Climate change

Climate change is the greatest challenge of our lifetime. Centuries of pollution and deforestation have led to global warming, rising seas, and a plethora of natural disasters. What is it, and what can we do to fix it?

One measurable aspect of cc is global warming. Greenhouse gases get trapped in the atmosphere causing the global temperature to rise. Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are the 3 main greenhouse gases. Solar energy (heat/light) gets trapped in the atmosphere - this is the natural process of global warming. Humans are making this global warming process worse by emitting lots of greenhouse gases from factories. Global temperatures are rising - causing the melting of glaciers in Antarctica and more natural disasters. In the 1800s, humans began the Industrial revolution, resulting in many factories emitted carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Humans rely on factories and transport (e.g cars, buses) which all burn fossil fuels. In the last century, the global temperatures have risen by 1* C. There are lots of human actions 

Another devastating component of climate change is deforestation. Deforestation is when forests are obliterated, causing less produced oxygen and less carbon dioxide is absorbed. This excess carbon dioxide is then released into the atmosphere contributing to the greenhouse effect. 

A famous example of deforestation is the culling of trees in the Amazon forest. The Amazon rainforest is the world, home to 390 billion trees. People are cutting native rainforests to plant palm oil and other food sources. The immediate result of this is that animal's habitat is destroyed. The plight of the orangutang is known around the world. They are a symbol of fighting against climate change. The longer-term effect is that certain species have become endangered and even extinct. Damage to the land caused by agriculture is often permanent.

Saving the rainforests would help minimize the long-term impact of global warming.

A third factor contributing to climate change in agriculture. Agriculture is farming with animals. Cows produce a lot of methane through farting and belching which is a greenhouse gas. Agriculture requires huge amounts of land which could be used for forests/rainforests and as habitats for native species. Another damaging part of agriculture is the damage done to local waterways (E.g. rivers and streams) through the fecal matter and urine of those animals. The water gets polluted and fish who live there die. In New Zealand, there are 26.6 million sheep and 10.1 million cattle. If people ate less meat, we wouldn’t need so much land for agriculture and we wouldn’t be damaging local waterways as well. 

L-Global warming is causing rising sea levels through the melting of the arctic and Antarctica.

E- The largest concentration of ice on earth is in the arctic ( Northern Hemisphere) and Antarctica (Southern Hemisphere). These places have glaciers and ice sheets that hold vast amounts of water. A glacier is a huge mass of ice that slowly moves over land. Glaciers fall into two groups: Alpine glaciers and ice sheets, alpine glaciers form on mountainsides and move downward through the valleys. Like a glacier, an ice sheet forms through the mass of snowfall. over thousands of years, the layers of snow build-up, forming a flowing sheet of ice thousands of feet thick and tens to thousands of miles across. Solar energy and greenhouse gases increase global temperatures which lead to these ice forms melting. This meltwater causes rising sea levels around the world, leading to increased flooding and coastal erosion.

E- A small island in the Pacific that is directly impacted is Kiribati. Kiribati is a low-lying island experiencing unprecedented levels of flooding, high tides, and coastal erosion. Kiribati is trying to save their island by building new sea levels of coral. Kiribati citizens are now becoming climate change refugees - seeking asylum in neighboring countries such as Australia and New Zealand. Kiribati land, Culture, and native wildlife will be lost forever.

R- While global warming seems like a big picture problem, for the people of Kiribati it is a matter of life and death.

Many actions can be taken to reduce the impact of climate change. Some of these can be done by individual people, such as not using plastic bags, putting your rubbish in the bin, and recycling any plastics you use. Actions that every community should take are to have lots of rubbish bins available, plant lots of trees and native bushland, use wind farms and solar panels where you can. At a national level, actions New Zealand can take are planting more trees, conservation programs for native species, introducing laws and policies that limit overfishing, and monitors the deforestation of native timbers. Both individuals and countries should be responsible for the rubbish they let into their oceans and waterways. Every country should actively be trying to increase of bees they have in their land. The biggest would be global, companies stopped burning fossil fuels as this would minimize the greenhouse gases that are entering the atmosphere. 

One scientific study found that only 100 companies are responsible for 71% of the world's carbon emissions. There are four petrol companies (ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and Chevron) that are the highest emitters in the world. Another thing consumers can look for is what products they buy - some products use palm oil which is the reason for a lot of deforestation. People should buy palm oil-free products. There are lots of ways both individuals, groups, and governments can make a difference in reducing climate change.

In conclusion, climate change is a terrible problem that is the #1 concern facing our planet. If we do not take the actions discussed, within a century our planet will have irreversible damage, and our children and grandchildren will not enjoy the world in the way we did. It is up to every person to make a change.