impact – The Current Environmental Crisis

What can you do?

I have recently just returned from a Washington Environmental Youth Summit where I learned so much about climate change, what people are doing, and how anyone can help.

Having the opportunity to live in the United States, I heard words that really struck a chord. If you only care about yourself, you do not need to be worried. Now if you care about others, the people who are losing their homes through floods, droughts, intense weather conditions, and deforestation, you need to be worried.

Climate Change is real. It is happening everywhere. But unfortunately, developing countries are suffering the consequences the most. These are not the countries who are adding to the issue, but the countries who are suffering. Carbon fueling first world countries are releasing fossil fuels, warming the earth, melting the glaciers, and adding the most damage to climate change.

The other day, it felt like 118 where I live. This is not normal. I live in the middle of the United States. Summers are usually 80 to low 90 degrees. We also had a storm that knocked down trees and caused thousands of power outages. This is not normal. Yet people still say that there is nothing wrong.

So what can you do? The most important thing is to vote. If we want a difference made, we need to have action taken by the government. Right now, enough action is not being taken. So do your research, and vote for people who will take action.

Secondly, there are websites where you can check your carbon footprint. In the places where you have the highest carbon footprint, make changes in those areas. If you are eating meat three times a day, maybe only eat meat once or twice a day. If you drive too much, try to take public transportation or bike places more often.

Finally, be an advocate. Encourage others to follow these steps and help them understand the dire situation we are in. Climate change is real, and it’s happening. It is time to make a difference.

https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/

Burning Away the Amazon

The Amazon Rainforest absorbs one-fourth of the CO2 absorbed by Earth. Today, the forest is 30% smaller than it was in the 1990s. Why? Deforestation.

Deforestation not only disturbs the CO2 absorption rates, which cools down the Earth’s temperature, but it also calls for habitat loss of a grand diversity of unique animals The Amazon contains 10% of all of the known species on earth. 23% of the Amazon also is made up of indigenous land.

The Amazon Rainforest is literally burning down. It is not hitting the national news, and it is a problem. If this deforestation continues, humanity will be heading toward disaster.

Why is the Amazon being deforested? The rainforest is being cut down for agriculture and cattle ranching. Items such as palm oil, sugar cane, and coffee are being grown, and due to the soil not lasting due to the cattle, farmers have to continually cut down more of the rainforest. Mining and oil are also tearing away these forests, due to building roads and pipelines to reach the oil, and removing the forest to extract precious minerals.

Source: NC State College of Natural Resources

What can you do to help? Donate to websites that aim to protect the rainforest. Contact local government officials and ask them to help protect these forests. Educate your peers and family about speaking out. Reduce your use of fossil fuels and demand for renewable energy.

Take action now, for soon, it will be too late.

https://time.com/amazon-rainforest-disappearing/

https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/3-ways-you-can-help-protect-the-amazon#:~:text=Reduce%20your%20use%20of%20fossil,you’re%20not%20using%20them.

The Sixth Extinction

When you hear the word mass extinction, you probably think about the dinosaurs and the asteroid from 66 million years ago. You might be surprised to hear that that was the 5th extinction of this world and that there were 4 more before that. You might be even more surprised to know that there is another mass extinction happening right now, and it is humans at fault this time.

Since humans have been on this earth, we have altered life more than anything else, even though we are very new to this world. After the 1800s, also known as the industrial revolution, we have made an exponentially larger impact.

We have destroyed habitats, increased compunction with rising populations, and are warming the planet with increased amounts of CO2 in the air, that has nowhere to go. Our planet has the highest CO2 levels in 800,000 years.

Invasive species have latched onto human transport, taking them to places they do not belong, and dramatically altering ecosystems.

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According to PBS Digital Studies, amphibians have 45,000 times faster extinctions than normal currently, and non-amphibians have 1000 times faster extinctions than normal due to human impacts.

Every single species, small and large, is worth saving, and it is time we do something about it. It was we, the human population, who got into this mess, and we need to get out of this mess.