PLEASE READ DOWN IN THE NOTES SECTION. For the pictures, press the flag. This was for a Save the Earth+endangered species contest ( https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/27029738/ ). Please ❤️ & ⭐.
~Save Our Earth and its Species~ Right now, we are experiencing two pandemics. One of them is COVID-19, the other is Climate Change. It was such a surprise at first, when the world has known about Climate Change for a while now and has done nothing much to help prevent it. However, almost immediately, when COVID started, the governments were doing all they could to stop it. Why is it that our governments are so picky when it comes to prioritising matters? Let’s forget about COVID for a second, what is Climate Change and why is it such a big problem? Climate Change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal. If you burn coal, a number of different gases escape, some bad, some good. When coal is burned, it reacts with the oxygen in the air. This chemical reaction converts the stored solar energy into thermal energy, which it releases as heat. But it also produces carbon dioxide and methane. Carbon dioxide and methane help protect the Earth, if the process is done naturally, however, we humans do things our own way, and don’t really consider the environmental impact. So when we burn coal, we end up over heating / insulating, therefore resulting in temperatures to rise. Fun fact, since the Industrial Era began, humans have had an increasing effect on climate, particularly by adding billions of tons of heat-trapping greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. What effect does this have on animals? Humans and wild animals face new challenges for survival because of Climate Change. More frequent and intense drought, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live, and wreak havoc on people’s livelihoods and communities. For example, Climate Change has a big impact on turtle nesting sites. It alters sand temperatures, which then affects the gender of hatchlings. With Climate Change, lots of things are happening because of it. For example, because Earth’s atmosphere is rising in temperature rapidly, this means that the glaciers of the North and South Poles are affected. As a result of the Polar caps melting into the ocean, the sea levels are rising, resulting in more frequent floods. Even one tiny thing, can turn into a huge chain reaction. So, it is up to the younger generation to realise what has happened and what needs to be done, and do it. ~ P.S. This is Lonesome Georges story: Lonesome George was the last surviving Pinta Island tortoise, native only to the Galapagos Islands. Until 2012, Pinta Island tortoises were extinct in the wild. On June 24, 2012, Lonesome George died, and the Pinta Island tortoise became entirely extinct.
