Science – One Girl One Planet

Have you ever found yourself wondering: “Maybe we didn’t cause Global Warming? Maybe it was just nature?”

If so, I don’t blame you. There’s tons of evidence of global climate change in the past, before we humans came on the scene and started using fossil fuels.

For example, there have been changes in global temperature due to volcanic activity and other natural phenomena.

Here is a graph that shows this fact.

Image credit, NASA. (Data from ice-core samples in Antarctica.)

So, what makes scientists think that the present climate crisis is any different?

The difference in this period of climate change isn’t just 1) how abrupt it is, or even 2) the fact that it started at the beginning of the industrial revolution, when people started burning fossil fuels. (Although both these facts are proven, too).

What separates this period of climate change from natural ones in the past can be found in the coldest place on earth..

If you still doubt that humans are causing global warming, go to Antarctica. There, in a remote outpost, you will find scientists working in one of the harshest environments on earth. Why are they there? They are drilling into the ice. And not for oil—no! For… more ice.

You see, when snow falls in places as cold as the Arctic and Antarctic, it doesn’t melt. It just builds up, and gets heavier and heavier, until its own weight weighs it down so much that it compresses into ice. Since snow is made up of 90% air (which is why it’s light and fluffy when it falls), this compression pushes the air out. But some of it stays inside the ice as little air bubbles.

So as you can imagine, if the snow fell, say, two thousand years ago, never melted, and instead compressed into ice, wouldn’t some of the air bubbles trapped inside also be from ten thousand years ago? Yes! And these are little samples of the air from that long-ago time.

The scientists in Antarctica are studying these air bubbles for that reason. They want to study the air from long ago. The air around the world is mostly the same at the same time, so if the air in Antarctica was composed of certain things, probably the air of the whole world at the time was composed of the same things—-giving the scientists the longest and best record they can get of what the climate was like throughout history.

So, scientists can get the ice and study it to find out, for example, how much carbon dioxide was in the atmosphere at a certain time.

Now, here’s another thing I need to tell you: You know plants breathe in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen, right? Well…Plants are picky eaters. Yeah, you heard me right. Plants prefer one isotope*(See definition at bottom) of carbon dioxide over another. There are two main isotopes of CO2, carbon 13 and carbon 12. Carbon 12 is the lighter type, and it’s the type all plants prefer… even the plants, say in the time of the dinosaurs.

So, when those prehistoric plants died, they kept the carbon 12 in their remains, and over time those remains became fossils. Now, we’re pumping them back up as fossil fuels. Hence the name, right?

Well, since those plants mostly contained carbon 12, so do the fossil fuels. And when we use fossil fuels and release them into the atmosphere, changes happen: the atmosphere’s level of carbon 12 goes up, and the level of carbon 13 goes down. And that’s measurable.

Image credit: kottke.org

As you can see in this graph, the level of lighter carbon (carbon 12) went up, while the level of carbon 13 (mostly caused by volcanic activity) went down.

This is incredibly substantial evidence that humans, who released the carbon 12, are the culprits of our current climate change.

*Isotopes are like types of atoms. Atoms, which are the building blocks of all things, are made of different compositions (amounts) of their own building blocks––electrons, neutrons, and protons––depending on what they are part of or what they are creating. Carbon 12 contains six neutrons, six protons, and six electrons, giving it an atomic mass (size or weight- amount) of twelve. Carbon 13 contains six protons, six electrons and seven neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 13.

Happy Earth Daaaay!

Hi! SolarBear here.

Today’s post is going to be different then most posts. Because this is not a normal day. It’s…(drumroll, please)…EARTH DAY!

*Cue worldwide activist parties!*

Since it’s Earth Day (my website’s first birthday! Sniff…they grow up so fast… remember that very first post on Earth Day last year?), and since we have so many wonderful people working on posts now, including Tigress and Callisto (here’s a link to Callisto’s Earthrise post about the beautiful photo below), this is going to be a little longer than usual. But we worked really hard on it, so you’ll really want to read this one!

Happy, happy Earth Day, my eco-friends!

Sincerely,

SolarBear.

Callisto wrote a wonderful post about this famous photo, known as Earthrise (link above).

Picture This…

Picture a world where everything…and everyone…is safe.

Picture a world where freedom––and a vote that counts––is considered a fundamental human right.

Picture a world where everyone––children and adults of all races, cultures, faiths, and gender identities––are treated respectfully, fairly, and equitably, with free access to education, to honest information, and to health support. (Including a vaccine, if they need one.)

