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Climate Change

Scientists have warned that the world's climate has changed a lot, and has

affected many living and non-living things. Many places that were warmer are

now getting colder, and many colder regions are getting much more colder or

even warmer (know as Global arming!.Some people do not believe that these are caused by human activities. "hey

think it is all political and falsehood intended to cause panic among humans.

ell, whatever it is, we would like to know more, and take a few good points

from this confusion, and use them to make our world a better place to live.

What is climate change?

#limate is usually defined as the $average weather$ in a place. %t includes

patterns of temperature, precipitation (rain or snow!, humidity, wind and

seasons. #limate patterns play a fundamental role in shaping natural

ecosystems, and the human economies and cultures that depend on them. &ut

the climate weve come to epect is not what it used to be, because the past is

no longer a reliable predictor of the future. )ur climate is rapidly changing with

disruptive impacts, and that change is progressing faster than any seen in the

last *,+++ years.

ccording to the report, reparing for a #hanging #limate, rising levels of carbon

dioide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere have warmed the arth

and are causing wide-ranging impacts, including rising sea levels/ melting snow

and ice/ more etreme heat events, fires and drought/ and more etreme

storms, rainfall and floods. Scientists pro0ect that these trends will continue and

in some cases accelerate, posing significant risks to human health, our forests,

agriculture, freshwater supplies, coastlines, and other natural resources that are

vital to ashington states economy, environment, and our 1uality of life.

"he earths atmosphere is all around us. %t is the air that we breathe.

Sunlight enters the arths atmosphere,

passing through the blanket of greenhouse gases.

s it reaches the earths surface, the land and water absorbs the sunlights

energy.

)nce absorbed, the energy is sent back into the atmosphere in the form of infra-

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red rays.

Some of the energy passes back into space, but much of it remains trapped in

the atmosphere by the greenhouse gases, causing our globe (earth! to warm up.

"his warming is what we call Global arming, and it is caused by the

greenhouse effect.

"he greenhouse effect is important. ithout the greenhouse effect, the earth

would not be warm enough for humans to live. &ut if the greenhouse effect

becomes stronger, it could make the earth warmer than usual. ven a little etra

warming of the earth may cause problems for humans, plants and animals.

Why is Earth getting warmer?

Why is Earth getting warmer? Here's one clue: As the temperature goes up, the amount of carbon

dioxide, or C!, in the air goes up" And as the carbon dioxide goes up, the temperature goes up e#en

more"

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas" $hat means it traps heat from Earth's surface and holds the heat

in the atmosphere" %cientists ha#e learned that, throughout Earth's history, temperature and C! le#els

in the air are closely tied"

What brings about more Greenhouse gases?

%n this new era (the age of industriali2ation!, the earth is full of industries.

Millions of vehicles, aeroplanes and engines are produced every year. lot of

artificial things have been produced and have ended up in waste dumps.

3umans produce much more waste than ever before.

"ake a good look at the simple sketch below.

hat did you notice in that sketch4 hat do all those activities have in common4

They all produce a lot of smoke, fumes and water vapor! 

Simply put, human's reliance on artificial things, including all the things that

make us comfortable at home, has contributed immensely to the emission of

more greenhouse gases than before. "hese gases in the atmosphere have

trapped more heat on the earths surface and made it warmer. "his is Global

arming.

5)6 and % also produce and other greenhouse gases in a way, by the things

we use at home. 7o you have some of these items in your house4

%t is very %M)8"9" that you turn off all electrical appliances when they are notin use. "his is good practice, and you end up saving some money too.

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verything humans have at home or workplace need power to work. "his power

comes from burning fossil fuels and other natural sources. "he more fuels are

burnt, the more are produced into the atmosphere.

"his means each time your dad drives his car, or you turn on an electric

appliance, you are indirectly adding to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

But thats not all — it must also be noted that less forest cover all over the world 

has resulted in less carbon absorption and storage. This is because plants

absorb carbon from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.

"his is not very good, as we are all contributing to global warming and climate

change. "his is a problem.

Effects of Climate change

Global warming causes thermal epansion of land and water. %t also causes ice

sheets to melt in icy regions of the world and mountain tops.

:arge volumes of melted ice (water! then flows down into streams, rivers, lakes

and seas. "he result is rising sea and water levels, causing floods and massive

destruction to low-lying towns and cities along water bodies.

#hanging climate may also cause the weather to become more etreme, be it

droughts or violent storms and heavy rain.

treme changes in temperature makes people suffer breathing difficulties, head

aches, body rashes and other illnesses. #limate change also distorts the naturalhabitats and lives of many plants and animals. ;or eample, the survival of polar

bears and penguins in icy regions are in danger, as they cannot survive

anywhere else. )ther plants and animals in hot regions will die if temperatures

suddenly become too cold for them.

"he same amount of water in the water cycle will not be affected, but its timing,

amounts, regularity and distibution will be impacted. Mid latitudes and dry

subtropical regions may eperience reduction in water flow, whiles high latitudes

and humid mid-latitude regions may have increased water flow. "here may be

streamflow uncertainty in many other regions, because of reduced snow and ice

storage. vailability of clean water may be affected too, for instance, the 1uality

of lakes used for water supply could be impaired by the presence of algae

producing toins.

Things you can do about global warming.

&efore we look at what you can do, it is important to note that big automobile

industries, refineries, commercial farmers, and others are the main bodies with

the highest carbon emissions. "his is because we rely on them to provide

products and food that we en0oy at home. "his means if we reduce our reliancefor these big industries, they won't have to produce more.

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So, a good way to solve the problem may be from our government and

legislature level to regulate these big companies. e can get our leaders to

make laws that discourage activities that has high carbon footprint.

&ut many of our leaders have been a bit disappointing. So it is our turn to do our

bit<

What about you? ...in your own little way?

Start by reducing your carbon footprint. 5our carbon footprint is the sum of all

emissions of #)* (carbon dioide!, which were produced by your activities in a

given time frame.

:et's start with vehicles. =ehicles produce greenhouse gases.

Go by bus! 

Get your family to go to school, work, market, holiday, place of worship on a bus

rather than in daddys car. %ts cheaper too, and you save some money. Walk!Dont drie. 

Wal& to the shop, mar&et, farm, school and e#erywhere" %ometimes there are too many cars causing

hea#y traffic and it is better to wal&" t is also great exercise""ide! Dont drie. 

(ou can always ride down to almost e#erywhere" t's great fun and #ery good exercise)

#rotect and plant trees.

*lanting trees is fun and a great way to reduce greenhouse gases" $rees absorb C!, +a greenhouse

gas from the air" $his means the air will be fresher and also help regulate climate" (ou can also sa#e

old trees by protecting them from being cut down" ne great way to ha#e fun with trees is to plant one

on e#ery special day li&e your birthday, Christmas, -ational holidays or e#en in memory of special

friends""ecycle$ reduce and re%use items"

.ecycling, reducing the use of things and re/using things is also a brilliant attitude for us to

ac0uire" When we recycle cans, bottles, plastic and paper, we send less trash to landfill" t also helps

sa#e natural resources such as trees, oil and aluminum"

When you go shopping, always loo& for the recycle mar& on products before buying them" $he mar&

means they ha#e been produced from recycled materials, and you want to encourage them to do so"

f your community does not ha#e recycling ser#ices with waste collection, this is the time to 1oin a

group to tal& about it"

#limate change is a problem facing all arth so we should all help to prevent it.

the difference each one of us make is so small but if we all prevent it from a

happening even more that will make a big difference.

Made by> :aura 3ani G?&

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