The Deforestation Feedback Loop

 

Trees and other plants help clean the atmosphere. They ‘breathe’ in carbon dioxide and ‘breathe out’ oxygen. As parts of our world become hotter and drier, trees and plants get less of the water they need to survive. Our forests are shrinking and even dying, this is mainly happening to our rain forests. A hotter planet also means more trees burning in forest fires. The loss of forests on a large scale is called deforestation. Fewer trees on the planet means less carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere and rotting and dying trees that are unable to clean the air. This results in a lot more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means a warmer Earth. More warming means more deforestation.

The Permafrost Feedback Loop

Cold parts of the Earth such as the Arctic aren’t always covered in ice and snow, but they are cold enough to have ice all year round. This is called the Permafrost. Permafrost holds all of the unusual things that soil contains, including the remains of dead animals. Part of these animals are huge, like the frozen mammoths which were found in Russia. These ancient creatures have been preserved in the permafrost for over four thousand years. Because the Earth is warming, the permafrost is starting to melt. The animals preserved in the permafrost also thaw up as this happens. Their remains are broken down by sunlight and bacteria, a process that produces carbon dioxide and methane. This increase in greenhouse gasses which warms the Earth even further, causing more permafrost to thaw. More thawing permafrost leads to more thawing remains and more carbon dioxide and methane being released.

The Ice Albedo Feedback Loop

 

The coldest parts of our planet are covered in ice all year. Because ice is a light colour, it reflects the sun’s heat energy back into space, which helps keep the Earth cooler. But when the temperature rises, the ice starts to melt, exposing water or land underneath. The surfaces colour is darker than ice, causing it to absorb heat instead of reflecting it, making the Earth hotter rather than cooler. The amount of light a surface reflects is called its albedo. As Earth’s temperature continues to rise, more ice melts. With less ice to reflect the sun’s heat, while surfaces and sea absorb it, Earth’s temperature continues to warm it even further. Scientists say by 2040, the North Pole could be completely ice-free each summer. This feedback loop operates more slowly at the South Pole because there is more ice over Antarctica.

The Water Vapour Feedback Loop

When the temperature is at a specific level of heat energy, water evaporates and becomes water vapour. While the temperature increases its warmth, the faster the process can happen. On hot days, you’ll often notice that the laundry dries quicker or the days are stickier in the summer. This occurs because warm air can hold lots of moisture. Water Vapour is one of Earth’s most powerful greenhouse gasses. Note that most of the water vapour originate from the ocean, and because of climate change, the days get warmer and warmer. As the temperature rises, more water evaporates, and because warm air can hold more moisture than cold air, more water vapour stays in the atmosphere. By doing this, it absorbs more of Earth’s heat, causing further warming. While the days get even warmer, the course continues to repeat.

Heros come in all shapes and sizes!

Everything, and everyone, stopped all of a sudden. The sound of laughter had just turned to shouts of panic. I looked around to see where the source of fear had begun and from the corner of my eye I saw a boy, blood trickling down his face. A girl, smaller than him, standing just behind him, was in shock and eventually started crying. Non-stop. “His little sister,” I assumed. But where was their mother? Ah, here she comes with her children’s ice-creams. She too must’ve been in shock to see her son in his current state as she dropped both ice-creams, and her purse, she ran faster than any other mother in the world to be by his son’s side. Just as I was about to walk over to offer my assistance a loud siren stopped me in my tracks.

He was taken away in an ambulance. His mother and father chatted with the police with their daughter in between them. They stayed like that for a while until their conversation was interrupted by a loud ringtone coming from the mother’s jacket. After a minute or two she raised her frail hand and covered her mouth while tears slowly ran down her face. Her husband gently pulled her in for a hug, while their little girl stood there, watching in silence, unsure of what to do.

“He’s opening his eyes!” a familiar voice exclaimed. The next thing he knew was a bunch of people were towering over him. He tried to sit up but felt numb all over. “Where am I?” he whispered to himself. “You’re in the hospital, buddy,” called out his dad from the end of the bed. The little boy looked around the room from where he was and saw his little sister hiding behind his mum. He tried to smile despite the pain he was feeling, particularly from the left side of his face. “Try not to smile too much, son. You’ve just woken up from a plastic surgery,” his mother half whispered while smiling gently at him. With all this talking, confusion and questions racing through his head, he slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

“You doing alright back there?” his dad called from the driver's seat. The little boy nodded in unison with his cheerful little sister. Then, after putting their seatbelts on, they drove their way back home. “How’s it feel to  be released from the hospital for the first time, buddy?” his mother asked, smiling brightly. “It feels good,” he replied. Then he felt a small hand grip his jersey softly. “Are, are you sure you’re alright?” his little sister stuttered, staring at her brother seriously. He smiled and pulled her in, half hugging her. “I’ll be fine now,” he responded.

The Great Wall Of China

The Emperor of Peka Peka Beach

Happy Feet is the name of the Emperor Penguin who was washed upon the shores of New Zealand at Peka Peka Beach, A.K.A The Emperor of Peka Peka Beach. Our task was to write whether or not we think if we should've saved the penguin.