Human Actions – Global WarmingThe Earth's climate is changing, and people's activities are the main cause.

Our world is always changing. Look out your window long enough, and you might see the weather change. Look even longer, and you'll see the seasons change. The Earth's climate is changing, too, but in ways that you can't easily see.The Earth is getting warmer because people are adding heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere, mainly by burning fossil fuels. These gases are called greenhouse gases. Warmer temperatures are causing other changes around the world, such as melting glaciers and stronger storms. These changes are happening because the Earth's air, water,

and land are all linked to the climate. The Earth's climate has changed before, but this time is different. People are causing these changes, which are bigger and happening faster than any climate changes that modern society has ever seen before.

Today's Climate ChangeMore than 100 years ago, people around the world started burning large amounts of coal, oil, and natural gas to power their homes, factories, and vehicles. Today, most of the world relies on these fossil fuels for their energy needs. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas, into the atmosphere, which is the main reason why the climate is changing.Heat-trapping gases are also called greenhouse gases. They exist naturally in the atmosphere, where they help keep the Earth warm enough for plants and animals to live. But people are adding extra greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. These extra gases are causing the Earth to get warmer, setting off all sorts of other changes around the world—on land, in the oceans, and in the atmosphere. And these changes affect people, plants, and animals in many ways.

See the Impacts

Scorching summers... Melting glaciers... Stronger storms... The signs of global climate change are all around us.

The Earth's climate is getting warmer, and the signs are everywhere. Rain patterns are changing, sea level is rising, and snow and ice are melting sooner in the spring. As global temperatures continue to rise, we'll see more changes in our climate and our environment. These changes will affect people, animals, and ecosystems in many ways.Less rain can mean less water for some places, while too much rain can cause terrible flooding. More hot days can dry up crops and make people and animals sick. In some places, people will struggle to cope with a changing environment. In other places, people may be

able to successfully prepare for these changes. The negative impacts of global climate change will be less severe overall if people reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we're putting into the atmosphere and worse if we continue producing these gases at current or faster rates.

The Signs of Climate ChangeThe average temperature of the Earth is rising, but that's not the only way we can tell the climate is changing. In fact, the signs are all around us! Observations and measurements from all over the world provide strong evidence that the climate has already started to change.Learn more about some of the signs of global climate change and what additional changes we'll see in the future:

How will climate change affect you? Your community? The environment around you?

Global climate change will affect people and the environment in many ways. Some of these impacts, like stronger hurricanes and severe heat waves, could be life threatening. Others, like spreading weeds, will be less serious. And some effects, like longer growing seasons for crops, might even be good! However, as the Earth keeps getting warmer, the negative effects are expected to outweigh the positive ones.The more we learn about how climate change will affect people and the environment, the more we can see why people need to take action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. We can also take steps to prepare for the changes we know are coming.Learn more about how climate change will affect people and the environment in the following ways:

Be Part of the Solution!Do something today to reduce greenhouse gas emissions!

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the key to solving global climate change. A major way these gases get into the atmosphere is when people burn coal, oil, and natural gas for energy. Everyone uses energy, and everyone can be part of the solution!But don't forget that climate change is already happening. We're seeing some of the impacts now, and we'll experience more in the future. So we need to prepare and plan for the changes we know are coming.

What You Can DoCan one person help stop global climate change? Yes! Especially when the simple steps you, your friends, and your family take are multiplied by millions of people all over the world.Select a topic to learn what you can do.

Switch to Clean EnergyUse Less EnergyTravel GreenWatch Your Water UseReduce Waste

TechnologiesTo successfully combat climate change, people will have to switch from getting most of their energy from burning fossil fuels to getting most of their energy from a wide variety of clean energy sources.Many of these technologies are already available today, while others are still being developed and tested. Clean energy technologies like wind and solar power produce energy without burning fossil fuels. Other technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency or by capturing these gases before they can enter the atmosphere.Explore clean energy and other technologies that reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being put into the atmosphere:

Human Actions – Oil Spills

Oil Spills: Sad But TrueImagine you’re a killer whale. You’re swimming round when you decide to stick your head out of the water to take a breath. When you do, you see a large stream of thick black oil heading your way. You go back underwater only to find other animals dying because the oil is damaging their bodies. This is the way some animals die in the ocean – because of an oil spill in their habitat.

