Hopefully everyone has heard about Global Warming already. If not, you can look it up on Nasa. From December 7th to the 18th, the United Nations had a Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark to formulate a plan to diminish green house gases and stop Global Warming. As for myself, I have paid no real attention to Global warming until now. I have been reading other blogs about Copenhagen and was very inspired to learn more and get more involved. What I have observed is that many people know about Global Warming but aren't doing anything to help the situation. Some people are just caught up in their ways of life and others just do not know how to make an impact. Therefore, I have looked up ways that everyone can make a contribution to this cause.
After the Holidays, remember to recycle your Christmas tree. Many cities have recycling programs, but if not here are some sites you can look into in order to recycle your tree.
With Copenhagen kicking off last week, December 7, the world will be talking about Climate Change and we can help have an impact, starting in our own homes!
To preserve our neighborhoods, states, and country it’s necessary to use the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
We’ve heard it from a young age, and now the world is beginning to see why. Singer Jack Johnson visited the students of Sunset Beach Elementary School in Hawaii to join them for a group rendition of the song “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”
What are three simple ways YOU can make a change?
Reduce: Reduce your waste! If you’re going to the grocery store, bring your own bags (plastic, paper, or anything else that works). It’s easy and will help cut back on unnecessary waste.
Reuse: If you have older siblings or cousins that are going to be getting rid of some clothes, but you think you’re cool-try them on and save them if they work! No need to spend extra money on clothes if you can get some great pieces for free!
Recycle: Before you throw something out in the trash, see if you can recycle it! Most aluminum and plastic items can be recycled and used to make other products.
See, it’s simple. Those are just a few ways you can make a huge impact on preserving our planet earth!
To check out the video of Jack Johnson and the kids singing the 3Rs, check this out: http://explore.org/videos/player/hi-jacks-music-lesson-4
Almost every one of my friends are on "the pill." It's kinda funny, actually. It makes us girls look like we're always slutting it up or something. We're not. But it's just gotten so common for our generation and the ones coming. It's almost as common as taking a multi-vitamin.
Another common aspect of our generation and the ones coming up is population and global warming problems.
The government is not suggesting that by combining these two commonalities, our problems can be solved.
They're suggesting that women in developing countries be given prescriptions of birth control in order to slow the population rate. According to an article in the Associated Press, "more than 200 million women worldwide want contraceptives, but don't have access to them... [resulting] in 76 million unintended pregnancies every year.("Birth Control could Help Combat Climate Change" - AP)
76 million unintended pregnancies?!
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This is kinda weird to me. I don't know if it's ethical to give out birth control to everyone in a country in order to slow the population. I mean, it sounds worse than it actually is I guess. But I just don't get a good vibe from this approach.
Posted on: 08/19/09(0 ratings) Author: jameshodges
We can beat the immediate heat by getting our splash on, but in the long term we're going to have to cut down carbon emissions if we don't want heat waves to become more than a summer time thing.
There's a heat advisory in place for the New York area, and people have
been advised to cut back on lots of activities that can aggravate heat
related problems for both individuals as well as our broader
communities.
During a heat wave, the National Weather Service recommends that we change our
eating and drinking habits, drinking lots of fluids but avoiding caffeinated, sugary, or alcoholic
beverages. That means no soda, no coffee, no energy drinks, and no
sugary sports drinks like Powerade or Gatorade. It's funny, but many
of the drinks we look to for refreshment are actually dehydrating and
bad for hot weather.
During a heat wave, people are also encouraged to avoid physical
activities from jogging to gardening to carrying groceries home. Now
here at YouthNoise, sports are not only a part of our lives, they're
the method we use for improving the world around us-- so what are we
supposed to do, stay inside?
In the immediate time frame, we can go for a swim, but at the rate we've been going, some scientists fear that within a few years we could see a drastic increase in extreme weather patterns-- unless we make lifestyle changes (aside from getting to the pool more often).
One really simple thing we can do about the heat waves in our future is visit the PlayCity Just 1 Click
page and click through to fight global warming. One click will help raise funds to wage a political battle against rising carbon emissions.
The way I figure, if we don't
take care of carbon emission levels now, we're going to have a lot more
heat waves in future. And they might show up in October or January if
we aren't careful! Check this clip from National Geographic about the possible effects of global warming-- then go click!
I’m reading ‘Six Degrees’ at the moment, by Mark Lynas, and I agree with the Sunday Times who has described it as ‘terrifying’.
Clearly, I’m already a believer that our climate is changing, for the worse, because of the activities of humans. I’m also sure that it’s equally as clear that I think we should all take responsibility for our own lifestyles by reducing our footprints and buying carbon credits to offset our emissions. But occasionally I pick up a book on the subject, and am just terrified, for the lack of another word. ‘Six Degrees’ is one of those books.
Why am I terrified? Because there is so much to lose, and I just don’t see anyone really doing anything significant about it. Because people are waiting for the world’s governments to take responsibility for us, and the governments are all being paid off by oil and industrial companies. And because all it would take is a little bit of effort by everyone, but people think that it’s too big of an issue. Well, it will be a huge issue if we don’t do anything soon. Now is the time to act, and the questions it: Why aren’t we doing something now?!?
Here’s part of ‘Six Degrees’ that really got to me recently. It only starts on page 54 and talks about how our oceans are becoming more acidic, because a substantial amount of our carbon dioxide emissions are absorbed into the sea:
“The most important life-forms to be affected are those that form the bedrock of the oceanic food chain: plankton. Although individually tiny, photosynthesising plankton ... are perhaps the most important plant resource on Earth. They comprise at least half the biosphere’s entire primary production - that’s equivalent to all the land plants put together ... [A]ll higher species from mackerel to humpbacked whales ultimately depend on them.
“Phytoplankton are also crucial to the global carbon cycle. Collectively ... removing billions of tonnes of carbon from circulation ... But as the oceans turn more and more acidic, this crucial component of the planetary carbon cycle could slowly grind to a halt. With fewer plankton to fix and remove it, more carbon will remain in the oceans and atmosphere, worsening the problem still further.”
It’s another exponentially worsening situation, exactly the same as the decreasing Arctic Ice - which leads me to the polar bears. Being white, ice is highly reflective; whilst the ocean absorbs the heat of the sun, the ice reflects it back into the atmosphere. However, as our oceans warm and the ice melts, there is therefore less ice to reflect the heat. More heat is absorbed, so the oceans warm quicker, and ice melts quicker. Like I said, an exponentially worsening situation.
What lives on the Arctic ice? Lots of species, in fact, including some humans. But our most iconic and lovable Arctic animal is the polar bear, who is becoming the face of climate change. There numbers are decreasing as the ice decreases. There are less baby polar bears, there are less yearling polar bears, and there are more starving polar bears who miss the retracting ice flows.
Isn’t this enough to turn off your lights when you leave a room, taking up a more sustainable lifestyle, reduce your emissions, and even buy some carbon credits. Carbon credits are produced when sustainable companies do things to help the environment. Pay someone else to plant trees to offset your lifestyle, but know that you are taking responsibility for your contribution to helping the environment.
