Blog Action Day

Today, October 15th, my seventh graders and I are celebrating Blog Action Day with the rest of the world. In case you’ve not heard about it before, Blog Action Day is:

an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 will be one of the largest-ever social change events on the web.

Using several websites I provided them, my students researched Climate Change in order to participate in Blog Action Day. We focused on three questions: What is climate change? What is currently being done to combat climate change? What can young people do to make a difference in our environment?

I am fortunate enough to work with some incredibly wise young people. I think you’ll agree as you read their posts. Please feel free to leave them a comment and then carry on the conversation about the importance of taking action to combat climate change…soon!

Megan

Everyone thinks about changing the world but no one thinks about changing themselves, and to change the world you sometimes have to change yourself. Not your personality but maybe the way you look at things like global warming, and ways to change your life style to help the earth. Global warming is caused by the green house effect which is a process where heat is trapped beneath the ozone layer. It is a way for the sun to warm up the earth but humans and our way of life is speeding up the process. When we speed up the process, the earth doesn’t just warm up, it heats up. It gets to the point where ice starts to melt in places it’s not supposed to, and animals in places like Antarctica begin to die, and start being pushed out of their natural habitat like in the state of Florida. All of this is being caused by global warming and is also causing so many cases like these, and all we can do is simple. We need to change the way we live maybe not a huge way but little ways help too. Every little thing leads up to a big thing and thats how we can save the earth, one step at a time.

If global warming gets to the point where animals are dying and are being pushed out of their natural habitats, then there will be chaos in the streets of places around the world. Not only does global warming cause this, but soon there will be a disruption in the food chain. Animals will die out leaving their pray in huge numbers and then their prey or food they eat will die out and and so on. All this is caused by our daily activities, and the methane gas cows produce. Riding a bike would be help instead of driving a gas guzzler, or maybe driving a hybrid, carpooling, walking, or taking a bus would help too. A great way to help save the earth is to recycle, go green, and to also save energy. You can use solar panels, turn off the lights, and recycle bottles, paper, plastic, and cans. Many more ways are being done everyday by all ages helping to save the planet and each and everyone of us count. We can do it!

Elizabeth

Climate change is a growing problem that will effect the human race and the WHOLE EARTH. It’s mostly caused by the Greenhouse effect which is when greenhouse gases that become trapped in the atmosphere. When the gases get trapped in the atmosphere it heats up the Earth even faster than usual. Every 100 years the Earth’s temperature 1 degree Fahrenheit which doesn’t seem like that much, but it is.

Ways to prevent it are saving electricity, biking, recycling, buying Energy Star appliances, and using solar energy. There are many other ways to prevent the Greenhouse effect, but I think these are the most important. If you can you can save energy by going outside without watching television or playing video games. You can also try to not play as much video games or watch television. In 100 years the water will rise three feet and flood Miami, Florida all the way to Boston, Massachusetts. Some of the communities and businesses have also been effect like in New England lobster catchers have lost almost their whole business because of parasite. Those same parasites are caused by rising sea temperatures. Ski resorts are taking bank loans and not paying them back. Lake Erie has slowly been declining which is costing millions. Some animals have also been effected too like the golden toad. The Golden Toad from Central America went extinct in 1999 and it became the first species to be effect and gone to extinction by climate change. In 100 years the polar bears will be gone forever. Coral reefs are dying because the rising sea temperatures are killing algae. Coral needs algae to survive and if the coral reefs are dying that’s not so good for the fisherman. Some states are losing their official bird in the search of cooler climates. Some of them are the Baltimore oriole of Maryland, the Black-capped chickadee of Massachusetts, and the American Goldfinch of Iowa. Soon all of these birds and more could be gone forever. We have to stop this right now while we have a chance!!!

Devin

Climate change is the long-term average of a region’s weather events lumped together. Climate change tells us if it will be warmer or colder or if there will be a increase or decrease in rain. Earth has warmed 1degree Fahrenheit in the last 100 years. All sorts of problems are causing climate change. Global warming and greenhouse effect are just two of the ways we make the world warmer. Global warming is the average increase in Earth’s temperature. It is caused by human activities such as pollution and throwing away recyclables. The greenhouse effect is when greenhouses are used to keep plants alive. The greenhouse makes our world warmer by trapping energy in our atmosphere. There are many ways to stop our world from warming; people are just not willingly convinced that we need to take action.
The people of earth need a wake up call to get them to know about climate change. The world needs to stop waiting for pizza delivery and has to go pick up the pizza themselves. We could buy energy star appliances, or put solar panels to power our houses. Even those energy efficient light bulbs will help. You could also buy a hybrid or even walk or bike to school or work. And if you don’t have a lot of money, you can also help out buy just simply recycling. Think of the advantages! The water levels would stop rising, many species of animals would be saved, and the Earth won’t flood!

Bianca B.