What’s an oil spill?Oil spills happen when people make mistakes or are careless and cause an oil tanker (a ship that carries oil from one country or place to another) to leak oil into the ocean. Or, when countries are at war, one may decide to dump gallons of oil into the other country’s oceans.

Illegal dumpers dump crude oil into the ocean because they don’t want to spend money on decomposing their waste oil. This is illegal. Natural disasters (like hurricanes) may cause an oil spill, too, by flipping an oil tanker over, causing oil to come pouring out. But don’t be fooled: mostly, oil spills are caused by humans.

A leaking oil tanker causes an oil spill in the ocean

How do oil spills affect animals?Birds die from oil spills if their feathers are covered in oil. When they try to clean their feathers, they’re poisoned. Animals may die because they get hypothermia, causing their body temperature to be really low. Oil can also enter an animal’s lungs or liver, poisoning it from the inside. Oil also blinds animals when it gets into their eyes, so they can no longer watch out for predators.

Sea otters’ bodies may get covered in oil, which causes buildup in the air bubbles located in their fur, which are specially designed to help them survive the cold oceans and help them to float. When oil builds up in the air bubbles, the otters may die of low body temperature.

These two sea otters are covered in oil from

a spill

Oil spills are also a major reason that killer whales are endangered. The oil may be eaten or enter the whale’s blowhole. A blowhole is a hole to help them breath. Whales will rise up over the water to take a breath. If the blowhole is plugged with oil, the whale can’t breathe! Or, if a whale eats a fish that swam through oil, it will be poisoned and then die.

All the animals in the oceanMany people don’t realize all the creatures in the ocean that oil spills affect. Plankton, larval fish and bottom-dwelling organisms, and even seaweed, clams, oysters and mussels can be affected by oil spills. When hundreds of plankton die because of oil, fish don’t have enough food to eat, which will cause them to die. If the fish die, there won’t be enough food for whales, and they will die, too. As you can see, oil spills can damage the entire food chain in one blow.

Helping animals after a spillThere are many ways that animals are cleaned up after an oil spill. When birds arrive at a cleaning center, the oil is flushed from their eyes and intestines and they’re examined for broken bones, cuts and other injuries. Next, they get a stomach-coating medicine to prevent any more oil from entering their systems. They are then warmed and placed in a quiet area where they’re fed and kept safe until they are healthy enough to be returned to the wild.

Cleaning a sea bird affected by an oil spill

When sea otters are taken to a cleaning facility, they’re washed with warm water to (hopefully) break down the oil and warm the otters up. The otters also get medical treatment while they are being cleaned. After their fur is dry, they have to stay a few more days so the workers are sure of no diseases or broken bones.

Helping and saving sea life todayHave you ever stopped to think what you use oil for? Everyone uses oil a lot. The whole world uses nearly three billion gallons of oil every day to fuel our cars, trucks buses, and even to heat our homes. If you have touched a chain on a bicycle, you have touched some oil. The black stuff that appears on your fingers is oil that makes the chains on your bike run smoothly. We use oil to make asphalt to pave our roads and highways. Oil is also made into plastics, which in turn are used to make your toys, games and MP# players. Oil is also used in medicines, ink, paints and to create some electricity.

We can all help stop oil spills from occurring. If you use less oil, then less will have to be transported by tanker across the ocean. How can you use less oil? Leave your car at home and walk or ride a bike instead. Something a city can do is decide to pave its roads with cement instead of asphalt – cement does not use oil the way asphalt does.

Think about how many lights you have in your house, as well as all the electronics like computers or TVs. All of these things use electricity. If we all were to turn off lights, computers and televisions when we’re not using them, we wouldn’t be using as mush oil to create the electricity throughout the house. If everyone around the world decided to use less oil, we would lower the risk of a large spill, like the one that recently happened in the Gulf of Mexico.

