Country: Kenya. Topic: Climate change pre- conference 1A

Environment   Sep 7, 2017 by Lisa Ndegwa

What is climate change? To me, climate change is one of the biggest ecological problems we face today that will not only affect us but our future generations. It is an issue that should be taken quite seriously, and people should not only dwell on the problems but look for solutions to this problem that is harming our environment. I believe that our earth was created in an intricate balance and it should remain that way for a sustainable universe.

As most people know climate change is a change in climate patterns contributing to increasing levels of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor) due to the human trend of expansion of the "greenhouse effect" produced by fossil fuels that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from the earth towards space.

There are numerous effects of climate change that affect us to-date and will affect us in the future, such as:

• §The temperature has increased even more in the Arctic, up to 1.5°C higher over the past 40 years. Eleven of the last 12 years rank among the warmest on record. Now, there are some places where the temperature isn’t increasing, but overall, our planet is warming more than normal, making it hard for animals and plants to survive in the wild. In the oceans, water temperature has gone up an average of 0.33°C over the past 135 years from the surface to a depth of 700m. There have even been increases in water temperature recorded 3km below the ocean’s surface. That’s almost the length of 6 CN Towers stacked on top of each other. Think about that for a moment – a lot of extra heat was needed to cause the enormous oceans to warm up at a depth of 3km!
• §It affects our biodiversity. Polar bears risk extinction in the coming years as Arctic sea ice continues to melt Species like mosquitos, American robins, and Pacific salmon are moving northward into Canada’s Arctic. Karner blue butterfly habitat in the United States may become uninhabitable within the next few decades. This are some of the animals which will suffer because of what we caused.
• §Increase in extreme weather such as: hurricanes, heat waves, drought, wild fires, floods and winter weather. Erosion and flooding of Arctic communities with increased frequency. Global rising sea levels might threaten major coastal cities and wetland habitats.

These are some of the effects of climate change that have affected us thus. And yes, it’s true that as a result of climate change, some major damage is happening to the planet earth. However, it’s important to not let this discourage us. We can still make a difference. Walking or taking a bike instead of a car, reusing items instead of buying new ones, turning off lights that are not in use, unplugging our electronic devices. These are simple things you can do to help reduce the impact of climate change. Climate change is a global issue. It needs global solutions.

I asked several students certain questions involving climate change to get a view of multiple perspectives. These are the questions I asked them.

• What is the first thing that pops in your mind when you hear climate change?
• What do you think of climate change?
• Do you think climate change affects you? If so how?
• Are humans to blame for climate change? If so what are you doing about it?

Student 1: “The first thing that comes to mind when I hear climate change is no forests. I think climate change affects the future because of the rise of temperature causing the Arctic to melt, this will cause flooding. I think climate change affects me because of lack of food, flooding and increase in temperature. Humans are to blame for climate change. I try as much as I can not to deposit materials such as plastic and I plant trees too.”

Student 2: “I think about temperature increase when I hear climate change. I think climate change has many negative and positive aspects for example; it is positive when it is too cold so I don’t have to swim and it is negative when it is too hot for me to play football. Yes I do think climate change affects me as I stated. I don’t think humans are to blame for climate change because I believe climate change is happening because of natural causes.”

Student 3: “The first thing that comes to mind when I think about climate change is, a shift in climate patterns. I don’t really know about climate change so I don’t know what to think of it. I don’t think climate change affects me in any way. I don’t know who to blame for climate change because I don’t know who or what caused it.”

Student 4: “I think of a warmer country when I hear climate change. I think climate change has more positive effects than negative effects, I think people don’t realize that climate change is a good thing because mainstream media mostly focuses on the negative parts of world issues than the good ones. Yes I do think climate change affects me, it will be unlikely for me to fall sick when temperatures are high. Yes I do think humans are the main reason behind climate change but they shouldn’t be blamed for it, they should be thanked for it. Why? Because of climate change there is increased agricultural production in some places. People say that climate change destroys our plants, but if we are producing more carbon dioxide emissions aren’t we saving them instead?”

2.

This image captures what I think of climate change because I believe we control climate change. In this image the hand is us humans and the flame of fire is the destruction of climate change. We all control that hand and if we all contribute on making a global solution we can move that hand away from the flame of fire and stop the destruction.

• a.What is your vision for a sustainable world?

The following video expresses how I view a sustainable world.

https://youtu.be/9ACkW0hdUR8

• b.How are you planning to make this dream a reality?

I am planning to make my dream a reality by participating in organizations such as global citizenship, world scholars and Model United Nations. This will educate me on world problems to come up with world solutions with youth with different ideas from different backgrounds. I also want to educate people from my community on issues we face today and in the future by telling them the cause and effect of world problems. This will create awareness and urge people to prevent this issues by finding solutions to issues. Creating a sustainable world is not easy but I believe two heads are better than one, if we all contribute to cutting only enough trees per year that can be regrown, minimizing the burning of fossil fuel, designing energy-efficient buildings, using recycled materials when possible. And it means rethinking our social institutions and the way we conduct our business to be more equitable to all both across the globe and in future generations. 

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