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Have you ever thought about how much the weather impacts life on earth?
Weather patterns affect everything, from the food that you eat, to how animals behave, to how the oceans stay healthy.
The problem is that human activity is causing weather patterns on Earth to change. Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels to create energy to power our homes, cars and factories, are releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which are trapping heat and causing the Earth to warm. This has knock on effects on weather patterns, like having more heatwaves, droughts, floods, fires and storms, impacting life on earth.
So what can we do to help?
There are two parts to dealing with climate change. Firstly we need to learn to cope with climate change, for example by rebuilding homes to withstand storms or planting crops that can survive hotter climates. Secondly, we need to change the way we live and work so that there are no more greenhouse emissions. This involves changing the way we get around, use electricity or even the foods that we eat!
There are lots of ways that anyone, including you, can make a difference to combat climate change. For example, you could: walk or cycle instead of driving or protest for climate with Fridays for Future.
Everyone can take action to make real change. What will you do?
There are lots of charities that need your help to slow climate change.
For example, The Climate Coalition and Friends of the Earth campaign for people in power to make a change while Cool Earth works with rainforest communities to stop deforestation and its impact on climate change.
See how you can support them in their amazing work.
See how you can support them in their amazing work.
Have you ever snuggled up under a warm fluffy blanket on a winter’s night? The cosy warmth you get from a blanket happens, not because the blanket is warm, but because your body’s heat is trapped by the blanket, preventing it from leaving. That’s why it takes a little while to start feeling warm because the heat must build up under the blanket.
Greenhouses work in the same way. In a greenhouse, the sun’s light energy goes in through the glass, but the heat energy can’t leave through the glass again. This makes greenhouses nice and warm, helping plants grow in places that would otherwise be too cold.
Earth also has a type of ‘blanket’ around it – a layer of gases called greenhouse gasesGases that form a layer around Earth, like a blanket, and make Earth heat up. When there are too many of these, Earth starts warming up more than it should. in the air. The greenhouse gases work like a greenhouse’s glass – the sunlight enters through them but can’t leave. Believe it or not, greenhouse gases are very important to Earth! They trap some of the Sun’s heat on the Earth’s surface and without them, Earth would be much too cold to allow anything to stay alive.
The greenhouse gases are in a delicate balance though. If the levels get too low, too much heat escapes out into space. If the levels get too high, they act like a super thick blanket, trapping too much heat on the Earth’s surface.
Greenhouse gases have been building up too much over the last two centuries and now the Earth is warming. This is called global warming, or climate changeAlso known as global warming – the changing weather that Earth is experiencing because of too many greenhouse gases being released.. Climate change will cause Earth’s weather patterns to change. This might not sound like a big deal, but weather patterns affect everything – from what you can eat, to how animals behave, to how the oceans stay healthy. Since everything on Earth is connected, a problem in one part of Earth’s natural systems has a domino effect on everything else.
Climate change is creating some massive problems and it is one of the biggest problems facing humanity right now. When you start feeling too hot under a blanket, you can simply kick it off. Unfortunately, we can’t just kick the layer of greenhouse gases off our planet.
Since the industrial revolutionA period in the late 18th century when power-driven machinery was introduced and large factories started to replace small shops., human activity has caused the Earth to warm by about 1°C. This doesn’t sound like so much, but keep in mind that it only takes an average drop of 6°C to plunge Earth into an ice age! So, a difference of a few degrees either up or down can change life as we know it here on Earth completely.
If human behaviour carries on with no changes, we are headed for an increase of between 3-5°C by 2100. Even if we do everything we can now, the warming can still only be limited to 1.5-2°C by the end of the century, which will have severe effects on some parts of the planet.
For many years, there was a perfect natural balance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, keeping Earth at just the right temperature.
But, since the industrial revolution, human activities have been releasing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
This is because, since this time, people have been digging up fossil fuelsAncient energy sources (coal, oil and gas) in the earth’s crust that are used to heat homes, make electricity and power vehicles. from the ground and burning them to make energy.
The problem is, when fossil fuels are burnt, they release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
Greenhouse gases are also released when animals (like cows and pigs) fart or when rubbish decomposes in landfillA place where rubbish is buried to get rid of it..
Greenhouse gases are making Earth warmer and warmer all the time.
You might be wondering what the problem is – everyone likes sunny countries anyway, right?
Climate change increases the number of heatwaves, droughtsPeriods of dry weather resulting in water shortages., floodsWhen there is an overflow of water with no place to go; the water covers land that is usually dry., fires, storms and air pollutionWhen air gets dirty from things like smoke, exhaust fumes and chemicals from factories..
The warming of the planet has effects that you wouldn’t expect, like some regions getting hotter for a while, ice caps melting and some regions getting more rain. All of these changing weather patterns are creating problems for humans, wildlife and the planet as a whole.
Take a look at a couple of the effects of climate change below.
The effects of climate change pose threats to the health of people on our planet.
For example,
Extreme weather events and changing climate make it hard for farmers to grow food.
All of this means that farmers could struggle to earn money and could become poorer. Some people could experience food shortages and hunger. When less food is available, it becomes more expensive.
