Climate Change is a problem because it effects humans in different ways.

It is important socially because climate change is happening all over the planet and is effecting lots of people.

It is important to me because I want to learn about a growing problem and prevent it because every step counts and someday by reasearching this I could stop/slow climate change.

I researched climate change, the greenhouse gasses and climate change affects on water and ice. I took info from 17 sites across Google and 2 books. I found more than one reference of things so I knew they were true. 

EFFECTS ON ICE

Climate change effects places all over the world however in one place it is affected differently. In the Arctic and Antarctic glaciers are melting causing animals to flee their homes or die. Now you must be thinking, okay so it’s a few animals that die so what but no! It is not just a few animals that die, it could be an entire species. That species could go extinct because of losing its home but that’s not all. The species that preyed on that species could go extinct because of not getting to eat food. Then the next species up the food chain would go extinct and so on. The species the first animal preyed on would overpopulate. This is bad for plants because they would not be able to grow because they would be overeaten. In addition glaciers contain bubbles of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) which is also a contributor to climate change. This warms the air causing more glaciers to melt and more CO2 to be released and more glaciers to melt and so on. This becomes an awful cycle. Glaciers have always melted; however in the past they melted only enough to provide fresh drinking water, climate change has caused glaciers to melt more rapidly.

Sea ice is also slipping away or melting. Shockingly this doesn't make sea level rise but it does have other effects. Sea ice offers protection for the country's coastline. It lowers waves and winds making it an important part of Canada's water systems. Climate change is making the ice melt faster. This is bad because sea ice keeps the climate consistent. Sea ice has another special role. As naturally melting sea ice melts nutrients are released into the water. If all the ice melts the nutrients won’t be released yearly.

 

EFFECTS ON WATER

If the glaciers melted it would cause streams of water to flow into oceans and seas. Did you know in the last 100 years sea/ocean level has risen 6-8 inches. You must be wondering what makes that bad? If the sea/ocean rises then there’ll be less coastline and more risk of flooding and coastal property damage causing people to lose their homes and have to find new ones but not only will they lose their homes but most of their belongings will also be victims of the flood. Not only does this damage homes but it also damages the ecosystem causing it to erode which means wear away.

Did you know that the oceans are heating. because of this coral reefs are bleaching which means coral reefs are losing colour and life causing the colorful fish that live and feed there also die! Heating oceans also allow more algae blooms to grow. This occurs more commonly in lakes which goes to show that all bodies of water are heating. Now back to algae blooms. They may sound pretty but they are not. When an algae dwelling body of water heats the algae grows more taking up part of that body of water, this is called an algae bloom. As these grow other plants die as well as the animals living there.

The water cycle is very important for life on earth to survive. It starts with evaporation. This is when the heat of the air causes air to form into a gas and float. From there condensation takes place. This is where the gas forms into a cloud. Then precipitation takes place. Here the water falls to the ground. It is usually in the form of rain or snow. The final stage is collection. Here the rain or now puddles run into a lake where the cycle starts over. Climate change is altering the water cycle making evaporation more common causing drought to be more common. Climate change is also making precipitation more common in other places. that much precipitation can cause flooding.

Climate change is also affecting winds and waves. Climate change is altering winds to have stronger patterns. Winds cause waves and if winds are stronger waves are stronger. This can damage fragile coastline and even areas near that coastline. This would not be good because people could lose their homes. Another bad thing would be if you’re at the beach swimming you could get hurt by such a rapid wave or get carried away by a strong current.

Groundwater is an important source of drinking water and for 25% of Canadians that is all the water they have. Groundwater is useful for most water including things. Groundwater is found underground and can be found in different forms like an underground river or underground lake. This water is usually found near the surface and can be refilled with rain and snow. Climate change is affecting groundwater in many different ways. First, changing precipitation patterns can lead to a water shortage but also put too much water in. Too much water can cause groundwater floods and also damage groundwater storage. In coastal areas groundwater can be contaminated by salt water. This will happen if the sea level rises too much. If salt water gets into the groundwater it is no longer safe for drinking.

 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is also known as global warming and it occurs when our planet heats up. This is caused when greenhouse gasses like CO2 (carbon dioxide) and CH4 (methane) are emitted into the atmosphere. They then warm the atmosphere causing the earth to warm. This is known as the greenhouse effect. 

Some things that cause climate change include burning fossil fuels. Some examples of things that do this include cars that run on gasoline. Having your car running for too long creates unnecessary greenhouse emissions. This has many negative effects on many different things such as plants and animals including humans.

 

GREENHOUSE GASSES 

The greenhouse gasses are gasses that heat our atmosphere. There are six of them: Carbon Dioxide,  Methane, Ozone, Nitrous Oxide, Water Vapor and Chlorofluorocarbons. 

Carbon Dioxide is caused when we burn fossil fuels and when animals exhale.

Methane is created when cows burp or fart and also when fossil fuels are burned.

Ozone is created when pollutants are released.

Water Vapour is produced during evaporation and when water boils.

Nitrous oxide is produced when chemicals are created.

Chlorofluorocarbons are released by refrigerator leakage and/or during disposal.

 

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Turns out we can’t stop climate change but we can slow it down. If we lower our greenhouse gas emissions we can slow climate change saving hundreds of different species. We can go electric with cars or take the bus. You can drive to school with a friend and not take extra trips to the store.

 Doing things like this will lower carbon emissions and help save the planet.

 

 

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Climate change is very big and is bad for the environment. It effects and harms animals on land and in water. It is a threat to our water sources and many many many other things. In conclusion, my project shows how big of a threat climate change is and can be.

 

 

 

Tomlinson, M. (2020)  Water And Climate Change

Standish, A. (2020) Making sense of climate change 

www.nrdc.org

www.weareteachers.com

www.vox.com

physicsworld.com

www.nature.com

dinesql.blogspot.com 

nypost.com

www.ijc.org

www.nbcnews.com

www.ready.gov

coralreefwatch.noaa.gov

oceanservice.noaa.gov

www.climate.gov

ocean.si.edu

www.theguardian.com

www.nationalgeographic.com

www.ctvnews.ca

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