Scientist Letter #2: Climate Control
Greetings from.... Everywhere!
Hello friends, have I got some news you can use! Yep, it’s time for one of Griffin’s Grand Researches! I’ve traveled the world up and down, forward and backward in order to really see what has everyone hot under the collar.
I’ve been talking with local scientists and it turns out, the world is much hotter than it used to be. No friends, I’m not talking about a make over. The Earth is like one big round ball of ..... well, lots of things. We’re hot at the middle (the equator), gradually moving to cold at the ends (the poles). Scientists at all places have seem their average temperature rise over the past few decades. In fact, like I’ve mentioned in previous letters, the average rise has been 1 degree Fahrenheit. It may not see like much, but let me tell you, it’s a lot in the science world.
Living things are very particular. We like things a certain way. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. Plants are the same way. Lets say that a certain crop, corn, likes the temperatures of the middle USA states. If those states become too warm, the corn won’t grow anymore. It’ll have to move north toward the north pole to grow. No big deal right? So things shift north. But then, a few decades later, everything has to shift north again because the Earth warmed up again. If this shift north keeps happening, what will we do when we run out of room north of us? What will happen when the most northern land becomes too hot for corn? You can say goodbye to that yummy summertime side dish! And what about all the animals who eat corn as their main source of food?
Let’s look at South America, maybe it isn’t so bad? Turns out, after speaking with scientists south of the equator, the same thing is happening down there, except where our shift is north, their shift is south toward their cold place, the south pole. This could happen with every crop we have. The Earth could be one big desert. We could be left eating freeze dried astronaut food, and believe me, it isn’t tasty.
Ok, ok, maybe I’m being a little dramatic, but have you heard the phrase, “the children are our future”? What about their children’s, children’s children?
It’s not looking good folks. I’ll keep investigating and report back.
Sincerely in Science,
Griffin Boyle
Last modified: Tuesday, 13 July 2010, 11:43 AM