Click here to read about the effects of the droughts in Ethiopia in 2015 (Africa) on farmer Hamid Heramo and his family.In the rainy season of 2015, 35-year-old Hamid Heramo planted crops to harvest. Hamid had been harvesting crops for many years and used to sell them to earn money to look after his family. This time, Hamid had noticed that each year there had been more and more droughts so he planted lots of different crops, in the hope that some would survive the dry weather. He planted pepper, maize, teff, sorghum, haricot beans and lots of other delicious things. After planting his crops, every morning Hamid would look up to the sky, hoping to see rain clouds. But day after day, there was no rain and the sun became stronger and stronger. As months went by without rain, Hamid’s crops began to die. Hamid started to get more and more worried. He felt a big responsibility to feed his children, but without his crops, it was simply impossible. Hamid started to feel anxiousFeeling worried, tense or afraid, especially about things that are about to happen or that we think could happen in future. and depressedConstantly feeling so sad that it stops people from doing normal everyday activities., so much so that he ended up having to go to hospital for treatment. Thankfully, with a bit of help, Hamid was able to learn about new agricultural methods to manage water and soil and was given some improved seeds that could withstand droughts. But sadly not everyone affected by droughts can receive the help that Hamid received.
Extreme weather events can have devastating effects on people’s homes and livelihoods.
For example:
Healthy ecosystemsAn area where plants, animals and other living things, as well as weather and landscapes, work together to form a bubble of life. are needed for humans to be happy and healthy on Earth. Because of climate change, some speciesA group of plants or animals that share similar features and are able to reproduce. die out and then nature can’t do its job so well.
For example,
About one out of every eight species could become extinctWhen a type of animal or plant dies out completely and disappears from the Earth. because of climate change.
The effects of climate change are worse for people who are poor.
Poor people struggle more when food and water prices go up because of shortages.
Countries that are not well-off feel the effects of climate change more because they depend more on the food they grow. To make matters worse, most of these countries are in places that are hot already so they really can’t cope with getting a little bit hotter. Plus, these countries don’t have lots of money to spend on coping with problems that climate change creates.
Climate change could force 100 million people into poverty in the next 30 years.
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The solution for climate change consists of two parts.
Firstly, because global warming is already here and happening, something needs to be done to help everyone learn to cope with the problems it is creating.
Secondly, people, businesses and countries all over the world need to change the way that they live and work completely so that there are no more greenhouse gas emissions. This must be done as fast as possible because the longer the world takes to change, the worse climate change gets.
For example:
They can choose to walk, cycle or use public transport instead of driving. By using internet conferencing like Zoom, it is no longer necessary to travel all over the world to meet people.
Everyone needs to turn off lights and sockets when not in use, only use fans and heaters when needed and the list goes on!
Using renewable energies (such as wind and solar energy) instead of non-renewable energy (such as fossil fuels) is a much better choice.
Only buying the food that they need can help minimise waste.
They can eat locally produced foods and eat more vegetables and less meat.
Even though people have known about climate change for a very long time, it has been incredibly difficult to make change happen. Why has this been so hard?
There are two reasons:
For example, a big factory in one country might be making bad choices about their energy source, but someone in another country might be experiencing a flood because of it. So, it has been hard to stop the big polluters from polluting when they are not experiencing serious consequences. Often, the countries that pollute the least, like the Maldives The Maldives are a group of low-lying islands that are responsible for less than 0.1% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. But the Maldives will probably go underwater in the next 60 years because climate change is making the sea levels rise. , are those that experience the most serious effects.
This means people don’t yet feel the need to make uncomfortable changes, so many people are carrying on as normal.
This is where governments and global cooperation can help.
When all countries unite and decide to work together against climate change, even countries who are not yet badly affected by climate change are encouraged to act.
In December 2015, countries all around the world came together and agreed to control their greenhouse gas emissions. This was called the Paris Agreement and has been signed by 197 countries.
They agreed to limit global warming to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
Each country set its own targets for climate action and agreed that these would be reviewed every five years.
For example:
GovernmentsThe people who are in charge of a country. can use something called carbon tax. This is when products that make climate change worse are made to cost more. This encourages people to look for other, cheaper options that are better for the planet.
For example, some governments make fuel more expensive so that car drivers might then choose to drive more efficiently (for example by driving slower) or use another option (such as public transport or electric vehicles).
Governments can cover some of the cost of products that are good for the planet, making them more affordable.
For example, electric cars can be subsidised, meaning that the government pays for some of the car, making it less expensive for the buyer.
Governments can educate people on what is good and bad for the environment, so that they can make the right decisions.
For example, people might choose to get the train instead of an aeroplane if they knew more about the consequences of air travel.
Governments can force companies to tell everyone about the things they do and how good it is for the health of the planet. They want to look good to their customers, so when the things they do are public knowledge, they’ll think twice about doing something that makes climate change worse.
For example, a buyer might choose to buy paper cups from a company that uses recycled paper rather than a company that contributed directly to deforestation to make their paper cups.
Now that you understand a bit more about climate change, it’s time to make a difference. Climate change can feel very scary because it affects everyone and there are too many problems for one person to solve. Just remember that humans can decide now how bad climate change will become. Any positive change you make will be slowing climate change down – even if that only means you’re putting a kilogram less of carbon dioxide into the air. If everyone on Earth puts a kilogram less in the air, that’s 7 million tonnes less! So even small changes add up quickly. If you want to do something practical to help, the power is in your hands. Take a look at some ways you can take action right now.
If you have any other ideas of SuperKind things people can do to stop climate change, we would love to hear from you here.
Here are some amazing young people who cared about climate change and took action to make change happen. These change makers were all passionate about the same cause but used their unique skills to make change happen in different ways.
Everyone can help make a difference. Consider what your unique superpower might be. Are you someone with a strong voice who likes to spread awareness by talking to everyone you meet? Or do you prefer a behind the scenes approach – making sure that donations are collected to take to those in need?
Like all the important causes in our world, there is a huge amount to learn about climate change and how to stop it. If you want to find out more, here are some excellent further resources:
