Introduction: American citizens die along with their planet with every breath they take. It's no secret that America has a pollution problem, but what's little known is that there is only a 35% recycling rate, while d Other countries, such as Germany, have a recycling rate of 68%. That's not the scariest fact: Only about 9 percent of the nearly 35 million tons of plastic produced each year are recycled, according to the U.K.'s Royal Statistical Society. Plastic is a form of pollution that contributes to climate change, climate change is massively affecting the planet we live on. Thesis Statement: What should be done is for the United States to make recycling mandatory to prevent climate change. The United States should impose mandatory recycling to reduce gas emissions, reduce waste in landfills, and clean up polluted bodies of water to reduce climate change. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Topic Sentence: To understand the seriousness of why mandatory recycling should be imposed, American citizens need to understand what gas emissions are. Evidence and Citations: According to one of NASA's senior writers, Holly Shaftel, "climate change is a long-term change in average weather patterns that have come to define Earth's local, regional, and global climates." . Comment: Greenhouse gas emissions are gases (primarily carbon dioxide) caused by human activities such as factories, transportation, and common commercial products. But what American citizens don't realize is that the gas emissions that affect climate change also affect them. Greenhouse gas emissions trap heat, making the climate hotter for people living in warmer parts of the United States, which also contributes to respiratory illnesses from air pollution. Evidence and Citation: In a study authored by Allen Hershkowitz, he wrote: "In 1994 alone, the 1,834 operating plastic production facilities in the United States emitted more than 111 million pounds of toxic air emissions , 507 million pounds of production waste, tens of thousands of pounds of releases to surface waters, and hundreds of thousands of pounds of other pollutant releases.” Comment: Paper mills (factories dedicated to making paper from trees) contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Factories cut down trees to use paper, which is not recycled and reduces the number of trees in the environment. Not using virgin materials, such as trees, will help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. By recycling paper and letting trees thrive in the environment, the amount of carbon dioxide would be removed from the air, which would also help store carbon in the soil and release oxygen into the atmosphere . Evidence and Citations: Another concept that people don't realize is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that if the United States increased its current recycling rate from 27% to 35%, it would reduce gas emissions greenhouse effect of 11.4 million tonnes. of carbon dioxide. Comment: This may not seem like a lot given that Earth's atmosphere is currently clouded by 412 million tons of carbon dioxide, but it iscertainly a stunning difference and a step in the right direction. Topic sentence: Landfills are also a major problem. contribution to the climate change epidemic. The EPA describes landfills on its website as follows: "Modern landfills are well-designed and managed facilities for the disposal of solid waste," and states that the United States has more than 3,000 active landfills. Landfills produce fewer gas emissions but still have the same responsibility in the face of the climate change epidemic. This is why many organizations are trying to find different ways to dispose of their waste. In a perspective essay written by author William J. Cohen, he states: "In 1991, the four municipal councils in the region, including the County of Lunenburg and the towns of Bridgewater, Lunenburg and Mahone Bay, approved a regional recycling strategy that would provide an alternative to the county's burn and landfill system, a system on a collision course with Nova Scotia's clean air. goals. These clean air goals were to be met by 1996, and the province's waste reduction goals were to be met by 2000.” Cohen then explains how Nova Scotia established a mandatory province-wide recycling program, where the process achieved one of its main goals: reducing the volume of waste from landfills to at least minus 50%. Cohen then explains how their goal was achieved: "Lunenburg County's strategy was fairly straightforward: it would include operating a recyclables separation plant, a composting plant for organic waste and mixed waste sorted at the source, as well as a dry landfill for recyclable materials. residue. Hazardous waste and large discarded items, such as household appliances, would also be recycled.” Since there are many landfills in many counties in the United States, just like greenhouse gas emissions, landfills are also very dangerous for American citizens. A lawsuit filed by the Holt family, who resided in Tennessee, against the Dickinson County Landfill in 2004. The family ultimately won their case due to an unfortunate spill from the landfill. The landfill sector has lost most of its limited credibility. Comment: Mandatory recycling would help reduce landfills, raise awareness of and bring change to the problem of climate change. Citizens would not need to rely on a third-party company to potentially harm those around them and they would be free to recycle their products and/or compost them. Many countries have proven that changes in their regions have benefited from the reduction of their landfills and the impact this has had on the changing climate around them. Topic sentence: Water pollution is the third largest contributor to the climate change epidemic, accounting for 80% of water pollution. the world's wastewater is released into the environment without treatment (Denchak). Evidence and Citations: As climate change has increased, water levels have also increased. Pollution plays a significant role in water climate cycles, making them unstable, unpredictable and far more dangerous than in the last 30 years. Today, the water has become so deadly that the amount of potable water available in the earth has fallen to less than 1 percent. The water has become toxic to humans due to its high amounts of arsenic, copper and lead. These three toxic components have been found in.