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What's Your Footprint?
CO2 & Climate Change . Produced for Conservation Tales: Manatees. (2018) |
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If carbon dioxide is a natural part of our atmosphere, why is it a problem that the amount of carbon dioxide is increasing?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas found in the air we breath. It makes up about 0.04% of our atmosphere. While carbon dioxide is necessary for life on the planet, too much of it can be harmful.
Scientists know that carbon dioxide is in a group of chemicals known as "greenhouse gases." These are chemicals that can absorb thermal energy from the sun. This means that as carbon dioxide levels rise, more of the sun's energy is being trapped in our atmosphere. The more energy trapped in the air, the warmer the air gets. This is an easy concept to prove by putting carbon dioxide in jar, putting it in a sunny place, and measuring the temperature in the jar.
Scientists have been noticing that carbon dioxide levels are rising for decades. They have also seen that the average global temperature has risen. The increase in temperature is cause, at least in part, but the growing amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases formed when we burn carbon-based fuels.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas found in the air we breath. It makes up about 0.04% of our atmosphere. While carbon dioxide is necessary for life on the planet, too much of it can be harmful.
Scientists know that carbon dioxide is in a group of chemicals known as "greenhouse gases." These are chemicals that can absorb thermal energy from the sun. This means that as carbon dioxide levels rise, more of the sun's energy is being trapped in our atmosphere. The more energy trapped in the air, the warmer the air gets. This is an easy concept to prove by putting carbon dioxide in jar, putting it in a sunny place, and measuring the temperature in the jar.
Scientists have been noticing that carbon dioxide levels are rising for decades. They have also seen that the average global temperature has risen. The increase in temperature is cause, at least in part, but the growing amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases formed when we burn carbon-based fuels.
Climate change and manatees - What is the connection?
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Scientists who study manatees are becoming concerned that climate change may harm manatee populations. Manatees need to drink fresh water about once a week, so they stay close to rivers, swim upstream to drink, then return to the grass beds in shallow ocean waters where they feed. They need both salty and fresh water habitats close together. 
Manatees gather in warm springs during cold weather.
As global temperatures rise, glaciers and polar ice caps have been melting. The photos here show images of places once covered year-round in glaciers that have melted in recent years. This raises ocean levels. In Crystal River where many manatees spend the winter, salt water plants have begun to grow in freshwater bays, suggesting that oceans have risen enough to disrupt the fresh water environments along the Gulf of Mexico. 
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Manatees also rely on warm freshwater springs in the winter. Anytime the oceans where they live get colder than 68˚ F (20˚ C), the need to swim to warm springs. If they stay in colder water, they can easily become sick and die. This is called "cold shock," and it is a very serious threat to manatees. If this trend continues, manatees may have a hard time finding both food and freshwater in one place. They may also lose the warm springs they depend on to avoid cold shock in the winter. Scientists are not sure how soon these problems could happen, but they have begun to see signs that the manatees' habitats are being changed. 
But there are things we can all do to reduce our carbon dioxide production! This is often called "reducing your carbon footprint." Click on the yellow button below to learn more about your carbon footprint, and ways you can reduce it! You can also click the blue button to learn more about carbon dioxide. |
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