The Bystander Effect: When the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency, due to the diffusion of responsibility

I am sad to say this but we are in a state of emergency right now and the bystander effect is worse than ever.

I am talking about the environment; I am talking about our beautiful planet, Earth. The Earth that gives us the mountains, the oceans, and the beautiful views. The Earth that helps us breath and who without, we would not exist. The Earth that we take for granted. The diffusion of responsibility when it comes to taking care of the environment is a big problem nowadays. The habits of thinking “I don’t have to recycle this; my one piece of paper will not hurt the environment”. But what happens when everyone thinks that way? When 3/7 billion people think “I don’t have to recycle this; my one piece of paper will not hurt the environment”. The idea that if "a situation doesn't effect me, it doesn't matter" is ignorant and selfish. We cannot keep sitting around and slowly watch our home fall apart.

In this world, it seems that the most talked about topic relates to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and even social classes. People, such as Donald Trump, spend all their time highlighting the differences between one another. But here is one thing every human has is common: We all belong to the same Earth. We all share the same one body of water: the ocean. Humans have evolved into such a complex, intelligent species and it really sucks that we waste so much of our time using our natural intelligence, power and motivation to try to be better than one another. Instead of working together, we work against each other.

It is scary to think that one of our presidential nominees, Donald Trump, ignores one of the most prominent issues of the century: Global Warming. If it doesn't effect him so it is not his issue. To think that he is more invested in controlling women's bodies than controlling the CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. Or that he would rather spend billions of dollars to build a wall than spend that money on environmental initiatives. On the other hand,

That is why, I suggest you really consider the impact of voting this week. It is the decision between wanting someone who believes the facts & will make a positive difference, or someone who will remain ignorant to the scientific facts.

Global Warming

Sea levels rise, the number of wildfires increase, the amount of dangerous heat waves grow, droughts are more common, longer allergy seasons, air pollution increases, extremities in the weather, disruptions to our food supplies, destruction of coral reefs, melting ice, disruptions to the ecosystems of other animals: These are only a FEW of the terrible impacts Global Warming will or already has caused.

http://www.climatehotmap.org to see how global warming is impacting your region.

Global Warming is caused by an increase of greenhouse gases in the environment.

The greenhouse effect is important because it contributes to the survival of life. Without the greenhouse effect, the temperature of the planet would be similar to conditions experienced on the moon. However, the problem comes in when we unnaturally increase the greenhouse gasses, most commonly the amount of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, so that the Earth’s surface warms too much.

Burning fossil fuels for energy and deforestation are two of the main causes for the rise in CO2 levels. Furthermore, methane emissions come through mining, the use of natural gas, the mass raising of livestock and the use of landfills.

This is a graph that describes the temperature increase associated with CO2 levels.

For a more recent graph: http://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide...

Check this video out to see what would happen if all the ice melted: would your city be flooded? http://www.businessinsider.com/what-earth-would-look-like-if-ice-melted-world-map-animation-2015-2

Here are some ways that you can help this environmental problem out.

1. Buy LED lightbulbs:

LED lightbulbs use up to 80% less energy than incandescent lightbulbs.

2. Expand the use of alternative, renewable energy sources.

Firstly, fossil fuels and coal are non-renewable, meaning that we will run out of them eventually.

Furthermore, the production of these energy sources releases a great deal of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

Alternative energy sources include wind power, solar energy and hydroelectric energy.

3. Encourage Nuclear Power:

Of all the non-renewable energy resources, I highly suggest that we encourage the use of nuclear power to support our energy. I have been doing a lot of reading on nuclear power and I am confused as to why we haven’t implemented it yet into being more widespread.

Nuclear power is the cleanest and most efficient energy we can use. It is essentially, in the most simplest terms, the splitting of uranium atoms, releasing energy into the heating of water that spins the turbines connected to generators to produce electricity. The reason that nuclear power is so clean is that it releases 0 carbon emission into the atmosphere.There are several more benefits to nuclear power plants and there are common misconceptions that cause people to be against nuclear reactors. (I do not want to bore you with all of the benefits of using nuclear energy, but here is more information if you want to read about it: http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/c...)

4. Use fuel-efficient vehicles:

A car requires gasoline to function. When we burn gasoline (use oil), CO2 emissions and pollution in the air increase.

“Improving the fuel efficiency of U.S. vehicles is the biggest single step we can take to cut America's oil consumption in half. In fact, doubling the fuel efficiency of new cars, trucks, and commercial vehicles would, by 2035, save over 5 million barrels of oil per day”.

5. Carpool or Take Public Transportation:

Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year.

6. Drive Cautiously:

Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Bike or walk to your local supermarket (if possible)

7. Reduce, Reuse & Recycle:

You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.

8. Compost:

When food scraps are thrown in a landfill, the degrading material creates methane, a greenhouse gas that is 70 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

However, by composting, we can avoid producing that excess methane and also provide a benefit to our soil.

Want to compost? Here is where to begin: http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8367.pdf

9. Buy Locally Grown Food:

Buying items from farmer's markets as opposed to buying from supermarkets takes a lot less energy to provide.

10. Eat Less Meat:

Eating a plant- based diet or reducing your consumption of products like meat and dairy can help save forests.

read more about the meat industry on Global Warming here: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainableagriculture/issues/meat

Even committing to something as simple as "Meatless Mondays" would help make a difference.

11. Buy Intelligently:

One bottle of 1.5 L requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5 L.

Also, buying recycled paper products because it takes 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

12. Plant a Tree:

Take it upon yourself to plant trees.

A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%.

https://www.treepeople.org/resources/tree-benefits

13. Use Less Hot Water:

It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow shower head.

(350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot

15. Speak out and Be Heard:

One of the main reasons that global warming is often overlooked or not considered a problem is because no one is aware of its impacts.

By speaking out and advocating for Earth, you can bring awareness to this topic.

So with that, just remember that you can make a difference. The smallest thing can make a big different. Just try to do one of these a day and you have already helped the cause. However, as individuals we can do the best we can to decrease greenhouse gasses, but it will not be until the government officials bring awareness and dedicate themselves to helping our environment that we will be able to feel secure. Just remember to vote wisely this week.

Other Websites for more Information:

http://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide

http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming#.WB18koRCef5

http://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

http://www.livescience.com/37003-global-warming.htmlhttp://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/global-warming/scie...