Climate Change

In Current Events class we talked about the Global climate change. We’ve noticed how the Earth’s climate has changed throughout history. We can see how it has already had observable effects on the environment. For instance, glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner. 

But I started asking myself was this climate change only due the amount of solar energy our planet receives? It is but according to NASA ninety-seven percent of climate scientist agree that climate-warming is due to disastrous human activities. Scientist have predicted the effects that it had been predicted in the past would result from global climate change are now occurring: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer, more intense heat waves.

Being from the Dominican Republic has let me look and reflect on its effects because of climate change. Because of its location and climate-related changes, the country routinely experiences such environmental problems as flooding, droughts, extreme soil erosion, water shortages, and deforestation. I use to visit Las Terrenas since I was a little girl. But now the beach is not the same. The sea rise level has lowered and there is also warmer ocean temperature. I could also point out that much of the corals from Las Terrenas were dying, therefore the fish would be less likely to reach maturity and reproduce. But if we start to train Dominican citizens in municipal departments and the local NGOs in participatory planning and climate adaptation techniques and tools we could start looking at beneficial changes in the Dominican Republic. There is already a Planning for Climate Adaptation Project will develop models that can be sustained locally and replicated throughout the country over time.