By Hollie Muir, Senior Editor
Our oceans are choking, our sea levels are rising, our climate is changing. Is it too late for us to change before our planet’s diversity of life is affected by climate change?
Our oceans are choking, our sea levels are rising, our climate is changing. Intense droughts threaten crops, wildlife and freshwater supplies. Polar bears in the Arctic to turtles on the south coast of Africa are all suffering from the changing climate. Is it too late for us to change before our planet’s diversity of life is affected by climate change?
If you don’t think that climate change is a big enough problem already, then you may not care that glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner. The intensity, frequency and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes, as well as the frequency of the strongest (Category 4 and 5) hurricanes, have all increased since the early 1980s. However, the relative contributions of human and natural causes to these increases are still uncertain. But hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates are predicted to increase as the climate continues to warm. And who do you think is responsible for this? Us.
A famous quote from Terri Irwin states that, “until the day comes when the senseless killing ends, we will all have to fight like wildlife warriors to protect our precious planet”. Our animals are suffering because of our actions, but why have we spent so long doing nothing? Are we just afraid of what might happen when we realise we are the ones that have caused this catastrophe?
“the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”.
Recent changes to our climate have already begun to affect ecosystems across the globe and these changes will only grow more severe in years to come if we don’t change our attitudes. Climate change also worsens other threats like habitat destruction, overexploitation and disease. This disease can run through us and our animals, affecting the whole planet. Knowing that last year the world’s nations combined pumped nearly 38.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere seems unbelievable. Because of carbon dioxide, in the past century, sea levels have risen by 19cm. If we keep burning fossil fuels, indefinitely, global warming will eventually melt all of the ice at the poles and on mountain tops, rising sea levels by 216 feet. There are currently over five million cubic miles of ice on the earth and some scientists believe that it would take more than 5,000 years to melt it all. But, if all of the world’s coastlines flood then some major cities would be lost. If we do continue adding carbon into the atmosphere we will very likely create an ice-free planet with average temperatures of 26 degrees celsius compared to the current 14 degrees celsius. It is predicted that a 2 degree celsius rise in global temperatures could cause an increase in fungal toxins in essential crops like wheat, maize and barley. These toxins can cause cancer and stunt growth in foetuses.
Not only will we be affected by this, but animals will suffer from the temperature change too. For example, African elephants require 150-300 litres of water per day, in addition to what they need for bathing and play. Droughts will lead to a rapid decrease in population and less rainfall means less elephants being born as birth peaks line up with rainfall peaks. Mountain gorillas, which are already classed as endangered due the the only 880 remaining in the wild, are limited in the range of their spaces to move around. They are surrounded by human settlements and the species is highly susceptible to disease. Another shocking fact found by a recent study shows how climate change is turning green turtle populations female in the northern Great Barrier Reef. Because incubation of green turtles eggs determines the sex of the young, warmer nests result in more females. Green turtles from warmer northern nesting beaches have resulted in 99.1% of juveniles, 99.8% of subadults and 86.8% of adults being female, resulting in virtually no males. Scientists and wildlife managers are trying to seek practical ways to help these turtles. One possibility is a shade cloth placed over key nesting beaches that could help lower nest temperatures to produce more males. But, more ambitious climate change targets must also be adopted and enforced by everyone in order to save the Great Barrier Reef, its natural treasures and unique wildlife.
It is not only humans and animals who will be affected. Our earth itself will change. Climate change could shift the oceans colours. A recently published study suggests that under a “business-as-usual” scenario in which greenhouse gas emissions continue persistently, the bluest subtropical zones of the ocean will become bluer, and greener regions along the equator and poles will become greener. We know this because sunlight penetrates over 600 feet below the surface of the ocean. Everything deeper is enshrined in darkness. Above that, most water molecules are capable of absorbing all colours except blue, which is why blue is reflected out . Organic matter that blankets the surface of the ocean, like phytoplankton, changes this colour. Much of it contains chlorophyll, a green pigment that absorbs the sunlight plants need to make food. As the ocean warms, currents become more irregular, and the layers in the water become more stratified, meaning warmer regions don't mix as easily with colder regions. There are thousands of phytoplankton species, uniquely adapted to warm or cold water. As oceans continue warming, some species may die off, some will thrive, and others will migrate to different regions. This decrease in species could be causing our ocean colours to alter. A conclusion to this study suggested that by the year 2100 half the world’s oceans will have bluer blues and greener greens. Aslo, if phytoplankton slowly die out this will affect the whole food chain as every animal in the sea relies on phytoplankton to survive.
Achieving a future of decreasing effects of climate change will require action by everyone, and we are already well on our way. People are using their collective voices to demand change. Businesses are making investments in clean energy, already creating local jobs and stronger economies. Communities are redesigning their roads, buildings, airports, and railways to make them climate resilient. And, nations around the world are committed to delivering, on a landmark global plan, to restrain climate change, known as the Paris agreement.
All of these strategies are taking part all over the world to attempt to reduce the effects of climate change, but what can you do to help with this global problem? If you don’t have a solution yet then just think, if you don’t want our earth to be led to dire consequences then remember just how precious it is and that “the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”.
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