Global Issues
We Need to Save Planet Earth
By A Humble Bee (JGMS Student)
Earth is our home and currently our home is being destroyed. All of the things that are destroying our planet and the flora and fauna alike are our faults. The human race is responsible for putting our planet in such disarray and it is not fair to the other creatures who live alongside us for their homes as well to be destroyed it is not fair for them to be killed for human consumption and it is not fair for the species who come after the human race has been wiped out for them to have a home obliterated and filled with so much garbage that there is a 2 mile garbage patch in the Atlantic ocean. We need to put a stop to all of the destruction and somehow reverse the catastrophic changes that we as a human race are responsible for.
Rising tides
Over the past 40 year sea levels have risen about 9 inches, this is substantial because if you think not just about you and your children but about generations to come a 9 inch rise is very high and as the economy grows and more sand from the ocean is used for construction sites displacing water the faster the sea levels will rise. Islands who have houses close to the shore will drift away and coral reefs will be destroyed. Boats will be damaged by going too close to the shore not realizing the depth of the water and whales will become beached because the tidal basin they used to play in dried up.
Climate change and pollution
Because of pollution of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere climate change has skyrocketed. Because these gasses stay in the atmosphere it is going to be very difficult to clean our air, but we can do multiple things to slow and stop climate change and delete our global carbon footprint. The warming of the earth has made glaciers melt leaving animals such as polar bears without a home and as the arctic warms and melts not just polar bears will be affected but millions of unique species that form the arctic ecosystem will become extinct. With the changing climate hurricanes will worsen and wildfires will occur more often. These fires decimate the west as the warm air combines with dead dry trees from lack of rain and lightning storms.
Birds crashing into windows
Birds crash into windows because they see the reflection in the windows and think that it is open space in and beyond the windows. When they see this they want to fly in that space and end up crashing into the window. There are multiple ways that you can bird proof your windows first simply by putting a screen that will both break up the image and will cushion the crash. Second you can use bar soap or a safe type of paint such as acrylic to draw on a grid of lines to also break up the reflection. Third, you can put a net on your window to cushion the crash and break up the image which is a softer landing than a screen and is a great option if your window does not have a screen. Lasly you can put decals or suncatchers up. (Pretty much anything that will distort the reflection making the window unappealing for birds.)
Deforestation
The cutting down of trees for different purposes has been going on for hundreds of years. When paper companies cut down trees they plant new trees almost as fast so that it is sustainable for them in the long run and they can continue to make paper products. The major problems start when farmers need space for their crops to grow and end up chopping down trees to create more space for them to grow crops. These trees are often the homes for many animals and provide shelter for the forest floor. These animals now do not have a home suitable for themselves, much less their offspring and when animals cannot procreate species numbers dwindle and species that are an essential part of the ecosystem become extinct. The ecosystem collapses making many other species extinct because they can no longer get food or their populations grow too much so that many of them starve from lack of plants in the area.
We only have one earth and if we want to be here for centuries to come we must start taking care of our one and only home.