Imagine if you lived on the sun.  Now add cars, buildings, and people.  Add the last details with the land and water.  This may be our future if we don’t change it.  All of this because of our cars, airplanes, and trains.  Who knew what our inventions could do?

The warming of the planet is called global warming.  Over the past one hundred years the Earth has increased one degree farenhit.  All because of our fancy transportation devices.  When we really could have been using our God given transporation device (our feet)!  There are many ways that kids and adults can help our environment.  We can recycle, turn off the lights, buy local food, reuse fuel, and plant native trees.  There are also some big things that children are already doing.  They are starting recycling committies, putting out recycling bins, and even composting.  There are many wat to help the environment.  All we have to do is get out there.

Nick M.

Climate change is truly the first challenge all of humanity will have to face together. It can only be conquered through a team effort. In order to defeat it though, we must know about it. Think of our planet as if a giant greenhouse. It will let the sun’s energy pass through it’s atmosphere, but it will not let it out. Thus’ keeping our planet warm and habitable. The problem is scientists believe humans and their daily activities are strengthening the greenhouse effect. Which means it holds more of the sun’s energy. Meaning the Earth will slowly heat up. Even a few degrees could mean a catastrophe. This has already been proved, when the temperature dropped a couple of degrees and an ice age occurred.

Although, you may think this is a hopeless battle, it is not. Far from it actually. We have many ways to stop this from really happening. The hard part is actually doing it. A few small things everyday people can do, wether they’re adults or kids are turn off unnecessary lights, recycle, carpool, ride bikes, and just tell others about the seriousness of climate change. Remember, we have to unite to beat climate change, and now is the time.

Adriana

Climate change is happening all over our world. Our earth has warmed 1 degree over these past years. Climate change has caused our world to grow warmer and warmer. Some of these reasons are because we drive cars and travel to farther away places. Global warming may risk many lives if we don’t have enough water. When we burn fossil fuels we increase the content of greenhouse gases. Earth is growing hotter and hotter some people are taking action by shortening showers and not using as much water. We all can make a difference, but it starts with just one person.

Other ways that people are taking action is that they are recycling all that they can. Others are car pooling wih people to not waste as much gases. Also you could use more environmental cleaners, not take planes, teleconference, and plant trees. More pepole have started to take an interest in what is happening in our environment and they have been using solar panels, energy star appliances, and have been driving hybrids. When we do all these things we will be making a big difference because this problem was started by what we have done. All of these gases act like a thick blanket over our planet and it’s up to us to stop it. We just have to finish what people started.

Dominic D.

I wonder… what will happen if we don’t take a stand, if we don’t try to fix our climate changing, what would happen to us?  If we let climate change take advantage of our world, we’ll probably be living in a house made of trash.  There are many things that are happening right now but we are doing little about it.  Pollution is rapidly increasing because we are not remembering about the greenhouse effect, we are continuing a rapid development in machines and we aren’t slowing down, and people aren’t taking advantages of the business opportunities to teach about this problem and to find solutions on how to fix it.

The greenhouse effect is rapidly increasing.  If you don’t know what this is it is the absorbing of something and then not letting go.  This is happening in our atmosphere.  We are releasing carbon dioxide and other gases into the air and it is getting trapped in our atmosphere.  Keeping these gases in is bad because it pollutes our world and it heats up more.  To stop this you can carpool, ride your bike, or walk to places; you can plant trees, you can recycle, and you can turn the lights off in a room when you are not using it.  Carpooling saves gas because you are sharing one car instead of using numerous, riding your bike or walking doesn’t burn any fuel besides calories, trees absorb carbon dioxide, recycling means reusing, and turning off lights in un-occupied rooms means you are saving electricity.

Developing and making machines is horrible for our environment because it is increasing the amount greenhouse gases in the air.  Developing and making machines burns fossil fuels and that creates carbon dioxide.  Now that we are continuing this development of machines the pollution level has risen and we are not showing any signs of stopping any time soon.  Yes making developments to machines is fun but we got to know when we have to take a little break.  However, not all machines are bad like Hybrid cars, Smart cars, and solar panels.

Now this is probably the most important conflict of them all: people aren’t taking advantages of the job opportunities to stop climate change.  Many people have lost their jobs and aren’t looking towards a new career in stopping climate change.   You can get a job in teaching about this to kids or you can join an organization like EPA.  EPA is an organization that stands for environmental protection agency.  They obviously are people who keep the environment safe for animals and people.  Teaching kids is a great opportunity to warn the next generation about the dangers and joining groups like EPA can help solve these problems of climate change.
I hope this gets you wondering about climate and change and encourages you to stop…

What Will happen?

