MOT Charter School

Web of Wonders

A Web of Wonders

We know climate change is a problem our society faces every day and will only continue to grow. We know the rise in CO2 and human activity cause this climate change. Yet, we need to look back at our ways when harming the Earth and realize that this was never right to begin with. We have to feel that connectedness with the Earth if we ever think about helping it. We can feel this sort of bond with the Earth when we spend time outside just by ourselves surrounded by mother nature, giving you the space to breathe. As a growing society, it is important to not forget what home we grew up in and what will become of that home in the future.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), they stated that “The carbon cycle describes the process in which carbon atoms continually travel from the atmosphere to the Earth and then back into the atmosphere.” Though the carbon cycle once helped insulate heat for the Earth, it is now (thanks to human activity) an alarming issue that causes the effects of climate change. The rise in CO2 increased more so these past 30 years than it did in the last 8 centuries. It is scary to think that we have such a significant impact in the downfall of our atmosphere because not only will it affect us but future generations as well. The increased amount of carbon is dangerous for our planet for example, our oceans and the temperature. Since our oceans absorb CO2, it will expand. Glaciers and ice will also melt because of the added heat which will add more water to our oceans. This would negatively impact our society as it will cause huge amounts of flooding and thunderstorms. Due to all of the carbon the water’s been absorbing, the pH will decrease and the water would end up acidic. This all relates to the implications of climate change and how it would impact our society.

Climate change would affect our environment in multiple ways. For example, climate change could affect the Earth’s atmosphere (atmospheric science), the oceans (oceanography), and it could affect the distribution of plants and animals (biology). Finally, climate change could also affect weather patterns too and is therefore an important asset to other fields of science. It is because of these issues that no one should forget the originality nature brings before humans existed. It is said that a single tree can absorb as much as 48 pounds of carbon dioxide per year and the oceans absorb roughly 25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. Even one of the biggest issues we face right now can be solved with the help of mother nature and that is one of the reasons why we need to preserve it. 

We are the people who can help these incidents. For example, some ways people reduce the rise in CO2 are using electric cars (lowering carbon travel), insulators, low energy lighting, electric appliances, and solar energy. Other ways we could help the Earth according to the NOAA are to reduce, reuse, and recycle, volunteer, to educate, to conserve water, to save energy, and the list goes on! There are lots of ways people can contribute to the only home we have as of now. Till now, I have always thought of what invention people could create to get the opposite result of what climate change causes and it turns out they have already been invented. We just need more people to apply these ways. 

In the end, this would help our Earth become a safer place for us to live. We wouldn’t have to worry about when we’d have to leave this home and go somewhere else because we’d already preserve it. Climate change is a huge issue that will only continue to get worse so we must do what we can to help fix it. The nature around us is also very beneficial according to the American Psychological Association. As they state, “From a stroll through a city park to a day spent hiking in the wilderness, exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders and even upticks in empathy and cooperation.” Thus, we must protect it.

References-

US Department of Commerce, N. O. and A. A. (2019, April 2). What is the carbon cycle?

NOAA’s National Ocean Service. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/carbon-cycle.html#transcript 

US Department of Commerce, N. O. and A. A. (2009, August 10). What can I do to protect coral reefs? NOAA’s National Ocean Service. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/earthday.html 

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Nurtured by nature. Monitor on Psychology.

Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurturednature#:~:text=From%20a%20stroll%20through%20a,upticks%20in%20empathy%20and%20co operation.