Have you heard about Whyville's new Climate Center? Have you visited it? Do you know what Global Warming is? Do you believe it's true?
I think it's time we stop sitting around arguing about it; let's see some proof!
I wrote this as an essay for my science class on the "Effects Global Warming Have on Glacier National Park." Okay, here we go.
Leading scientists have blamed the melting of glaciers in Glacier National Park on Global Warming. They say that increased temperatures all over the world are causing glaciers to melt; not just glaciers in Glacier National Park, but glaciers over the world. In this essay, I will explore what is causing the glaciers to melt, and the effect this has on the environment in Glacier National Park.
Increased carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is the reason for Global Warming. Extra carbon dioxide causes the atmosphere to become thicker, causing more reflecting heat to become trapped inside the atmosphere. This causes world-wide temperature increases which have been occurring for years. These temperature increases are causing glaciers to rapidly melt. Some scientists predict that all the glaciers in Glacier National Park will be gone by the year 2030.
Many plants and animals call Glacier National Park home. Due to these temperature increases, some of their homes are melting away. When Glacier National Park opened in 1910, there were 150 glaciers. Due to Global Warming, today only 37 of these glaciers are still standing. Most of the glaciers still standing have been dramatically reduced in size from the time the park opened. Some are melting so rapidly, they aren't expected to be around for much longer. This means that the population of animals that depend on the glaciers for their very being will also be dramatically reduced, some will become endangered, and some extinct. This will be partially because some plants that they eat will be gone because the glaciers that they depend on for water will be gone.
When glaciers melt, they become weaker. When glaciers melt, large chunks of ice fall off because the main glacier cannot support its weight. If these large chunks of ice are big enough and fall into a lake or ocean, they can cause tsunamis. Also, when glacier melts, it increases avalanche risks. This is seen in the incident when an avalanche occurred causing the Going-To-The-Sun Road to be closed. Recent studies show that the amount of water runoff is growing each year. If you melt ice, you inevitably get water. When you melt something as big as a glacier, you get a lot of runoff. This causes the soil to become saturated and easier to turn into a mudslide. Water also causes ice to melt faster, only making the problem worse. It also increases the chance of flooding and the sea level.
As you can see, Glacier National Park may not be around for much longer. Everyday we are losing more and more of this precious jewel that America holds. We need to make an effort to try to save the remaining thirty-seven glaciers because that is all we have left. New glaciers will not form unless we go through another ice age. America set aside this park to preserve the natural beauty of the glaciers, but they can???t stay as they are forever unless we do something about Global Warming.
So, after reading this, do you believe Global Warming is true? For me, this is absolute proof. If you look back in the weather history in your community, even just as far back as you can remember (assuming your 13 or so) you can see the changes. Living in Southern California, I see the weather changes all the time. We've broken record temperatures. The large winds that come through every year, called the Santa Ana's, are coming sooner, staying longer, and becoming stronger. We've also had fires break out, two which have been in Anaheim Hills. I could see the flames from my bedroom. I was under voluntary evacuation. Think how scary that was. Those fires wouldn't have happened if it weren't for an extra hot year and a record drought. So, you make the decision. Is it Global Warming? Or is it just history repeating itself? Do we really know?
Signing off to go turn the a/c down,
-Eric5675