Video: http://www.kidzworld.com/article/24170-oil-spills-sad-but-true#

Human Actions – OverfishingThe problem of OverfishingWe all love to eat fish, don’t we? It is the best source of protein and very healthy food in many ways. We also know where fish comes from—our oceans. Many decades ago, our oceans were full of fishes but unfortunately, this is not the case today.

Our world today faces many complex issues ranging from pollution, climate change, wars, food crises, waste, over-population… and of course over-fishing.

These are all problems we have created for ourselves, often as a result of our selfish activities.

Overfishing particularly is one issue that is often underrated. This is because we do not hear about it often, and we also do not live in water so we do not care what happens there. Also, we mostly get as much fish as we would like from the market so what is the big deal?

By the end of this lesson, we will know how catastrophic overfishing is and how we are heading down a steep slope to a global disaster if we do not act quickly enough.

What is overfishing?Overfishing is simply a situation where humans catch too much fish from the oceans (and also water bodies) in such massive quantities and fast pace than nature can naturally replenish. In other words, it is when we take out more fish than the fish can naturally replace. This leads to a degradation of our oceans, making it a non-sustainable use of the world’s oceans.

How does overfishing happen?The causes of overfishing can be placed into these three categories:

Overcapacity: All over the world, many fishing industries have huge vessels, equipment and technology that they can deploy deep into the oceans. They can stay on the oceans for weeks and months and even process the fish before they come back ashore. Experts believe that all the world’s equipment combined is enough to fish on 4 earth-like planets.

Unsustainable Fishing: This involves using nets, fishing methods and other equipment that catch too much fish to a degree that they are endangered. It also involves catching other sea animals other than fish in the process. These are called By-catch. In many cases by-catch is destroyed and thrown back into the sea. This is called Discards, and may include cetaceans, turtles, sharks, seabirds, youngfish, corals and invertebrates like starfish, crabs, sea urchins, brittle stars, mollusks, sponges and worms. They also catch very little fishes and prevent them from growing to reproduce.Some fishing methods like Bottom Trawling are know to catch all kinds of fish and animals, with the bulk of it discarded.

Economic and Food Needs: The amount of fishes that fishing industries bring ashore depends on the market and needs of consumers. In the past century, humans have multiplied in many folds and the need for food and fish has also multiplied. This, together with economic ambitions of fisheries have forced them to catch more fish that the oceans can replace.Now, let us quickly take a look at some very important terms before we go further in the problems that overfishing causes.

What is being

done about overfishing?

For many years, there have been all sorts of measures aimed at controlling overfishing, but many of them have not worked well. Below are a few of what is already in place in many fishing regions of the world.

Fisheries are encouraged to stick to their Quota to limit the number of fish that can be caught at any time.

There are only a set number of days that fishing is allowed. This way, there is some fallow days for fish to breed and reproduce.

No-fishing zones have been marked in many areas to allow fishes to recover. In addition to that, fishing areas are rotated among fisheries so each fishery has a fair share of the days to fish.

Fishing gear that catch tiny or baby fishes are discouraged to help the little fish grow. Only large net-mesh are allowed in some areas.

These days, there are many monitoring equipment and installations set up to regulate the activities and movement of fishing trawlers.In spite of all this, the problem of overfishing is increasing and we are all heading for a massive disaster if we do not do more. On the next page, we shall see what else can be done.

Impact of overfishingIt is very easy to predict the most obvious impact of overfishing — no more fish for humans! And this is only a few decades from now, if we do not act quickly and decisively. But there is far more to this than lack of fish. Here is why:

Ecosystems DestructionAccording to marine ecologists, unsustainable fishing is the greatest threat to ocean ecosystems. The practice destroys the physical environments of marine life, and distorts the entire food chain in the oceans. If the food chain breaks, the consequences will ripple up and down to all the living organisms that are in the chain. Important macroscopic changes have been observed in many ecosystems such as the North Sea, Yellow Sea, North Atlantic (e.g. George's Bank and Barents Sea), Gulf of Thailand, and southeastern Australia. FAO

Economic ImpactThere have been many closures to fisheries in many parts of the world including the Atlantic Canadian Cod Fishery in the 1990s. Sustainable fishing ensures that people’s livelihoods are protected and the fishing business is sustained. Overfishing does not guarantee that, and soon, big investments will go waste and people will be out of work.

