“We are in a race against time. Newspaper and magazine articles,
television specials, and film documentaries all predict a terrible future:
global warming will bring to the world melting ice sheets, flooded
coastal regions, powerful hurricanes, droughts, and dislocated
populations.” Brian Dumaine. The Plot to save the Planet.
Global Warming/Climate Change/Greenhouse Effect. We all
know the meanings of those terms but why haven’t we done
much about it? Humans are causing it and Humans can stop it
getting worse. We are causing this by releasing immense
amounts of CO₂ and greenhouse gasses like Methane, Nitrogen
Oxide and Fluorinated gasses into to our precious atmosphere.
(Methane leaks out of our coal mines and natural gas wells.)
It is scientifically proven that the CO₂ levels in the Earth’s
atmosphere increases by 10% each year. Last year around 28
billion tons of CO₂ was released into our atmosphere. This is
harmful and it is having a massive effect on countries and cotenants ALL over the
world, causing Droughts, rising Water levels, Hurricanes and extreme Temperature
increases.
The temperatures on Earth are increasing because of the Gas overload in our Earth’s
atmosphere. Think of a greenhouse, it traps in the heat from the sun and sustains the
life that’s inside. The changing Temperature is bad for our economy and our
environments. For example, in February 2009 Victoria witnessed some of the worst
bushfires on record in Australia and Professors from the University of Melbourne
have directly linked this event to Global Warming. This incident claimed 173 lives,
injured 5,000 people, destroyed 2029 homes, killed wildlife and burnt over 4,500
square kilometres of land. This incident caused the Australian Government 500
billion dollars to fix. This is a result of a long period oppressive heat and drought.
The Ocean’s levels are rising because of the rapid melting rate of our icy continents.
Antarctica and Alaska are the ones at risk. Over the past 100 years it has been
recorded that the Water Level has risen by 1-2 millimetres per year on average. It has
been steadily rising since the 1970’s and that was when the rising Greenhouse Gas
levels became more serious. These two pictures (above) shove the Larson B iceshelf
in Antarctica on February 2002 and amazingly, between the two pictures are only 17
days difference.
The temperature in our Oceans are rising, causing Coral Bleaching and Hurricanes.
Coral bleaching can occur with the slightest water temperature change like 1.5-2°C
more than the usual temperature. Hurricanes can occur as the storm or hurricane
passes over the sea and it absorbs the warm water. The water is pushed outward and
upward and the upward water cools quickly, absorbing moisture which turns into
rain. As the air falls and rushes around, the process repeats itself building up the
pressure and the speed of the storm. The water can reach up to 26°C, which is a
direct contributor to Hurricanes, acting like the Fuel of the storm.
Australia is witnessing its worst drought on record
and this is caused by the warming temperatures in
our Earth’s atmosphere. They nicknamed the 2002present drought “The Big Dry”. We are often affected
by drought because of our geography and the change
of weather patterns. These colours (right) represent
the rainfall in Australia from 1970-2009.
Here are some ways we can contribute to reducing Global Warming by:
-Saving the Rainforests
-Using Hybrid cars
-Buy a Fuel Efficient Car
-Build an Energy Efficient home
-Inflate your tyres
-Use recycled things
-Reduce Garbage
-Buy Minimally packaged goods
-Planting Trees
-Using Compact Fluorescent Light
bulbs
-Un plug unused energy appliances
-Fill your dishwasher
-Adjust your Thermostat
-Check your water heater
-Change the AC heater
-Take short showers
-Install a Low-Flow shower head
-Buy local products
-Insulate your water heater
-Insulate your home
-Put on a sweater
-Air dry your clothes
-Switch to a Tankless Water Heater
-Switch to double pane windows
-Buy organic food
-Buy cloths bags when shopping,
instead of using plastic bags
If we use some or all of these conditions, then we can help reduce the impact that
Global Warming has on Earth. Please, help and Save Our Planet!