The Forest Buddies |
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Save The Forests, Save Our Lives |
| Unbearably Hot! |
| Introduction Do you know that deforestation is a main cause of global warming? As the world gets hotter, some species may face extinction. Interestingly, some new species are being discovered in the Arctic, while some are simply moving to another latitude. Globally, although the temperature change has been a small 0.8 degree Celsius over 150 years, disease patterns have shown signs of changing. Sweden In Sweden, there was a northward migration of ticks causing an outbreak of tick-borne encephalitis as a result of soaring temperature. Africa Mosquitoes migrate up the slopes around Mount Kenya as a result of global warming. Malaria is therefore being imported to higher cooler grounds. Alaska Global warming also means warmer waters. These warmer waters caused the migration of the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus tothe cold waters of Alaska. By the summer of 2004, the temperature surged, causing an outbreak of vibrio food poisoning occured here for the first time. Europe Some birds are threatened with extinction because of threats to their habitats from problems such as deforestation and forest fires. Asia 3000 Siberian cranes from the Keoladeo National Park in India migrated because of the severe drought. Since then, they have not returned. Britain In 2004, Britain’s seabirds called Skuas from the Shetland Islands bred unsuccessfully as warming ocean waters decreased the supply of small fish that they feed on. United States of America It is interesting to note that loggerhead turtles are endangered because global warming caused the majority of the eggs to hatch as females only. Antarctic The melting of the Larsen ice shelf in the Antarctic allowed 1000 new flora and fauna to be discovered. Reflection Deforestation can lead to diseases spreading to population living in higher latitudes or altitudes as a result of global warming. Species could also become endangered or extinct. Attention needs to be paid to reduce global warming to prevent undesirable effects. Let us not trifle with uncontrolled deforestation . |
| Sources: |
| Paula McCoy. (10/04/2007). Man's fellow creatures scorched by the heat. The Straits Times. P. 15 |