By Nico DH

Every day the climate changes because CO2 gets trapped on earth, heating the planet. As you probably know, climate change has gotten worse and worse. There are many reasons why climate change has gotten worse and many animals are getting affected, including our Arctic friends. But some animals adapted to the change. Animals including us are getting affected because of climate change–don’t you think we should learn as much as possible?

Climate change has gotten worse because of deforestation and burning fossil fuels. Deforestation prevents our trees being able to photosynthesize, making CO2 into O2. Burning fossil fuels releases CO2 to the atmosphere. Examples of fossil fuels are coal, natural gas, heavy oils, and petroleum.

All kinds of animals are getting affected by climate change, such as corals, polar bears, green sea turtles, penguins, and even the chinook salmon. Coral reefs have started to die or and some have already died. When a reef has died, all that is left from these animals are skeletons that these creatures made. This loss does not only affect the reef, it threatens the whole ecosystem. When these animals die, many plants and animals die with it. Reefs are very sensitive to temperature changes. When the temperature warms, the coral removes the algae living with them. The algae gives the coral a kind of food source. When the algae gets removed, the coral looks bleached and is more vulnerable. Polar bears are also getting affected by climate change because the seals that they catch and feast on are harder to catch in time for spring and summer. Because of climate change there are shorter sea ice seasons so the big animals can not catch as many seals.

Though many animals get affected by climate change some are evolving to their new environment. Now that you know how climate change affects animals and us, go and find ways to help. For instance, get coral-safe sunscreen to not damage more of our corals. Even if you don’t go near the ocean, sunscreen can often get to the ocean after a bath because water systems flow into each other. Some ways to reduce deforestation are to not eat meat because farmers make room for their cattle and for growing crops to feed livestock by cutting down trees. You can also use less paper! Try to use less fossil fuels by using an electric car if you can!