Hi! We are three young girls, we love Earth and we want to save our planet from pollution. In this blog we will show you a lot of information about the environment and the climate change issues and we will show you how you can reduce your carbon footprint. We will also talk about the consequences of covid19 on the environment and many other things. Without wasting any more time we greet you and wish you good reading!
Chiara, Noemi and Martina
Climate change can lead to tragic consequences that can harm the environment and the population.
ENVIRONMENT
The index to indicate the countries most affected by climate change is based on six risk factors: food, water, health, service offered by the ecosystem, human habitat, infrastructure
Given these factors, the countries that are therefore most at risk are in order: Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Finlandia, Denmark.
Italy is on the thirtieth place after Portugal and before Lituania.
We have listed the countries that suffer from the problems of climate change to their ecosystem, now we will list the countries where the climate change issues create damage to the population.
POPULATION
An analysis of Verisk Maplecroft, a climate risk consultancy firm, believes that the population of Chad will be the most vulnerable in the next 30 years. In 2016 they constitued an index of vulnerability to climate change that identified the human population that will suffer most from the impact of climate change in the next 30 years.
That index combines the risk of exposure to climate change with the resources that each country has to cope with extreme weather events.
Population most at risk:
1 Chad
2 Bangladesh
3 Niger
4 Haiti
5 Central African Republic
Safest population :
1 Norway
2 Ireland
3 Iceland
4 Sweden
5 Finland
This shows how, even if the environmental risk is very high, in richer countries the population is able to cope with these events. In poor countries, such as those of central Africa, it is difficult to face these situations because there are no means and knowledge is scarce.
It is true that environmental damage cannot be controlled and is very often disastrous, but the damage to the population is also serious and for this reason we should do everything possible to help before it is too late.
(Betto Chiara)
Water is essential for life on Earth. However, it’s a precious asset and the waste of water is closely linked to climate change.
Sea water occupies 71% of the Earth’s surface, contitutes 97,5% of all water available on the planet but it’s salty!
The percentage of fresh water, compared to the total, is only 2,5. Of this amount, as much as 70% is trapped in glaciers and polar ice caps. Therefore only 30% of sweet water is really available, which is equivalent to 1,2% of the total.
Now think that this 1,2% of ALL water on Earth should be distributed to about 9 billion people. It is a really valuable asset that shouldn’t be wasted, right?
Now think that about 250 cubic kilometres of water are wasted every year, an amount equal to three times the volume of Lake Geneva.
This is really a lot of water.
But what does this have to do with climate change? If the glaciers melt we will have more water available, right? Sure! And then? After the glaciers have melted, after we have wasted so much water pretending nothing happened, after that, what happens? How will we survive? Oh no, of course, at that time we will no longer be there, it will be our children’s problem, why worry?
Because this problem was created by us and by those who came before. Do we want to do as they did and continue to damage the environment or do we want to act to avoid the worst?
In addition to being wasted, water is often also polluted. It would be enough to have a little attention in daily actions to make a difference. Now I will show you how you can help save water and the environment in 2 easy steps.
1_ How much water do you think we consume every time to brush our teeth? You will say 1 maybe 2 liters. Well, taking into account that 6 liters per minute are wasted by letting the water run, the correct answer is about 7,5 liters. If we close the tap and let the water run less we can save liters and liters of water. Turn off the taps!
2_ The water consumption for a bath can be up to four times higher than that for a shower. Obviously, it depends on the duration of the shower. However one bathtub container 100-160 liters of water, while a 5- minute shower does consume 75-90 liters and 3- minute shower 35-50 liters. If you want to save even more water, are on sale new taps that allow you to consume less water. So take showers!
Seeing is believing!
( Betto Chiara)
Finland is at the top in the ranking of the least polluted countries in the world, its capital Helsinki is working to reach”zero emissions”, with a plan that will lead to a 60% decrease in harmful emissions in to the environment, especially thanks to the lowering of the consumption of heating in houses and the increasing widespread use of photovoltaic panels and electric transport. The Finnish government has announced that its fight towards more widespread sustainability will have as its cornerstone the elimination of coal, oil and fossil fuels, as explained in the report Energy and Climate Strategy for 2030 and beyond.
As early as next autumn, the Nordic country’s Energy Authority will launch a call for tenders in which all those who want to contribute to projects for the production of energy using renewable sources can participate.
Living green is a mantra for the whole country, but it is even more important in the capital: Helsinki is in fact the perfect demonstration that a city, or rather, a capital, can be ecological. After the construction of Eco-Viikki, a neighborhood created to demonstrate how ecological one person can be, the rest of the city is “adapting” to this green revolution: new buildings are built with ecological criteria that guarantee a reduction of at least 20% of CO2 emissions compared to conventional buildings; solar panels are installed on the roofs; car free zones are promoted, designed specifically for those who prefer not to own a car but use public transport and finally urban gardens are created in totally abandoned areas.
All we should do is follow Finland’s example and work to become the most eco-friendly city!
Noemi Semeraro from: https://anteritalia.org/finlandia-sempre-piu-verde/
This is a very difficult moment, but for the weather not entirely!
We had to stay home as much as possible for months and months, so the world has stopped.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
(Martina)
melting of glaciers: rising seas
When the weather heats up, polar caps and glaciers melt, and accordingly the sea’s level increases, causing floods.
extreme weather conditions: increased rainfall
The extreme weather conditions are becoming more and more frequent, so that causes floods and sometimes shortage of water resources.
Our health
- Deaths due to heat increase
- Increased deaths from cold
- Waterborne diseases distributed differentlywild species
Climate change is too fast, because many animals don’t have time to adapt.
The most serious problem: extinction of species
(Martina)
After you have seen all the awful consequences of the pollution increase, we hope you want to truly do something about. So here are lots of small actions to do every single day to help the planet and reduce your carbon footprint
1)REDUCE ANIMALS DERIVED FOODS
that’s difficult i know! But it has been proved that intensive farming, from which all of us buy meet and fish, are the first pollutants because of the huge amounts of faeces that they produce, without considering the terrible conditions in which are treated the poor animals. Think about it! Is it really so important for you to eat animal products?
2)BIKE OR CAR? You should seriously reflect about the large use of the car or means of transport which you do. Obviously that’s necessary for long distance travelling, but for nearby destinations you should ride your bike or go on foot. That’s so simple but crucial not only to reduce CO2 release, but also for a positive mood.
3)LIVE A PLASTIC FREE LIFE… this material needs ten years to degrate . TEN YEARS! If we consider the enormous use we make of it, it is not astonishing to know that there exist islands covered in plastic. One more time the excesses of humans have been producing catastrophic effects. To limit them you must recycle rubbish and limit our use of packed and disposable items. They are literally everywhere so you don’t have any excuses to still buy plastic!
4)ELETRONIC DEVICES pollute more than what you think. In fact to send an email you produce 19 gr of CO2 and to watch one hour of TV 220gr. I know that nowadays these activities are common, but you should try to change your routine, limiting unnecessary things. And if it’s too difficult, you should close all the eletronic devices at night or when you don’t use them at least.
5)GARDENING, maybe that’s the most eco-friendly hobby. But why is it eco-friendly? Because plants and trees by means of chlorophyll photosynthesis absorb CO2 and emit oxygen, moreover some of them absorb the harmful gases of our monitors. Because of these things every house and building should be full of plants, flowers and trees, which furthermore are essentials for peace of mind.
And now the question is ….
“DO YOU WANT TO DO YOUR PART TO SAVE OUR EARTH OR NOT?
Noemi Semeraro