It’s true – if things continue as they are right now, our children will grow up in an era where there are no polar bears. The Arctic is melting. The rate at which it is warming is twice that of the rest of the world. The more ice that melts, the more dark ocean that gets exposed, which attracts more heat, and speeds up the melting even more.

Polar bears need the ice to survive. With no ice, polar bears have no platform to stand on while they hunt seal. Polar bears are not efficient land hunters, although that is unfortunately where they are heading. Inefficient land hunting skills will lead to starving cubs and inadequate reproduction numbers.

This is not just a sentimental statement aimed at making you feel bad for the polar bears – this is real. The sad part is that it is our fault, and the effects of global warming will be more far reaching than polar bears – it will effect us all.

Greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and petroleum-operated vehicles are probably the largest contributors. The US produces more greenhouse gases than any other nation in the world.

So what can we do?

Anything and everything. To begin with, it would probably be beneficial to stop fishing in the Arctic to protect the few polar bears that are left. Renewable energy sources are imperative. Renewable energy will lower our greenhouse gas emissions AND allow us to avoid drilling in the Arctic and further disrupting the ecosystem.

We also need to start taking smaller measures at home. Each and every one of us. Change your light bulbs to CFLs. Walk or carpool when you can. Recycle. Reuse. Cut down on your waste. One simple way to do this is to start using reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags and begin composting some of your garbage.

You may feel that you’re only one person and can’t really make a difference. However, the impact comes when all of us start doing little things to help the environment. We’ve got some momentum going with this green movement – let’s take it to the next level…if not for ourselves, for the 100% completely innocent polar bears who are now suffering from our indiscretions.

David Kraft

We’ve been hearing the warnings of global warming problems for quite some time now. The push is on to promote green living to help save the environment and stop some of the effects of global warming.

Are those threats real or is this just hype to further political awareness? Global warming refers to the temperature of the earth near surface air. It allows the earth to be habitable, as it absorbs some of the heat from the sun.

Greenhouse gases that have been released into the earth’s atmosphere are contributing to the rise in the surface air temperature. What impact is this having on earth right now?
Scientists show that the average temperature has risen in the last century.

It’s believed that most of that increase has come in the last couple of decades. With the increase steadily rising, scientists believe that it will continue to rise at an even faster pace for the future.

Arctic ice is slowly disappearing over time. The warmer temperatures caused by the global warming effects are melting the ice. Polar bears are feeling the effects of the melting ice as they find themselves stranded in the middle of the open sea. Ultimately, these polar bears are losing their life by drowning in the seas trying to find more ice patches to climb onto.

With the melting of the ice, we’re seeing a rise in the sea levels. Currently, the rise is a small amount, but since the temperatures are soaring at a fairly rapid rate, the rise will become a problem in the future.

The water level will be raised to a point where flooding will occur, which could make it difficult in pumping it out of the areas where people live. Precipitation is increasing as well.

The amount of rainfall and snowfall is increasing over time. Storms are not only becoming more abundant, but we’re starting to see them increase in intensity as well. Hurricanes will probably occur more often, be stronger and reach farther inland.

The warming temperatures are also causing more evaporation to occur. The more evaporating we see, the more chances for these storms to develop, which could ultimately result in the high category hurricanes, we’re seeing today. The heavier rainfalls will occur, driving people from their flooded homes.

The ecosystems are seeing hardships, too. Some species of animals are slowly moving northward for livable conditions, while other species are slowly dwindling in numbers and struggling to survive extinction.

Global warming is showing some slow effects right now, but they are believed to increase over time unless we start to do something to reverse it. By using some green living methods in our daily lives, we can slow down those disastrous effects to save the planet for our heirs.

Tiffany Washko

Save the World by Saving Energy

by: Nick CoxAll of us are probably guilty of wasting energy. We all seem to be experts when it comes to using it, but many of us fail miserably when we’re told to save it.

The government and media are constantly threatening us with impending doom unless we rethink the way we live our lives. We are told that we must reduce our “carbon-footprint”. But how do we do this? Well, for starters we can reduce the amount of energy we use.

Here are some energy saving tips that not only help save the planet, but more importantly help save you money!

Gas suppliers estimate that the British public wastes about £5 billion worth of energy every year. We can help reduce this—and be the richer for it—by following a few simple guide lines:

• Clothe your boiler in a stylish lagging jacket and also insulate your pipes. By keeping your boiler toasty warm you will save yourself quite a sum over the course of a year.

• Turn your thermostat down. Now you don’t have to freeze to death in the process, but by just turning your thermostat down by just 1°C could potentially cut your heating bills by up to 10%.

• Get rid of those old light bulbs! They may be cheap to buy, but they consume a load of energy and cost you more in the long run. By switching to energy saving bulbs you can save up to £78 over the course of the lifetime of the bulb.

• Us Brits love to drink tea! In the UK we boil over 100 billion kettles each year. It takes a lot of energy to boil all of those kettles, so make sure you don’t over fill them. If you boil only the water you need then over time this will be reflected in your electricity bill. Cheap electricity is something everyone can achieve; all we need to do is become more conscious about how we make our cups of tea. If we did this we could save money and also potentially stop the polar icecaps from melting, in turn saving the lives of thousands of polar bears.

By following the above tips, you could help save the world!

Aafyn