GLOBAL WARMING AND YOUR FAMILY

By: Seymour Simon

A full-blown discussion of global warming may be too scary for preschoolers, but elementary school kids want to understand it. As I travel the country speaking in schools, many children ask me about the facts of global warming. And, they want to know what they can do to help.

Here’s what you as a parent and caregiver can do. Stress that Earth is our home planet and that our planet is beautiful and awesome. We appreciate and respect its wonders. When you respect and love something, you want to take care of it. And if something is happening to our home planet, we want to find out what it is and what we can do to help.

Is global warming real? Most scientists say yes, and here’s why:
• Sea ice, particularly in the north Polar Regions, is retreating.
• Most glaciers and the permafrost (the layer of the ground that remains frozen throughout the year) are melting and spring thaws are coming earlier.
• Many species of animals are beginning to migrate northwards to the cooler year-round temperatures in polar regions.

From one place to another, the warming varies, but the average global temperature is about one degree F. warmer than it was a hundred years ago and probably the warmest in a thousand years (we know this by estimating past temperatures from tree rings). Temperatures from one year to another swing naturally, but as far as science can tell, natural causes can’t explain what’s happening now. Eleven of the warmest years in the last century and a half have all occurred in the last 12 years. The last two decades of the twentieth century were the hottest in more than 400 years. That’s why we believe global warming – also known as climate change – is happening.

Some children (and adults) ask “But, how can there be global warming when we’re having so much snow?” That’s because snowstorms are weather, which is different than climate. Weather is what happens every day; climate is the average weather over many years. Weather tells you whether you need to wear a sweater or an overcoat one day. Climate tells you where in the world to go for a beach vacation in the middle of winter.

Is global warming just a natural shift in the climate? The conclusion that most scientists come to is no—the warming since 1970 has been too widespread over the world and too rapid. There are some scientists who are not sure of the extent of global warming and there are a very few who deny it completely. But the deniers have no theories; they only criticize (and get a lot of press attention).

Why is global warming happening? Burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal are the biggest contributors to current global warming by adding carbon dioxide to the air. Carbon dioxide is a “greenhouse gas” which allows sunlight to pass through the atmosphere but traps the heat from bouncing back into space. Plants use carbon dioxide and a little is a good thing, but not the amount that we’re pouring into the atmosphere.

Should we really be concerned about one little degree? Yes, we should. Most of the life on our planet lives in “just right” conditions. Even one degree of temperature rise in the ocean is enough to kill and bleach miles upon mile of living coral reefs. As the ice melts, rising sea levels will flood and displace coastal populations of millions all over the world. Less reliable and shifting storm patterns will affect agriculture in many countries. Perhaps a little climate change isn’t so bad, but a lot is. Life on our planet is finely tuned to the current climate.

Do we still have time to do something about global warming, or is it already too late? It’s probably too late to prevent more climate change in the next few decades, but not too late to influence what’s going to happen for future generations. Governments around the world are trying to use the kinds of “green” technologies that we have now and are being developed to lessen our use of oil, by making more fuel-efficient cars and electric generating plants.

Here are five things your family can do to use less energy (and therefore use less carbon fuel):
1. Turn down the thermostat on the heater and turn it up on the AC. — two degrees lower in the winter and two degrees higher in the summer. Heating and cooling are big energy hogs. Feed them less.
2. Don’t drive when you can walk. Automobiles are big consumers of carbon fuels. Use your own body’s energy instead.
3. Think about energy efficiency when you’re at the grocery store. Replace your old, incandescent light bulbs with fluorescents. Buy local produce. Fruits and vegetables that are flown in from other parts of the world have big “carbon footprints.”
4. Recycle paper and plastic, and reuse bags at the food market.
5. Run your dishwasher or washing machine only when it’s full, reducing your family’s overall energy consumption.

Most importantly, encourage your children’s interest in science. Science ignorance is a significant contributor to misunderstanding the problems of global warming (and many other big problems in our world). What you don’t know can hurt you.

Seymour Simon, whom the New York Times called “The Dean of Children’s Science Writers,” has introduced tens of millions of children to a staggering array of natural science subjects as the author of more than 250 highly acclaimed books. His HarperCollins photo-essay books are co-branded with the Smithsonian Institution, giving Seymour Simon’s books a special seal of approval from a leading authority on science and education. He has received many awards for his work, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forum on Children’s Science Books.