Today we continued watching Planet in Peril. They went to an island that is sinking, Carteretts by New Guinie. Malaria is now the number one killer there. They only get food from the government twice a year. The world's oceans have also warmed one degree. They call it thermal expansion. Melting glaciers and ice sheets are thought to be blamed for the rising sea levels. People are having to relocate becasue their islands are sinking. From the air, they found a coral reef that looked to be dying. They went by boat to the coral reef to dive by it. The landscape looked very sick and dying. The coral looked to be bleaching. Scientists say coral bleaching is a result of global warming. The island also sits ontop of an ancient volcano, so that also can contribute to the sinking. Lake Chad's water is disappearing -- it used to be one of the largest in the world. It used to be the 6th largest lake it the world, but now has shrunk by 90%!!!! The water has gone, and all that's left is sand. Lake Chad is one of the best examples of climate change. The lake has dried up before, causing a long drought. Something's different about the change today, though, scientists say. As the earth gets warmer, moisture in the air evaporates. Summer rains no longer and replenish the lake. Africa is the continent that produces the least pollutants, but they're the continent that is most prone to the effects of climate change. Their population is growing the fastest in the world, too. They are the continent with the least pollutants because they lack water and are not very developed. There are small, poor fish in the lake. That leads to sick, unhealthy people. The fish are only a few grams now, and they used to get up to 60 grams! Lots of land is appearing, and the water is disappearing. There are no easy solutions for this. The disappearence of Lake Chad is because of climate change and overuse. Most scientists say that people are to blame for climate change. Inhofe was in the movie... ruined everything. I reaaaally don't like him, if you didn't know that already. According to some computer models, we're at the low end of the warming right now. Some other models have predicted our highs and things we've already surpassed. The Amazon Rain Forest is one of the largest admitters of greenhouse gasses in the world. It's a major contributor because people are cutting trees down at extreme rates. The Amazon is just a little smaller than the United States. As much as 60-80% of the forest is logged illegally. Brazil is the #1 soy and beef producer in the world. Poverty plays a big role in deforestation. Sister Dorthy, a nun, says the death of the forest is the end of our lives. She was shot in the forest. That's where we stopped today.
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