Climate Change Speech

Climate Change

Kia Ora, Ko Mackenzie toku ingo. Ko karoro toku kura.

Would you like to see animals become extinct? Whole towns underwater? Well that is what will happen if we don't try and reduce Climate Change. Climate change is a gradual increase in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere generally produced by the greenhouse effect which is caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. Here are some of the effects climate change has on our planet.

Climate change affects animals like polar bears, seals and many more because the planet is heating up which is affecting the glaciers and the arctic. The glaciers and the Arctic are affected by climate change, because the earth is heating up and it is causing the ice in these areas to melt. This means that animals like polar bears, seals and many more  are losing their habitats. Climate change is also disrupting habitats like coral reefs which will cause the extinction of many animals and plants.

Climate change is also causing the ocean to rise which means that some parts of towns and cities will in time be underwater. That means that people who live by the sea will most likely lose their homes. Not only is climate change affecting the homes of animals and people it is also causing extreme weather events, like hurricanes, cyclones and countless more storms. Farms are also affected by extreme weather events caused by climate change because it can cause heat waves, floods and more which can all damage and destroy farms and factories.

Climate change occurs when carbon dioxide, other air pollutants, and greenhouse gasses gather in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that has rebounded off the earth. Usually this radiation would go into space but the air pollutants trap the solar radiation in our atmosphere which causes the earth to get hotter, this is called the Greenhouse effect

One of the main causes of  the greenhouse gas effect is the burning of fossil fuel.  Fossil fuels contain carbon which means that when fossil fuels are burned the carbon combines with oxygen which then creates carbon dioxide. Another contributor to the  greenhouse effect is deforestation. Deforestation prevents the filtering of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere.

Fires also contribute to the greenhouse gas effect. As the Earth warms up due to climate change it means that the fire seasons are getting longer. It has been thought that Boreal forests absorb more carbon than they release. Boreal Forests are located in North America, Europe and Canada. They contain 30 to 40 percent of all land based carbon. During intense fires the carbon can burn along with the trees and plants. Researchers estimate that approximately 12 percent of the forests that burned in 2014 released 8.8 million tons of carbon. Overall 104 million tons of carbon has been released due to fires.

Some solutions to climate change are that we can increase our use of solar power, protecting forests and planting more trees. If we switch from using fossil fuels to solar power it will help decrease the effect of the greenhouse gasses on earth, using solar power instead of fossil fuels has the same effect as planting 150 trees a year. Planting trees will help reduce Climate Change because trees take the carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into oxygen, then release the oxygen back into the air.

In Conclusion Climate Change is a very real thing. It will cause many animals to lose their habitats, and face extinction. Climate Change will also cause many towns to be submerged. We can help reduce Climate change by planting more trees and using solar power instead of fossil fuels.
As Barack Obama said “Climate change is no longer some far-off problem; it is happening here, it is happening now”.


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