The Big Local Organic Movement: Earth Day

I am extremely sorry for not posting for the past 5-6 weeks. Between preparing for the garden, increased amounts of homework, sickness, concerts, and preparing for the BLOM event, I have been unable to write. What was this year's BLOM event? This year's BLOM event concerned climate change. It was a very small event, and was planned within the week before Earth Day. This was because, it is hoped that there will be one more larger event before the year is through. On Earth Day itself, I presented a speech about climate change. I followed this by asking my grade to agree to some task to help reduce climate change. Such tasks were changing 5 light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs, planting native plants and trees, walking instead of driving, reducing trash, and other such things. I decided on this event after I read the article of the National Wildlife Federation about climate change and the polar bears. I had never realized just how bad things had become. The biggest problem for climate change is how slowly it occurs. This is the case for most environmental concerns. From the time of DDT and poison through chemicals, to climate change, the effects that are caused by environmental concerns occur slowly. Because of this, the public is not as concerned. That is why teaching them is so important. The problem is that there are not enough people who will act on what you tell them (especially 8th graders). That is why I believe you have to act in order to help. I did a joint project of information and action. Unfortunately, the speech was lost on the audience. It is questionable what exactly they heard. Also, the tasks were not enforced in anyway. Once signed, there was no way to hold that person to doing the task. Therefore the action portion of this event was also unsuccessful. I am not discouraged, for I am coming up with an event which will make people help. For those of you who are curious, this is what I read during my speech:

Hello everyone,

Today, April 22^nd, is Earth Day, a day started in 1970 to encourage people to help the planet. This is BLOM’s (or the Big Local Organic Movement’s) first and hopefully not last movement of the year. Last year we focused on organic local food, but this year, I am here to talk to you about a subject which is quickly becoming a major problem. I am talking about climate change. Climate change has been known for a while, since the 1960s when global climate computer models showed that greenhouse gases could potentially alter the climate. Even in the 1890s some scientists believed fossil fuels could impact the world. And even with this knowledge, people continue to aid the destruction of the ozone and the change of the climate. We must change our actions now. Research done by World Bank leaders gave just how much our actions could affect this planet. Almost all scientists have said that without serious changes in our style of living, by the end of this century the earth will be 4° C hotter. This is equivalent to about 8° F. You might say why does it matter that the temperature will be 8° hotter? That is understandable considering the fact that our temperature changes in large increments here. It matters. An analogy was given in a newsletter of the Sierra Club. It doesn't take more than a few degrees to get a person majorly sick. Now imagine adding 8 degrees to a person’s temperature. That is a 106 fever, where the human nervous system begins to shut down. Just like this, the Earth and all its life (including humans) will be majorly affected if the Earth becomes that warm. Even 1 degree can have horrible consequences. I trust that you all believe in Hurricane Sandy. This hurricane was nicknamed Frankenstorm Sandy. Why? Because it wreaked havoc, destroying lives, property, and buildings. This was a truly large storm. Why was this such a bad storm? Part of the problem is due to the warm tropical water which creates a hurricane. The earth is one degree warmer since the start of the Industrial Revolution. One degree increase was a cause of this super storm. President of the National Wildlife Federation says: “Since Hurricane Sandy was in large part the result of warmer-than-normal ocean water caused by a 1-degree F rise in global temperature, imagine what will happen with a 7-8 degree F average increase.”

Besides this storm what else could occur? Well, let’s see:

· Ocean levels will rise: they rose one foot in the past 100 years. As more ice caps melt, the sea level might rise so much that it will flood 30 miles into land, and flood 30% of the human population.

· Disease: As temperatures rises so does the number of disease carrying insects.

· Heat: Heat waves and extreme heat will also occur, making the chance of heat stroke more likely. Wildfires will also happen more due to the heat.

· Wildlife will disappear: 20-30% of the plant and animal species of might become extinct because of climate change. Among these is the famous polar bear. By 2050, it is predicted that 2/3 of the polar bear population will be gone.

Now there are some that say that climate change is a “scientific conspiracy”, much like some believe the moon expedition did not occur. To these people, I say: Please tell this to the polar bears. Tell the four females found dead because they drowned in search of ice. Tell this to a mother bear and her cub, who swam 426 miles in nine days to find ice, losing 22 percent of her body weight and her cub. And explain the fact that it took 11 millennium for the Earth to warm 1 degree, yet it only took 150 years after the Industrial age to warm another degree. NO, everyone, if we are to accomplish anything in trying to protect the Earth from destruction, we have to first accept that there is such a thing as climate change. But, again quoting the President of the NWF, “It is not enough to care; we must link our concern to each other and act collectively.”

I am reading a book: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Many of you don’t realize how lucky you are because of Rachel Carson. We take for granted the fact that we can look out a window and see a robin. During the years of the 1950s, places which were drenched in chemicals were lucky to even see one of these birds. Places which were sprayed lost as many as 80% of all its birds. America had become a death trap, not only for the wildlife but for humans. Rachel Carson wrote the book, but it would have been useless if the public had not demanded change. You guys are the public. You have an unbelievable amount of power. The public back in the 1900s brought America out of that environmental Dark Age. But now it seems we have entered another one. We are too close for comfort to an environmental collapse, what with our speed in consuming resources, and our growing population. I remember hearing that the Earth can only support 6 billion people. We have cleared 7 billion. Now is the time to act. To quote the NWF: It’s Later Than It’s Ever Been.

Here is what you can do:

· Speak up- Convince others to help, write to our government. Use the voice you have.

· Be Aware of the Resources you are Using- Try to conserve or recycle where you can. Recycling is especially important. Did you know that 75% of the trash in the ocean is recyclable?

· Be Environmentally Aware in General.

· Join in this BLOM Event- To start off your awareness of climate change, we are going to be coming around with clipboards and little tasks you can do. Sign up, and please do the task that you chose, for we will try to use the numbers of what tasks were done to see if we can find the amount of carbon reduced in the atmosphere.

Join in with the world leaders in trying to stop the planet from warming beyond 2 degrees C. We can never repair the damage we have done to this Earth; it will forever more be 1 degree hotter. Once again in the words of the President of the NWF: It may be too late to make climate change disappear, but it’s not too late to act boldly and make a decisive difference for the future. It’s your choice. I hope you make the correct one.

Sources:

http://theweek.com/article/index/241144/scientists-say-earth-is-hotter-today-than-it-has-been-for-nearly-all-of-the-last-11000-years

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/02/when-discover-climate-change

http://www.sierraclub.org/planet/199707/portents.asp

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_high_a_fever_can_get_before_you_can_die

Silent Spring

Glencoe Physical Science

National Wildlife Magazine: Various Articles

http://www.environmentabout.com/34/global-warming-why-a-few-degrees-temperature-rise-matters

https://www2.ucar.edu/climate/what-difference-can-few-degrees-make

http://www.skepticalscience.com/few-degrees-global-warming.htm

http://www.oocities.org/mskokopelli_it/what_will_a_few_more_degrees_matter.html