Picture a world where beautiful trees grow thick, lush, unharmed by humans.

Picture a world where the rivers, seas, and oceans are crystal clear, except for the plankton and important algae that feed the creatures living in it.

Picture a world where you can go outside and breathe fresh, clean air without worry––even those living in cities.

Picture a world where islands, and the populations and cultures living on them, are not threatened by climate-driven sea rise.

Picture a world where rainforests stretch on and on...to the very edge of the horizon…unharmed by humans.

Picture a world where your favorite––and the Earth’s most iconic––creatures are in no danger, but are safe in their natural habitats, which supply their needs.

Picture a world where our human footprints do not harm the rest of it.

We CAN have this world––picture it!––in which any day is an Earth Day.

If only we try.

The Power of Words

Have you ever wanted to do something about the climate crisis but have been too scared? Or maybe it’s just that you don’t exactly know how?

Well, I can help with that…a little, at least.

First, are you too scared or anxious to say what you think?

This is nothing to be ashamed of. Even while I’m writing this, I’m wondering if it’s a good idea to write it: Am I making mistakes? What if someone thinks this is weird or stupid? What if no one sees this at all?

But I have to ignore these nagging feelings because…the Earth is worth it.

Imagine if every voice––smart or stupid, cool or weird––spoke out for what they believed in: stopping human-driven climate change. That would be so many voices that the world leaders and people who are preventing us from moving forward would have to listen.

Every drop in the bucket counts

But my voice is too small, you might think. What’s one less voice in a million?

As an answer to this question, one voice is everything.

Perhaps there are nine hundred thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine voices? Then that one extra voice would be the difference between several thousand and a million. And one more? From a million to more than a million. Whether it seems like it or not, it’s a measurable difference: it COUNTS.

Or, perhaps, and much more importantly, what if everyone thinks what you think–that their voice doesn’t count, either? That would make the difference between one million…and nothing. No one would ever give the climate crisis a second thought, since no one ever asked them to think about it twice.

Okay, so maybe you understand this now. But perhaps you’re still too scared. What do you do?

You push those feelings aside, and speak anyhow. You can still be cautious, but just realize there is a very fine line between caution and fear. No matter what everything seems to tell you, it’s more important to get your voice out there, to take the risk to help and hope, than to overanalyze what you say, attempting to make sure it’s what your friends, your relatives, your teachers, or even some YouTube celebrities want to hear. All that matters is that you speak up and you tell the truth. Someone, somewhere, will listen.

Perhaps your voice will be the turning point for someone; that one extra nudge that puts them on the right track. Or perhaps your voice can be more than a turning point: perhaps it will be someone’s inspiration. For me, I never know when a sentence, a stanza, or a single word, will make impact. Most of the time it’s the inspiring ones out there who make a difference, but, sometimes…it’s the little, quiet, less-heard voices who make that difference.

Now for the next step…how to start

Just don’t know how to start…? I get this feeling, too. For a long time I was thinking a lot but not saying anything. I just wasn’t quite sure how. Those little uncertainties bothered me–and stopped me from even trying.

But then I began to look, to learn, to listen, and I created a website–and now my voice is being heard! By you, if by no one else.

Now I know that I should have done something, whether I knew how to or not––our world is simply worth it.

My advice is just DO.

Do something meaningful, even if it feels awkward. As long as you’re doing something, saying something, it counts! You don’t even have to really “know how.”

But if you do want to know how, just ask! There’s no shame in being a beginner, in asking what to do or how to start. Chances are, you know or have heard of someone who can help you. The world is full of kind, clever people who are just waiting for the question, “Can you help me?” “How can I help?” “What can I DO?”

I asked my parents when it came to this. They were happy to help, and even helped me set up this website — and since I asked for this website as a gift, they even helped pay for it! Now my dad takes care of all the complicated tech stuff and my mom edits every post! And my sister started making On Thin Ice— which has really brought the site to life visually. And our good friend Tigress is now adding her voice to the mix, speaking out for endangered animals who have no voices of their own. Thanks, guys! I’m so grateful.

So, in summary:

Start where you are. DO what you can.

Don’t worry what other people might think.

If you want to know how to start, how to make a change, or what it all means, ASK.

Use your voice. Because every voice counts, no matter how small.

Be Inspired

This Earth Day, I’ve gathered a collection of quotes here that I hope will leave you inspired and enlightened as you do your little bit to help the Earth.