Part. I
WHEN THE CHEMISTRY IS NOT RIGHT
Chemistry choreographs the dance between ocean, land and atmosphere. Carbon in form of carbon dioxide is a natural part of the atmosphere and is important for balancing the earth’s temperature, plant growth and oxygen consumption of all organisms. Carbon is a significant part of our lives and entwined with one of the most serious issues we are facing today: global climate change.
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose continuously by burning more and more coal, oil, gas and wood. Our modern lifestyle is changing the chemistry of the earth and altering the carbon cycle has already brought a variety of menacing consequences. These days humans blow about 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year and merely about half of these emissions are absorbed by plants, soils and oceans. The rest accumulates in the atmosphere.
The consequences of emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide anthropogenically can be seen in many ways: the acidification and warming of the oceans, rising sea levels intensifying weather events and desertification. However, the disrupted cycle does not only affect the oceans and the land, the additional amount leads to air pollution, which put humans at a higher risk for diseases and can less life expectancy. If we continue like this, we will limit the earth from absorbing carbon dioxide, thereby exacerbating the extreme weather and creating a vicious cycle of further warming.
On a sunnier note, every day is a new day – a new beginning. In a sense, climate change is an opportunity for us to step up, to grow up, as a species.
Part. II
THE ROLE OF OCEANS
All ecosystems are depended on healthy oceans: they play an elemental role in mediating the temperature, hence regulating the global climate.
Oceans are the largest ecosystem on earth. No matter how we turn it, this planet is a blue planet. A continuous body of salt water that covers more than two thirds of the earth’s surface. All ecosystems are depended on healthy oceans: they play an elemental role in mediating the temperature, hence regulating the global climate. With that they drive extreme weather events such as rainfalls, storms, droughts and floods. Also our oceans are for many coastal dwelling communities and if managed sustainably also generate a lot of income through tourism. Human activities like emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, overfishing or plastic pollution affect nearly all parts of the ocean.
By reason of global warming, icebergs are breaking off and the surface of the ice sheets are melting – six times faster than in the 1990s – feeding vast amounts of fresh water into the sea, disrupting ocean currents and rising sea levels. With this happening the earth is losing their white ice shields, which keeps the earth cool by reflecting most of the sun’s energy back into space. A dark surface does the opposite, absorbing the sun’s energy and heating up.
In addition, all water bodies expand if their temperature is raised and this phenomenon is affected by climate change which adds greatly to the danger of rising sea levels. Millions of people will live below the high tide line by midcentury. Rising seas are going to drown more coastal cities and small islands than previously thought. The challenges are great, but together we can deepen our impact and continue to save the oceans, the lives and homes of millions of animals and people. Let us surf a new wave of consciousness by doing something good.
