Woo hoo! We made it through another week. Here are some important announcements (some of which are related to this week's material) that you need to take a look at.
1. Global warming IS a problem: Period. Several of you are under the common misunderstanding that this is a problem of the future, or this is a media hoax, or this is a natural cycle. I know you hear mixed stories in the news, but the science is not mixed: We are currently experiencing global warming. It is a real, serious, legitimate, human-caused problem that we and our children (and unfortunately all life on earth) have to deal with.
2. Global warming is NOT the same as ozone depletion: The ozone layer is a layer of gas located in the stratosphere of the earth. It's important to humans because it absorbs dangerous wavelengths of UV light that harm our DNA. The hole in the ozone is mainly caused be free radicals (that are produced in many different ways, but one major source is chlorofluorocarbons found in aerosols). Although the ozone hole still exists, we've managed to make strides towards repairing it with bans on certain types of chemicals that destroy the ozone.
THIS IS NOT GLOBAL WARMING. Global warming is caused by the trapping of greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, etc.) in the atmosphere that is causing the gradual rise in temperature of the earth's surface. Greenhouse gases take a loooooooooooooong time to go away which means we're going to need to make some serious life changes (and work on some form of greenhouse gas removal system) to make this problem go away.
This all gets a little bit confusing, though, because ozone located in the wrong region of the earth's atmosphere, is also a greenhouse gas. Ozone is one of the bi-products of smog which is why you sometimes hear ozone and global warming used in the same sentence.
3. What can you do to reduce your effects? TONS!!! And the good thing is that most of the solutions will save us $$$ (I don't know about you, but I'm a bit short on cash these days). Here are just a few things you can do to help slow the warming crisis: adjust your thermostat (just a degree warmer in the summer and a degree cooler in the winter will make a big difference), walk/bike/carpool/ride the bus, buy energy-efficient appliances, use energy-saver light bulbs, recycle, eat locally grown foods (like from the farmer's market--transport of food across the country takes a lot of fossil fuels). Check out this website for more things you can do.....and then DO THEM! :)
4. One more thing....Vianne sent me an excellent news article on a town that is going to be completely carbon neutral! Check it out--it's pretty amazing! Thanks Vianne! If anyone else has other news to share, just drop me a note!
5. Ok, on to business: Your Chapter 4 Digging Deeper assignment is due tonight by 8 with responses and declarations due by 11:00 p.m. Then you're off the hook until Sunday!
Enjoy your weekend and let me know if you have questions or concerns!
Heather
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