroelectric, wave, and wind are all equal or less than the price of nonrenewable fossil fuels. These renewable resources are actually projected to cost less than four cents per kilowatt hour by the year 2020, half of the projected cost of nonrenewable resources.

(Jacobson & Delucchi, 2009)
The most significant problem associated with having a society completely dependent on oil and fossil fuels is that these are nonrenewable resources. This means that they will eventually run out, and when they do, a society whose very foundation lies on the existence of these resources will collapse. In order to ensure that this does not happen, we must shift our dependence to new, renewable resources before the nonrenewable resources are depleted. The fact that nonrenewable resources are not infinite is proof in itself that renewable resources are much more practical than the current methods of creating energy. A system of wind, water, and solar power should be implemented worldwide, causing a complete shift to environmentally friendly sources of energy.

References
Jacobson, Mark Z., and Delucchi, Mark A. “A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030.” Scientific  American. 301.5 (2009): 58-65. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
National Wildlife Federation. "Global Warming and Polar Bears." National Wildlife Federation.  NWF, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Greenhouse Gases." EPA. United States  Environmental Protection Agency, 2 July 2014. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.
U.S. Energy Information Administration. "Short-Term Energy Outlook." U.S. Energy  Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis. U.S. Department  of Energy, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.