For my final project, I placed my story in year 3012 when the Earth is on its last leg. The planet is experiencing a drastic change in conditions and the nation is facing a shift in governmental control. My story focuses on a middle class family’s experiences in 3012.  A young girl, Caroline, tries to do whatever it takes to survive but she will soon find out she is out of luck. This is an excerpt from the text, “The cop chased them and Caroline tried to explain to him that everything was okay, but he did not care. Max was frozen with uncontrollable fear. Without hesitation the cop shot Max in the head, showing Caroline the consequences about population control.”

I was trying to accomplish a piece of writing that showed the worst case scenarios that the Earth could face because of climate change. It would affect not only the environment, but the people as well. Societies would change, favoring one group over the other and resources would become prioritized. Although this story takes place far into the future, anything is a possibility if we don’t try to change. I decided to create this story because talking about climate change reminded me of all the commotion in 2012 when the “world was going to end.” Since the world didn’t end in 2012, I created a possible scenario of when it would end in 3012.

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Over the weekend I had a conversation about climate change with my older uncle. I brought up the issue about global warming and how it could significantly affect now and future. He knew climate change was happening but I could tell that he did not know all the facts. He explained how no one really talked about climate change with him and it seemed he was not that educated about the situation. When he was a kid, climate change was not an issue at all. Not as many people recycled and it was a more stress free atmosphere. People weren’t as worried about using energy or cutting down trees as they are now. The older generation’s boom in technology and industry did help contribute to global warming today; however, they weren’t as aware or didn’t care about what the side effects and how it would affect the environment. They did not understand the long lasting impacts it could have on the world.

Today, my uncle does recycle and he uses energy efficient lighting along with other environmentally friendly equipment. He also drives a hummer which is known to be very harmful towards the environment but he has no plans to change it because he likes the car. My uncle has a lot of  mixed feelings about the future. He explained how much technology has advanced since he was a teenager and how he enjoys using that kind of technology today. The new equipment we have today has been more advanced than the world has ever seen before. Because of this, he thinks there can be a way that we can use this innovation to slow down the temperature rising. He also feels that because of the increasing population size, especially in Asia, it is hard to stop all these people from contributing to the pollution in the atmosphere. No matter how advanced our technology gets, we cannot stop all the people from further contributing to climate change.

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There are different types of pollution like, water, air and light. They all contribute to the overall global warming that is affecting the Earth. Pollution damages the environment, making water undrinkable, air unbreathable and damaging the structure and reproduction cycle of plants around us. However, people don’t really focus on how the bright city lights and lights that illuminate our towns affect both the environment and wildlife around us.

Light pollution has taken a great toll on the wildlife and just making a small switch could save so much. The luminous glow given off by cities and suburbs negatively affects the biological rhythms and interferes with the behavior of nocturnal animals. Artificial light has taken the greatest toll on nocturnal birds who use the moon and stars for navigation during migrations. These birds become so disoriented that they sometimes fly in the opposite direction towards bright cities in the distant. Birds such as the Cerulean warbler and Henslow’s sparrow have become endangered because they are at a high risk of colliding with night towers during their migrations. This also affect marine birds as well. Marine birds, like the Tiny Leach’s Storm Petrel, are particularly drawn to light so it becomes very dangerous when bright light houses and fishermen boat lights shine so bright. These birds then travel great distances to get to light that they end up dying from exhaustion. Contine reading →

What is Obama doing to stop climate change? What is Lebron James doing to stop climate change? What is Justin Bieber doing to stop climate change? These are some of the biggest celebrities today and celebrities have the most impactful power in our nation. If celebrities show more concern about climate change, maybe this will bring more awareness to the world. Recently we learned in class that climate change was not of much concern among citizens. Other issues such as terrorism and military were of bigger concerns. I do believe that people are willing to invest more in current problems rather than future problems. People tend to want to focus on the issues that impact them now rather than focusing on the future. I could see why some people have that way of thinking but if we emphasize the future impact of global warming more, maybe there will be more awareness.

Obama plays an immense role in regulating climate change. In 2013, he introduced the Climate Action Plan hoping that it would make a difference in the amount of carbon being produced by large companies and power plants.Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency are working together to develop carbon pollution standards for both new and existing power plants. In June 2014, the EPA released the Clean Power Plan, the first-ever carbon pollution standards for power plants. These standards will help keep children safe and reduce the amount of carbon produced by 30% by the year 2030. Obama also advocates for building a more climate resilient America. He is trying to introduce public investments that will benefit the future in dealing with climate change. Some of these investments include grants for cleaning up trashed areas and energy efficient transportation funds. Is Obama doing enough to stop this issue? Is he putting enough emphasis on stopping global warming?

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Living on the Coast, my community tends to be affected by the ocean and the animals living in it. When I was younger, a trip to the beach meant I could walk on a near clean beach, spot marine birds, and the local sea lions. However, due to rising climate temperature and the effects that global warming has on the environment, the Coastal zones are changing.

Most of the Coast and Marine waters have been polluted by the expanding urbanization around us. This causes many beaches and waters to be filled with trash, toxic materials and unwelcome bacteria. These foreign objects polluting the waters have negatively affected the marine wildlife living in Coastal environments. Sea level temperatures rising can affect where species live and affect their lifestyle. It could even endanger species, forcing some into extinction. Rising temperatures directly affect a marine animal’s metabolism, life cycle and behavior. The increase of temperature can result in some marine animals engaging in reproduction and mating earlier than usual, risking the survival rate of the offspring. If offspring don’t survive, this can risk the population numbers, sending species near extinction.

Over 200,000 different species live in our oceans, all depending on different ocean environments to survive. The rising of temperature affects some species that require cold water to survive, this forces fish and other species to migrate North to colder waters. It has also affected the Caribbean and warmer waters because the water is too warm, causing coral to die. The lack of coral in a habitat will force fish move because they rely on coral and the bacteria around it to survive. In dense coral habitat, over 70% have been bleached by the warm waters. Some species are even losing their homes, like the penguins and polar bears. The melting of ice on each pole has driven both the penguins from the South and polar bears from the North, to migrate inland because the ice near the coast is continuing to melt.

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