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EARTH'S OZONE & CLIMATE ...
Greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning oil, coal and gas for energy, are altering the composition of the Earth's atmosphere and causing global temperatures to rise resulting in floods, storms and droughts wreaking havoc around the world. |
| In 1997 the rich industrialised countries of the world agreed to cut their greenhouse gases as a first step towards stabilising the World's climate. In the intervening three years many of those countries have tied themselves in knots trying to find ways to weaken the agreement and avoid delivering on that promise. Meanwhile people around the world are experiencing the very real, dramatic effects of climate change. Pacific islands are disappearing as the seas around them rise and the coral reefs that support many island economies die. In the Arctic, melting ice threatens wildlife survival and is changing forever the Alaska Natives' way of life. |
| The western Arctic is already warming three to five times faster than the global average and, as a result, the Arctic ice pack is melting. Over the last 40 years ice thickness has declined by more than 40 percent and an area bigger than the Netherlands is disappearing every year with dramatic effect on native peoples and Arctic wildlife.
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The outlook is also bleak for wildlife. Polar bears are under threat of starvation as a shorter ice season curtails their hunting time and caribou are finding it increasingly difficult to dig for food as rising temperatures and dropping air pressure create a thick impenetrable layer of snow and ice over their grazing grounds. Walrus, seals and guillemots are also suffering as habitats and seasons are affected by climate change
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| Born in the frigid darkness of an Arctic winter, Snowflake was no bigger than a cell phone, weighing just about 1 pound at birth. She was completely helpless, depending totally on her mother for the essentials of life -- her mother's body warmth and rich milk. |
ADOPT A POLAR BEAR
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Drilling and oil development in the Arctic Refuge could cause polar bear mothers to abandon cubs like Snowflake -- a certain death of cold and starvation. Only with caring sponsors like you can we save polar bear cubs like Snowflake from harm.
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As the 20th century draws to a close, Environmental Defense has prepared charts which vividly demonstrate what the coming millennium may have in store for Earth, unless greenhouse-gas pollution is brought under control. These projections are based on findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and other peer-reviewed literature. While thousand-year projections are speculative, they are suggestive of the far-reaching effects that decisions made today could have on our planet's future. |
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DON'T MISS ...
SURVIVING THE GREENHOUSE
This five part look at Earth's mortality ... A special report on the impact of humans on the environment, and what it may portend for life in the 21st century. The Greenhouse Effect address the ozone and climate dangers 'Mother Earth' faces. |