BiodiversityMarine life is amazing and balanced with millions of fish species and other marine animals. Constantly fishing for particular specie like the blue-fine tuna (which is people’s favorite), means soon that kind of fish will be extinct. This is why measures put in place to allow fishes to re-populate are very important and must be enforced.

Ghost FishingMany large fisheries stay for weeks and months in deep seas and sometime loose their nets. These nets continue to trap and catch fishes under the water and end up killing them. These discarded nets stay there for many decades and the destruction they cause is fairly significant.

PollutionOil and liquid spills, chemical and solid elements discharged into the water by fishing boats, vessels and trawlers often hurt marine life. It is very easy to think that the oceans are so big and these are not real threats, but a bit of pollution by thousands of trawlers everyday contribute to something very big and disturbing. Water pollution has very devastating consequences.

What can I do about overfishing?Many people have no idea of overfishing. This means we all have a responsibility to educate others of this issue. Learning about it (like what you are doing now) is the greatest start to solving the problem. Make sure you share and tell others about it. Below are some more:

Join organizations, movements and discussions aimed at putting pressure on your government to monitor, engage and be hard on fisheries that break the law and engage in unsustainable fishing. This include establishing and expanding Marine Protected Areas (areas of the ocean where fishing is banned and natural resources are protected).

When people demand more fish, fisheries will also go for more. This means if we lower our demand for fish, and supplement with other protein sources, there will be a lower demand for the fisheries. Think about eating fish from proper sources and supplement your protein with other plant sources. Here are some tips on other great protein sources:

Illegal and unreported fishing contributes to about 30% of global annual catches in recent years (Ocean sentry). Illegal and fish pirating is going on in many areas of the world. Depending on where you live, governments can invest in better supervision and monitoring of fish trade, to ensure that illegal fishermen are brought to book. Get involved with activities that do this.Can you think of ways that you can help in your own little way?

Human Actions – Air Pollution

What is air pollution?Air pollution (say: po-loo-shun) occurs when gases, dust particles, fumes (or smoke) or odor are introduced into the atmosphere in a way that makes it harmful to humans, animals and plant.

This is because the air becomes dirty (contaminated or unclean). The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air (made up of various gases) called the atmosphere. The atmosphere helps protect the Earth and allow life to exist. Without it, we would be burned by the intense heat of the sun during the day or frozen by the very low temperatures at night.

Anything additional gas, particles or odors that are introduced into the air (either by nature or human activity) to destroy this natural balance can be called air pollution.Things that pollute the air are called pollutants. Examples of pollutants include nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxides, hydrocarbons, sulphur oxides (usually from factories), sand or dust particles, and organic compounds that can evaporate and enter the atmosphere.

There are two types of pollutants:

Primary pollutants are those gases or particles that are pumped into the air to make it unclean. They include carbon monoxide from automobile (cars) exhausts and sulfur dioxide from the combustion of coal.

Secondary pollutants: When pollutants in the air mix up in a chemical reaction, they form an even more dangerous chemical. Photochemical smog is an example of this, and is a secondary pollutant.Why is air pollution such an important issue today?

When pollution occurs in the air, it can easily travel and spread, and because we breathe in air, we cannot easily avoid it.

What causes air pollution?Air pollution can result from both human and natural actions. Natural events that pollute the air include forest fires, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion, pollen dispersal, evaporation of

organic compounds and natural radioactivity. Pollution from natural occurrences are not very often.Human activities that result in air pollution include:

1. Emissions from industries and manufacturing activitiesHave you seen a manufacturing company before? You will notice that there are long tubes (called chimneys) erected high into the air, with lots of smoke and fumes coming out of it. Waste incinerators, manufacturing industries and power plants emit high levels of carbon monoxide, organic compounds, and chemicals into the air. This happens almost everywhere that people live. Petroleum refineries also release lots of hydrocarbons into the air.

