What's Happening to Our Planet?...and what can we do about it?

ECO NEWS, May 2007, by Deanna Fry


What’s Happening
to Our Planet?
...and what can WE do about it?
global


Global warming and climate change have become very ‘hot’ topics these days! It’s hard to read a newspaper or watch TV without hearing something about it. And that’s a good thing, because some of us have been trying to tell people about the problem for years ...maybe now people are listening.

So, here’s the scoop.
First, you need to know that climate is the pattern of weather in a certain place on the earth over a long period of time. How long you ask? Well, scientists can measure changes in the earth’s climate going back millions of years, by studying ice core samples from glaciers, among other things. Earth’s climate has always changed slowly, and has been through many periods of warming and cooling in its 4.2 billion year history. The last ‘ice age’ in Canada was around 12 000 years ago, and when those glaciers finally melted they formed the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.  

The problem we’re hearing about now is often called global warming because the average temperature on Earth has been rising more quickly than it ever has before. But that doesn’t mean that it will get warmer everywhere. Some places will get colder, some will get wetter and others will get dryer. That’s why it’s better to call it rapid global climate change, because that’s what’s actually happening. The long term weather patterns on the planet (climates) are changing quickly and dramatically.  

Have you noticed it where you live?
Did you have snow when you usually do this winter? Were there days last summer when it was too hot and smoggy to spend time outside? Are the lakes and rivers freezing later and melting sooner in the season? People across Canada are noticing these kinds of changes in their own communities now. And many Canadians are becoming concerned; they want to know what they can do to help. There is a lot was can do, every one of us. But first we need to understand why this is happening.

The earth is surrounded by a thin layer of gases we call the atmosphere. If the planet was as big as an apple, the skin of the apple would be about the size of the atmosphere ...not a very big layer, but one with many important jobs! It contains the air we breathe and the clouds and rain we need. It also has special gases that trap the sun’s heat, so it is warm enough for life to exist on the earth’s surface. This warming ability of the atmosphere is called the greenhouse effect .

Fossil Fuels
I’m sure you’ve already heard about greenhouse gases, but did you know that levels of carbon dioxide and methane gas in the earth’s atmosphere are the highest they’ve been in half a million years? That’s because for the last couple of hundred years people have been using fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas to produce energy. Fossil fuels release energy when they are burned, like in the engine of a car or any other machine. Unfortunately, burning fossil fuels also releases greenhouse gases and these extra gases have been building up in the atmosphere. The problem is that there are too many greenhouse gases now, and they are trapping too much heat. The extra heat is causing weather patterns to change and polar ice caps to melt more quickly than they ever have before!

It also means that all forms of life on the planet will have to change or adapt more quickly than they ever have before ...and some may not make it.

What can we do?
It is so important for people everywhere to try and reduce the amount of fossil fuels they burn. Whether it’s driving in a car, heating a home, flying in a plane, having a shower or using electricity, fossil fuels have probably been burned somewhere along the way to provide the required energy. So, walk to school, put on a sweater, have a shorter shower, turn off lights, spend time outside instead in front of the screen on your TV or computer.

If we all do a few of these simple things every day, it will really add up! There are lots of great programs and websites to help you get started, like David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge for Kids. The more we reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we produce, the better it will be for Canada, and the whole world.

So while being real and being you, choose to be a part of the solution, and not part of the problem!

~ Deanna


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