Colleen

Climate change. You’ve probably heard all about it on the news, or in the newspaper. To put it quite plainly, our Earth is heating up, and fast. It has risen 1°F in the past one hundred years, and will probably rise about four more before the next century is up. Right now you might be thinking, “Ok, so the climate is 1°F higher, big deal.” Well, it is a big deal. Did you know that the atmosphere only went down 7°F for the last ICE AGE? It’s true! We already know what catastrophes that caused, I don’t think we need to be reminded of the consequences. Here’s the catch though, scientists aren’t sure what the consequences will be. Do we really want to find out? Probably not. This is what scientists predict might happen to are atmosphere. 1. Sickness. Think of the hottest day of your life. How stressed out and cranky were you? Heat can actually cause stress, which is not good for your body. If the atmosphere gets warmer, then there will be more heat related sickness. Also, indirect sicknesses caused by a sudden change in available food might occur. 2. Change in ecosystems. One species of one animal dyeing could have a great impact on the world or area of the world it is located. Imagine many types of animals dying out from too much heat. One can only guess how bad that would be. 3. Rise in water levels. Flooding is always bad, that everyone knows, but picture large parts of a coast being wiped out by a rise in water levels. That would be terrible beyond belief. 3. Agriculture change. If the climate changes, different types of agriculture will be available. This is a good and a bad thing. As I mentioned before, scientists can only make guesses at what may happen. That, in my opinion, makes it all the more scary.
Now that I have told you all the bad things that could happen, you are probably wanting to stop it. I don’t blame you. That’s exactly what I want to do too. There are a few simple things you can do to help.  Conserve electricity whenever possible. Turn off your computer monitor when you are taking a break. You don’t even have to turn off the whole computer. Recycle! I’m sure you have heard this a million times before, but just recycle that empty water bottle, or that piece of paper you doodled all over and now are done with. It really can’t get much simpler than that! Know what you are talking about. Make sure you are well informed, and talk to others about what you know. Try to avoid driving if at all possible. That doesn’t mean, you can’t drive, but try walking instead. Plant, plant, plant those trees. Adding extra oxygen to the air will only help, never hurt. Try to buy items made from Energy Star, or made from recycled products. Lastly, if possible, try to use solar panels. If you can’t, don’t worry, but if you have the opportunity, then take it!
I’m not saying that you have to go out and search for eco-friendly everything, but be conscious, and try to help whenever you can.

Cassidy

I bet you think that you know all about global warming. Well, the main thing you most likely know is ‘Our world is getting warmer.’ But do you know the reasons behind the climate change? I didn’t used to know, until I did some research, and I discovered the importance in global warming.

One of the main causes of global warming is certain types of gases in the atmosphere, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, which trap the heat energy from the sun and makes the temperature rise. This leads to glaciers melting which leads to rising sea levels, and, if the temperature continues to rise while we take no action, those sea levels will evaporate leaving no water. In the past 100 years, the temperature has dropped 1 degree F on Earth. If the gases were not here on Earth, the heat would escape into space and our Earth would be 60 degrees cooler. This effect is called the greenhouse effect because a greenhouse traps heat from the sun, too.

Another cause of climate change is pollution from people just like you and me. Driving and not turning off unneeded electricity are two causes of pollution and of greenhouse gases. But there are millions of ways to help out. Some include carpooling, planting trees and other plants, recycling, and biking or walking instead of using up gas to drive to your destination.

I know this may all seem like a big goal right now, but if we all work together, we can put a stop to global warming. We can take baby steps now, such as taking the extra second to turn off the light when you leave the room, or putting your plastic water bottle in the recycle bin. You could make closer friends by driving to school or work with them everyday. There is no wrong in helping the planet. Nothing good can come from standing around and just watching our home fall into disaster’s hands. So get a group together, publicize what you’ve learned. Tell others how they can help out, I’m sure they’d be willing to help the future generations to come. They will walk in our footsteps, and we don’t want to lead them down the wrong path, do we? Take a stand. Go help the world.

Each and every one of us has a voice. Together, we can make a beautiful song if we all read the same notes.

Carrie

The climate is being changed, and there’s a main reason why; greenhouse gas. Scientists know that greenhouse effect traps energy in the atmosphere causing the Earth to get warmer. In addition, climate temperature has changed 1 degree Fahrenheit in one hundred years. Any gas that absorbs infrared radiation in the atmosphere includes, water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The climate change long-term average of a regions weather events are lumped together. The climate is getting changed, and what we like to call it is, global warming.

Global warming is due to the fact of the greenhouse gases. The average increase in Earth’s temperature has become warmer, and Earth itself may change.  The weather will change. The rainfall pattern will change, a rise in sea levels, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wild life, and humans. There is a way of stopping global warming though, doing the little things, that make the big difference, also called teleconference.

Teleconferences can help stop global warming, by doing the little things that can help a whole lot. Here’s how we can help by hardly trying; better insulation, buy a hybrid, eating locally grown food with no pesticides. Recycle, change light bulbs, plant trees, walk, or ride a bike to school or other locations. Buy energy star appliances, use solar energy, and turn off any electronics or lights when not using them. Don’t forget to conserve water. Doing this, will make the world more green and clean. Just doing this every day can change the world. All of these can help save the world one step at a time. Anyone can help. If you just work hard to be green, you can save the Earth!