Environmental Awareness For Children

CHILDREN……… Be aware of your environment. What you need to know about GREENHOUSE GASES AND GREENHOUSE EFFECT, GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE.

The Earth is wrapped in a blanket of air called the ‘Atmosphere‘, which is made up of several layers of gases. The sun is much hotter than the Earth and it gives off rays of heat (radiation) that travel through the atmosphere and reach the Earth.

The rays of the sun warm the Earth, and heat from the Earth then travels back into the atmosphere. The gases in the atmosphere stop some of the heat from escaping into space. These gases are called ‘Greenhouse Gases‘ and the natural process between the sun, the atmosphere and the Earth is called the ‘Greenhouse Effect‘. This is because the process works the same way as a greenhouse does. The windows of a greenhouse play the same role as the gases in the atmosphere, keeping some of the heat inside the greenhouse.

The GREENHOUSE GASES are very important and are mainly: • Water Vapour – occurs naturally in the atmosphere. • Carbon Dioxide – produced naturally when people and animals breathe out, while Plants such as trees absorb carbon dioxide. Volcanoes also produce carbon dioxide. Note that carbon dioxide is not the same as carbon monoxide. • Methane – comes from cattle as they digest their food. Methane also comes from fields where rice is grown in fields. • Nitrous Oxide – is produced when plants die and get rotten. • Ozone – occurs naturally in the atmosphere.

The Natural Greenhouse Effect

The atmosphere has a number of gases, often in tiny amounts, which trap the heat given out by the Earth. To make sure that the Earth’s temperature remains constant, the balance of these gases in the atmosphere must not be upset.

The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

Greenhouse gases keep increasing in the atmosphere. The balance of the greenhouse gases changes and this has effects on the whole of the planet. Because there are more and more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, more heat is trapped which makes the Earth hotter. This is known as GLOBAL WARMING which results in CLIMATE CHANGE.

Some of the activities of man also produce greenhouse gases. Burning fossil fuels – coal, oil and natural gas – releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Cutting down and burning trees and bushes also produces a lot of carbon dioxide, improper waste disposal of plastics (like nylon bags, pure water sachets, empty water bottles etc) pollutes our environment, reduces our soil nutrient and contributes to global warming.

This is already evident in the number of floods we are experiencing all over the world, the changes in weather and subsequently drought and famine in some parts of the world, if nothing is done about it now, the damage to the ozone layer will become severe and unbearable for humans and plants and animals to live. The changes in the weather will affect the types of crops grown in different parts of the world and there would be loss of lives, farmlands and homes.

In view of this, we would want to join hands together to help save the planet earth by adopting a lifestyle that is more environment/ecofriendly. Let us start using climate-friendly materials like the use of reusable bags, recycled paper and paper bags instead of plastic bags, adopt proper waste disposal habits and as we do this, let’s encourage other people to do same. In this way, we can help stop global warming and climate change.

I am sure we want to live HAPPILY on earth; We don’t want to live suffering from too much heat from the sun, too much rainfall causing floods and damaging our homes. Tell your family and friends not to litter the streets with pure water plastic, empty nylon bags, empty bottled water plastic because they block the drainage system and cause our streets and homes to be flooded.

In this way, we can help reduce the effects of global warming and climate change in our country.

IPCC Report: We Must Phase Out Fossil Fuels by 2100

Environmental Awareness For Adults