2.

Burning Fossil FuelsAfter the industrial age, transportation has become a key part of our lives. Cars and heavy duty trucks, trains, shipping vessels and airplanes all burn lots of fossil fuels to work. Emissions from automobile engines contain both primary and secondary pollutants. This is a major cause of pollution, and one that is very difficult to manage. This is because humans rely heavily on

vehicles and engines for transporting people, good and services.Fumes from car exhaust contain dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and particulates. On their own, they cause great harm to people who breath them. Additionally, they react with environmental gases to create further toxic gases. Click here to see the effects

3. Household and Farming ChemicalsCrop dusting, fumigating homes, household cleaning products or painting supplies, over the counter insect/pest killers, fertilizer dust emit harmful chemicals into the air and cause pollution. In many case, when we use these chemicals at home or offices with no or little ventilation, we may fall ill if we breathe them.

What are the common air pollutants around?

Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Ground-level Ozone (O3)

Lead (Pb)

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)

Particulate Matter (PM)

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

What are the effects of air pollution?

Acidification:Chemical reactions involving air pollutants can create acidic compounds, which can cause harm to vegetation and buildings. Sometimes, when an air pollutant, such as sulfuric acid combines with the water droplets that make up clouds, the water droplets become acidic, forming acid rain. When acid rain falls over an area, it can kill trees and harm animals, fish, and other wildlife. Acid rain destroys the leaves of plants.When acid rain infiltrates into soils, it changes the chemistry of the soil making it unfit for many living things that rely on soil as a habitat or for nutrition. Acid rain also changes the chemistry of the lakes and streams that the rainwater flows into, harming fish and other aquatic life.

Eutrophication:Rain can carry and deposit the Nitrogen in some pollutants on rivers and soils. This will adversely affect the nutrients in the soil and water bodies. This can result in algae growth in lakes and water bodies, and make conditions for other living organism harmful.

Ground-level ozone:Chemical reactions involving air pollutants create a poisonous gas ozone (O3). Gas Ozone can affect people’s health and can damage vegetation types and some animal life too.

Particulate matter:Air pollutants can be in the form of particulate matter, which can be very harmful to our health. The level of effect usually depends on the length of time of exposure, as well the kind and concentration of chemicals and particles exposed to. Short-term effects include irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, and upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Others include headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Short-term air pollution can aggravate the medical conditions of individuals with asthma and emphysema. Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may aggravate or complicate medical

conditions in the elderly.

Air pollution prevention, monitoring and solution.Solution efforts on pollution is always a big problem. This is why prevention interventions are always a better way of controlling air pollution. These prevention methods can either come from government (laws) or by individual actions. In many big cities, monitoring equipment have been installed at many points in the city. Authorities read them regularly to check the quality of air. Let's see more below:

Government (or community) level prevention

Governments throughout the world have already taken action against air pollution by introducing green energy. Some governments are investing in wind energy and solar energy, as well as other renewable energy, to minimize burning of fossil fuels, which cause heavy air pollution.

Governments are also forcing companies to be more responsible with their manufacturing activities, so that even though they still cause pollution, they are a lot controlled.

Companies are also building more energy efficient cars, which pollute less than before.

Individual Level Prevention

Encourage your family to use the bus, train or bike when commuting. If we all do this, there will be less cars on road and less fumes.

Use energy (light, water, boiler, kettle and fire woods) wisely. This is because lots of fossil fuels are burned to generate electricity, and so if we can cut down the use, we will also cut down the amount of pollution we create.

Recycle and re-use things. This will minimize the dependence of producing new things. Remember manufacturing industries create a lot of pollution, so if we can re-use things like shopping plastic bags, clothing, paper and bottles, it can help.

Human Actions – DeforestationWhat is deforestation

Deforestation is when humans remove or clear large areas of forest lands for non-forest use. These include clearing for farming purposes, ranching and urban use. In these cases, trees are never re-planted.

