Global Warming is threatening us all! Here’s what you should know.
Global warming doesn’t just affect people. It can cause harm to animals as well. There are numerous animals that are suffering because of our lacking efforts to take care of our environment. Let alone, there are hundreds and thousands of animals that call the Earth their home. Animals such as polar bears and even monarch butterflies are being threatened because of Global Warming.
Before getting into the specifics, it’s important to consider how climate change is caused. Earth is surrounded by an atmosphere that is made of layers of gases. When sunlight enters the atmosphere, a portion of the sun’s heat gets trapped inside because of the gases. The rest of the sun’s heat leaves the atmosphere. The trapped heat is what is used to keep the Earth warm. In the past centuries, the oil, gas, and coal that we use have released carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The gas will trap heat or else it will end up escaping the atmosphere. This is the cause of the Earth’s increase in average temperature.
Global Warming doesn’t necessarily mean there will be hotter summers and warmer winters. It’s a lot more than that. It’s causing issues with weather patterns, ocean behavior, plants, animals, and much more. This can also be described as cause and effect. A small change influences more changes, which eventually snowballs into a large problem.
To start, small animals such as Monarch butterflies are being tremendously impacted by climate issues. Monarch butterflies have a life cycle they follow and climate change is ruining the order and timing. Monarchs use temperature to decide when they need to hibernate, reproduce, and migrate. The drastic changes will mess this cycle up. To add, animals that are already endangered are being put into even more critical endangerment. For example, the ‘I’iwi is experiencing the impacts of climate change as well. This bird can die from something as little as a bite from a mosquito with malaria. Usually, the birds would stay safe and cool in mountains- a place where mosquitoes cannot reach. As the weather gets warmer there is a higher chance different bugs can start to find them. Putting the already endangered animal to be within a range of more harm.
Sea levels are another victim of climate change. Polar ice is melting at a rapid speed and land and ocean water uncover when ice melts. When the ice melts, it becomes a darker color than regular ice and snow. Dark colors reflect less solar light, which also means that they reflect less solar heat. Because dark colors absorb more heat, the ice melts at a faster rate. As ice melts, sea levels rise and based on the speed of the ice melting, the water will rise quickly. If the water rises then islands that are situated at a lower sea level could slowly disappear. Changes in the world, like the coastlines, could differ around the world. The high tides could cause flooding in certain places as well. As you can see, many things are being affected by this.
Weather patterns are changing, and it’s confusing us. For example, ocean temperatures can also affect air. Warm air goes up, while colder air goes down. As the oceans get warmer the air masses will gradually change. This change will affect the weather around the globe. Some places might become drier, while others might become wetter. Just a slight change in temperature can affect a lot of things.
Plants are being targeted too! Although CO2 levels rising to make it so plants need less water for photosynthesis, there are still a lot of cons associated with this. An example of this would be the fact that warmer land results in longer and hotter growing seasons. This allows plants to have more time to absorb water and grow. Unfortunately, this also means that the land will become dry. A drier land causes deforestation, overgrazing, and a lot of other things.
In conclusion, the world is being put in danger because of Global Warming. Things like sea levels rising, a warmer/colder habitat, more moisture, and drier land can all negatively affect living things. Lack of livestock can also result in meat stocks going down as well. There are so many bad outcomes of this problem. We have to come to a realization the world is not okay and that we are all at risk.
Sources:
https://explore.proquest.com/sirsdiscoverer/document/2265821206?searchid=1615302564&accountid=3282
https://explore.proquest.com/sirsdiscoverer/document/2250084792?searchid=1615303185&accountid=3282
https://explore.proquest.com/sirsdiscoverer/document/2265446516?searchid=1615326214&accountid=3282
Joanna Kim, (joanna011709@gmail.com) is a 6th grader attending Ellicott Mills Middle School. She enjoys spreading animal endangerment awareness along with environmental projects. In Joanna’s free time she enjoys going on walks with her dog. She also enjoys traveling and helping others.
