EARTH HOUR - MARCH 27 - 8:30PM

This Saturday March 27th, you can take part in the World Wildlife Fund's "Earth Hour" by switching off the lights in your home for one hour - from 8:30pm until 9:30pm.

"Earth Hour" is a symbolic gesture meant to raise awareness about the effects of global climate change.  This Saturday night, you can join hundreds of millions of people across the globe by turning off electric devices in your house.  And hopefully you'll remember to conserve energy every day by turning off the lights when you leave the room, unplugging electric devices that aren't in use and purchasing energy efficient technology the next time you're in the market for a new appliance.

Here are some other places that will be switching off their lights this weekend:

- The Empire State Building

- Las Vegas Strip

- Broadway Theatre Marquees

- United Nations Headquarters

- Golden Gate Bridge

- Eiffel Tower

- Sydney Opera House

- Seattle's Space Needle

And many more!

Send a clear message to your neighbors that you care about climate change and want to see more investment in clean energy sources for a better tomorrow!  So turn off the TV and computer, light some candles (with your parents' permission of course!) and spend some quality time with your loved ones during Earth Hour this year.

IS WATER A RENEWABLE RESOURCE?

The answer to this question is not as simple as you might think.  Yes, water evaporates and then returns to earth as precipitation (rain, fog, snow, etc.) and the same water animals drank 6 million years ago is the same water we drink today!  But this doesn't mean that wasting water is okay.  Water conservation is becoming an increasingly important issue! 

Did you know though that only 3% of the earth's water is freshwater?  The other 97% is ocean water, which is undrinkable.  Of all the water in the world, almost half of it is polluted in some way.  Polluted water can lead to disease and death and cause things like acid rain.

Did you know that over 1 billion people on the planet do not have access to clean drinking water?  As the population of the planet grows, this problem will increase since the amount of freshwater we have will always remain the same.  Groundwater cannot replenish itself at the rate we remove it from the earth.  Global climate change has also contributed to water shortages in places where lack of precipitation has caused drought and too much precipitation has caused flooding which makes the water unsuitable for consumption.

Another reason to be mindful of water conservation is energy consumption.  Heating the water you need for a shower or bath takes energy and every drop of water that goes down the drain must be cleaned at a water treatment plant, which also takes energy.

Like all issues having to do with the environment, we often don't seem to be concerned with a resource as long as it seems abundant.  In the United States, we have an ample amount of freshwater because of the number of lakes and streams.  In other parts of the world however, the amount of water we would use to take one 2-3 minute shower is the same amount of water an entire family uses to cook, clean, and drink for an entire week.

Think twice before you waste water and learn what can be done to keep water from becoming polluted!

WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING?

"Global climate change" or "global warming" began with the Industrial Revolution.  Scientists say that global warming is primarily caused by the "greenhouse gas effect."  Greenhouse gases are the toxins (mostly CO2) released into the air when we burn fossil fuels--oil, coal and natural gas.  Another contributor to global climate change is deforestation (the destruction of trees), illustrated in the photograph below.

During the Industrial Revolution, lots of amazing new technology came along and we've been inventing cool things ever since!  But all this new technology--things like trains, cars, lightbulbs, computers, airplanes and electric toothbrushes--need energy to make them go!  The energy we use to power our cars and our homes comes mostly from burning fossil fuels.  It took millions of years for fossil fuels to be created, but humans have burned much of them up in just a few hundred years and the Earth can't handle it!

The more CO2 we have in the air, the more oceans try to suck it up to balance it out.  The more CO2 the oceans suck up, the warmer they become.  The warmer the oceans become, the more strange weather and wacky temperatures we get!  Strange weather leads to dangerous situations for humans.  Wacky temperature changes leads to the inability of many species of plants and animals to adapt quickly enough, which can lead to extinction.

On land, trees are an amazing natural way to get rid of CO2.  Plants soak up CO2 and store it for energy.  The combination of the greenhouse effect and deforestation has created a problem twice the size!

Obvious solutions:  1) PLANT TREES!  2) STOP BURNING FOSSIL FUELS!

More on global climate change to come!

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

For anyone interested in learning about climate change, I suggest this excellent book by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon called “The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming” from Scholastic.

It’s got tons of great illustrations and the information inside is written in a way that is easy for kids to understand.  Check it out at your local library or get your own copy today to find out more about this important topic!

WHAT IS CLEAN COAL?

According to the United Nations Panel on Climate Change, the burning of coal is a major contributor to global warming.  In response to this, coal companies have started advertising “clean coal” technology.  But what is it?  And is it a good energy source for the future?

Clean coal technology can mean several different things, but the most common definition is that instead of releasing CO2 into the air after burning coal, the carbon dioxide is stored underground.

ADVANTAGES

·      Carbon dioxide is not immediately released into the atmosphere.

·      Supplies of coal are available to us now.

DISADVANTAGES

·      Carbon dioxide that is “hidden” could possibly leak into the atmosphere anyway or into our ground water, unless it is closely monitored!

·      Major environmental problems result from mining the coal in the first place.

·      Pollutants still exist, but just released in a different way.

This sounds like a similar problem I talked about with nuclear technology.  The poisonous remnants of creating the energy still exist, we just hide them in a place that seems to be less harmful (for the time being.)  Sounds like another temporary solution to a much bigger problem!

Did you know that last year, private companies spent 35 million dollars advertising “clean coal” technology?  If there really is no way to get clean energy from the burning of coal, then why is so much money being spent advertising a myth?  Does it make us feel better if we think burning coal is clean? 


Did you know that the United States only has enough coal reserves to last us for the next 200 years?  If coal is another limited resource, why spend so much money pretending to make it clean instead of investing in new technology that is actually clean?