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This DXRTH DAY, the focus is on climate change. How is itaffecting the U.S., and what can you do to help reverse it?

Thirty-seven years ago, concernedcitizens in the United States heldthe first Earth Day. Schools orga-

nized events to help raise awarenessabout the dangers of pollution. Gradu-ally, the observance spread across theplanet. Since the first Earth Day, muchprogress has been made in cleaning upour skies, land, rivers, and oceans.

Today, our greatest concern is aproblem that few people were evenaware of in 1970: global warming. Bynow, millions of people have seen afilm called An Inconvenient Truth. Itchronicles former Vice President AlGore's crusade to tell the world aboutglobal warming. The film's popular-ity—and its Academy Award for BestDocumentary—show that concernover the issue is now widespread.

"Evidence Is on the Table"On February 2, 2007, the Intergov-

ernmental Panel on Climate Change(lPCC) released a new report on thecauses and effects of global warm-ing. The panel, created by the UnitedNations (UN), warns of melting glaciers.

rising ocean levels, and the increasingseverity of droughts and storms. Itsreport states, in the IPGC's strongestlanguage yet, that human activity isresponsible for climate change.

Achim Steiner is director of the pro-gram that oversees the IPGC. "Febru-ary 2 will be remembered as the datewhen uncertainty was removed" about

the link between people and globalwarming, he said. "The evidence is onthe table."

Scientists disagree over how fast andhow much global warming will affectthe planet. Yet many of them point tochanges that have already occurred.For Earth Day 2007, JS looks at somepossible signs of those changes. Also, aScholastic Kid Reporter shows us howsome ordinary Americans are doingtheir part to help save the Earth. Inaddition, we look at ways in which youcan make a difference.

Signs of ChangeAsk the people of Vermont what has

changed most about winter, and manywill have the same answer: less snow.Over the last 30 years, Vermont wintershave warmed up by 5.0°F to 6.5''F.With snowfalls declining by 30 inchesin the same period, many ski areashave had to close.

"People used to say Vermont was U)months of winter and 2 months of badsledding," said Bill McKibben, a global-warming expert. "Now it's 2 months of

California's San Joaquin Valley.Some climatologists fear that

obalwarmingwilldryulowpackthat helps Irrii

'smiles of cro

Youbad sledding and 10 months of mud sea-son. It's very strange and unsettling."

Skiing is not the only New Englandtradition affected. For more than 200vears, Burr Morse's family has beenlapping sap from Vermont maple trees!o make syrup. But as The New Yorkrimes reported last month, globalwarming seems to be changing "themaple's biological clock"—and threat-ening the Morse family business.

Mapie trees require weeks of below-freezing temperatures to make sap.With winter arriving later each year,-syrup producers aren't sure when tolap their trees. "We can't rely on tradi-

tion like we used to," Morse said. Lastwinter, he produced only 700 gallonsof syrup, rather than his usual 1,000.

Tim Perkins, an expert on mapletrees at the University of Vermont.warns of a bigger long-term problem.Climate change may cause maples todisappear from a too-warm Vermont."One hundred to 200 years from now,there may be very few maples here,"Perkins told the Times.

Morse is worried. "How many win-ters are we going to go with Decem-bers turning into short-sleeve weatherbefore the maple trees say, 'I don't likeit here any more'?" he asked.

Lost in the HeatCalifornia's San Joaquin (wah-

KEEN) Valley is a marvel of human-engineered agriculture. Although muchof this huge, flat area is semidesert, it

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,Bi: A PART OFi

Here are 5 things you cando to help save Earth:

Shut off those tights when you leave aroom! Ditto your stereo, TV, computer, andother electronics. Buy only applianceswith the Energy Star label. Here's some-thing really simple: Buy compact fluores-cent light bulbs. They use ?S percent lessenergy than regular light bulbs.

!• SAVE WATERTighten drippy faucets. Atap that leaks

one drop of water per second wastesabout 2,400 gallons a year! Don't use thetoilet as a garbage can. (It takes up to ?gallons of water to flush one.) Don't keepthe water running from the tap as youbrush yourteeth.