Since the industrial age, about half of world's original forests have been destroyed and millions of animals and living things have been endangered. Despite the improvements in education, information and general awareness of the importance of forests, deforestation has not reduced much, and there are still many more communities and individuals who still destroy forest lands for personal gains.

Why do humans clear forest lands?Trees are cut down (deforestation) for many reasons including

To be used, sold or exported as timber, wood or fuel (charcoal). This is called logging.

To be used for farming purposes (grazing fields for livestock, or

large scale farming activities)

To make room for human settlement and urbanization (these include making space for shelter, industries and roads)

To make room for mining.

In all the reasons above, the trees cut are usually very well developed trees that have taken many years to mature. When they are cut, they break down many more younger trees as they fall to the ground, leaving that area heavily degraded.

Forest degradation is different from deforestation. Degradation is used to mean the destruction or reduction in quality of specific aspects of forests. Example, a decrease in tree cover, changes in their structure or a reduction in the number of species that can be found there. If Acid rain destroys trees in a vast area, it can be called forest degradation.

Effects of deforestation

Looking at the importance of forests and trees in the previous pages, you can deduce the massive effects of deforestation and tree-cutting activities. Let us see a few below:

Soil erosion destruction.Soils (and the nutrients in them) are exposed to the sun’s heat. Soil moisture is dried up, nutrients evaporate and bacteria that help break down organic matter are affected. Eventually, rain washes down the soil surfaces and erosion takes place. Soils never get their full potential back.

Water CycleWhen forests are destroyed, the atmosphere, water bodies and the water table are all affected. Trees absorb and retain water in their roots. A large part of the water that circulates in the ecosystem of rainforests remains inside the plants. Some of this moisture is transpired into the atmosphere. When this process is broken, the atmosphere and water bodies begin to dry out. The watershed potential is compromised and less water will run through the rivers. Smaller lakes and streams that take water from these larger water bodies dry up.

Loss of BiodiversityMany wonderful species of plants and animals have been lost, and many others remain endangered. More than 80% of the world's species remain in the Tropical Rainforest. It is estimated that about 50 to 100 species of animals are being lost each day as a result of destruction of their habitats, and that is a tragedy. Many beautiful creatures, both plants and animals have vanished from the face of the earth.

Climate ChangePlants absorb Carbon Dioxide CO2 (a greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere and uses it to produce food (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that make up trees). In return, it gives off Oxygen. Destroying the forests mean CO2 will remain in the atmosphere and in addition, destroyed vegetation will give off more CO2 stored in them as they decompose. This will alter the climate of that region. Cool climates may get a lot hotter and hot places may get a lot cooler.

What can I do to help preserve our forests?

Sometimes, we are overwhelmed by the extent of damage humans have caused, and we are not sure if an individual can make any impact. Yes you can, there are millions of

people just like you, who are learning about the issue and taking little steps to help. Additionally, many governments, organizations and societies are making great strides in helping reducing deforestation, and encouraging forest plantations. But there is still a lot to do.Due to the extent and nature of forest destruction, efforts to stop deforestation and preserve them are best achieved at government and organization levels. This means that laws, rules and regulations from countries can help to enforce the preservation of forests. Laws on farming, timber and wood, as well as land use must be encouraged and enforced.Here are a few things you can also do to help.

Make a conscious effort to share information with others (friends at school and family members) on deforestation and its' effects. Some of your friends may laugh at you and say it is silly to think that you can solve problems like this. But that is OK, things work better when responsible people don’t give up. Stand up for what you believe in.

Join organizations, forest-preservation societies and pressure groups that aim to help preserve the rest of our natural resources. When more people work together, the impact is greater.

Reduce the use of artificial items, recycle more and re-use items. Wood, paper, plastics and many other things we use everyday at home can be linked to natural resources being destroyed. This means that if we all recycle more, there will be less dependence on the environment (and trees). It also means that companies and governments will import less raw-materials from the forest regions of the world.There is a fun way to remember the most important points in forest preservation called TREES which means...

Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests.

Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down.

Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment.

Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife.

Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment.Thank you for learning with us. You can also see more of our lessons below.