Icebergs shrinking: Let’s destroy this monster that we have created

Effect on Animals

Imagine your home was slowly melting away, and in the end, you’re only living on the roof. Polar bears are sadly growing up in these situations. Their homes are melting away and one day, in the distant future, they won't have a place to stand up steadily anymore. Polar bears can swim steadily for multiple hours, but they must rest too, especially if they have cubs, who can't swim yet. This means that they are disappearing, without us doing anything about it. The British magazine Nature climate Change says that if the amount of greenhouse gases continues, polar bears will be completely gone by the year 2100. Also, polar bears use the ice platforms to hunt for seals, so if all the ice platforms are gone, they will be too. Since 1970, the ice melting in the arctic has increased by 13%. This predicament isn't only for polar bears, but also for many other animals. There has been an increase in wildfires due to global warming.

Let's travel to a hotter part of the earth, Australia. Let's take Koalas. If a wildfire suddenly hits them and they aren't high up in a tree, their paws get burned, and they do too. Even if they are high up in a tree, the tree could fall because the stem is burning off. Sadly, this is all our fault.

Two polar bears, one starved (2017) and one in better conditions (2015) (Arctic)

Global Warming

You may be wondering, how is a polar bears home melting away our fault? Global warming. Do you take your car to school? This releases an incredible amount of Co2 into the air every minute! Even if you don’t, you must eat. Let's take Lasagna as an example. That needs an oven to cook, and an oven emits 400g of carbon dioxide an hour! You may be slightly confused. First, what is global warming? Global warming is the rising temperatures in the earth's atmosphere usually caused by greenhouse gases (co2), which are emitted by us humans. The consequences of this are that the whole entire world heats up, meaning more droughts, icebergs melting which results in floods, wildfires and animals losing their homes. Global warming is not only raising the water levels in the world but doing so much more. Like I mentioned above, Global warming is not only a thing in the colder parts of the world. It also effects Australia and the other hotter countries, by turning the temperate up even higher.

Greenhouse gases being put out into atmosphere (2021)

Things we can do about it

It may seem like there is nothing we can do about this, but there is. Even if it’s as small as turning off the light in your room when you are leaving. It’s simply pressing a button! Also, walk, bike or take public transport when you want to go somewhere. Also, consider if you are going to buy something or not, especially if it’s made from plastic. Will it be a one-use kind of thing, or will you actually use it? As well as that, check what type of energy you are using in your house. If it’s not a renewable energy source, see if you can get it changed. These are some of the most minor things that you can do to make a difference! In the world, everyone must play their role for the changes we are trying to make to be successful. Some parts of the world are doing their job well, while others aren’t. In 2021 China put out 31% of all greenhouse's gases into the atmosphere. This may not seem like a lot, but when you compare it to the rest of the world's large continents it is way too much. For example: USA, the Russian federation, the EU, and India only put out 35% in the world in total. Although we will be able to stop the amount of Greenhouses gases one day (if everyone plays their part), studies show that we will not be able to save polar bears in time. 12 out of 13 subpopulations will be gone. Like I stated before, polar bears will be extinct within 80 or so years.

Floods

The last topic that I wanted to address was floods. In the last couple months and years, you may have been seeing more and more stories of floods. The reason for these floods is often global warming. Of course, floods can be caused by global warming, but excessive raining is the most common reason. While we are on the topic of rain, global warming also partly affects the amount of rain in the world. When the temperature in the ocean rises, more water evaporates which makes it rain more. Back to the topic of floods, global warming does not create flash floods. Flash floods are often due to large amounts of rain passing through an area. For example: our school was hit by a flash flood, because of the sudden increase in rain. Global warming often occurs in streams that overflow due to ice melting, which causes the water level to increase. Although climate change is exacerbating the increase in floods, scientists have found that there has been no major increase in the number of floods. This is a good thing because floods are destroying people's homes way too quickly. We can all make a difference in global warming, and everyone must play their part. Step up, be the better person and stop this monster that we have created.

Photograph taken as residents were assessing the damage of the flood (Far Rockway, Queens October 2021)

Shao, Elena. “How Is Climate Change Affecting Floods?” The New York Times, 26 July 2022, www.nytimes.com/article/flooding-climate-change.html.

EPA, www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-wildfires#:~:text=Multiple%20studies%20have%20found%20that,wildfire%20frequency%2C%20and%20burned%20area.&text=The%20wildfire%20season%20has%20lengthened,and%20drier%20soils%20and%20vegetation. Accessed 21 June 2023.

AFP, Daily Sabah with. “Polar Bears Could Go Extinct by 2100 Due to Global Warming, Study Says.” Daily Sabah, 26 July 2020, www.dailysabah.com/life/environment/polar-bears-could-go-extinct-by-2100-due-to-global-warming-study-says.