Take your old TV, MP3 player, or stereoto a recycling center. If you're buying anew computer, see if the store will accepta trade-in. Donate your old cell phone to acharity that supplies phones to the poor.

Forty percent of our landfills are paper!Instead of throwing out your paper cups,reuse them or use a washable cup. Takeyour own bags to the grocery store. (Plas-tic bags are not biodegradable.] Instead ofbottled water, drink filtered tap water whenyou can. Refuse all Styrofoam!

Let the adults know what you think. ,Insist that they carpool and buy energy-efficient cars. Urge your local businessesto install bike racks—and ride a bike•^leneveryoucan.

newsis filled with farms. Fruit and vegetablefields and dairy and meat ranches seemto stretch on forever. A vast networkof irrigation pipes keeps them all goingby bringing water from rivers, artificialaquifers, and snowmelt in the SierraNevada mountains.

Some experts think that globalwarming is beginning to upset the bal-ance of nature and farmer. Last yearwas the hottest on record in the U.S.(seeiSFeb. J2J. During the summer of2006, temperatures in the San JoaquinValley soared to above 100°F for 13consecutive days. ABC News reportedthat thousands of cows dropped deadin the heat.

According to Liz Hudson of theFresno County Farm Bureau, farmersin her county alone suffered more than

$85 million in beef, dairy, and poultrylosses. "I can't recall when we hadas widespread damage resulting fromheat," she told ./S.

"We're seeing the early signs of cli-mate warming," one California clima-tologist told ABC. "We're very worriedabout [it]." Another predicted that thesnowpack in the Sierra Nevadas willdiminish by as much as 90 percent by

TURTLE WATCHERSOn Florida beaches, everyone gets involved in saving thesea turtles by Jimmy Piter)is, 10, Scholastic Kids Press Corps

It's lights-out

fVolusIa County,-lorida, from May 1oDctober 31. That's

conservation plan.The society recruits volunteers

to patrol beaches, looking for newlyhatched turtle nests. About 100 babyturtles, called hatchlings, crawl out

turtles leave theirshells behind insearch of ocean

isiMidui waters and home.

But bright lights from beachfronthomes and businesses can distractthe young turtles, causing them tocrawl away from the sea.

"We encourage people to join theVolusia Sea Turtle Society to teachawareness of the different speciesof endangered sea turtles on ourbeaches," said Jennifer Winters. Win-ters manages the county's sea turtle

the end of the 21st century. That wouldbe disastrous for the farmers.

Hudson is cautious about blam-ing global warming for the weather."1 think the jury's still out" on that,she said. Still, she admits that farmersare keeping a wary eye on the issue.It may or may not be significant thatrainfall this year is only 55 percent ofnormal. "I don't know if we have anynormal years anymore." she said.

—Bryan Brown

Wri te About It

Write a letter to your Senator orRepresentative detailing ways thatpeople in your area can cut dovm onpollution to the land, air, and water

protect the nests. Some even adoptnests, recording and protecting themfrom start to finish.

The laying cycle begins in earlyMay, when hundreds of sea turtles—leatherback, loggerhead, and greenturtles—come ashore to lay theireggs. They disguise the nests by cov-eringthem with sand before headingback to sea. Left on their own, thehatchlings digtheirway out abouttwo months later.

During the nesting period, thefragile eggs must be protected from

cars and people, said Steve Kintner,Volusia County's director of envi-ronmental management. "We havepeople who drill conservation postsinto the sand to prevent people fromdriving and parking on the soft sandwhere turtles' nests may be found."

Volusia is looking forward to anabundant 200? season. In 2006, vol-unteers counted 399 nests.

Scholastic Kid Reporter Jimmy Pitenisis in the fifth grade at Tamoka Eiemen-tary Schooi in Daytona Beoch, Fiorida.

8 JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC/APRIL 16, 200?