These are all serious problems in the world today.
If we are going to do something about them we need to know what causes them.
Scientists have found that the earth is gradually heating up: this is called global warming.
Global warming is changing the earth’s weather patterns and causing things like floods, storms and droughts, where there is a serious shortage of water. This is climate change.
Scientific evidence shows climate change is mainly due to pollution caused by human activities.
Gases like carbon dioxide are getting into the air and causing the planet to heat up like a greenhouse.
We call these gases greenhouses gases.
Greenhouse gases are produced by many things including cars, planes, factories, heating our homes and by making electricity.
Most electricity is made by burning fossil fuels.
Coal, oil and gas are fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels are burned in power stations like this coal-burning one. The heat is used to power machines which make electricity.
The problem is that these power stations release millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, adding to global warming.
Energy companies have to ensure that they continue to generate enough electricity to meet our needs. The more electricity they generate by burning fossil fuels, the more harmful gases are produced and released into the atmosphere. This means that global warming increases and we have more climate change. So if we all use less electricity we can make a difference.
The other problem with using fossil fuels is They are running out. There is a limited supply of each one.
The government, energy companies and other organisations are also trying to reduce the impact of climate change.
It is possible to generate electricity without producing as much CO2 (a green house gas). Creating more electricity from nuclear power will result in far less pollution than burning fossil fuels.
Renewable energy is energy that comes from natural resources.
Wind energy uses the wind to turn big turbines
Solar energy uses light from the sun to make electricity like those on our school roof
Hydroelectric involves water, using reservoirs and dams to generate power
Tidal energy uses the sea’s tides rising and falling
Biomass uses waste from plants and animals to make electricity, for example burning wood chips instead of fossil fuels.
Unlike fossil fuels, renewable energy doesn’t run out: the wind, and sun and tides can’t be used up.
It’s important for the UK that we have an affordable, secure and sufficient energy supply – that means we must have enough energy, from a source that is safe and that wont run out and at a price people can afford to pay for it. In order to produce enough electricity to meet our needs we need to have a variety of different ways of making it – this is called the ‘energy mix’.
The energy mix is very important because we don’t want to rely on a single energy source to produce electricity for all of our needs. For example the wind isn't always strong enough to turn our wind turbines and one day our reserves of coal will run out.
The energy mix is changing in our country. We want to move from using a lot of fossil fuels to using energy sources that are far less harmful to the environment.
This will slow climate change down.
So we’ve heard that the government and energy companies are trying to find alternative ways to supply the electricity we need in order to help protect the environment – but what can we all do?
One of the easiest things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint (a carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide created as a result of what a person does or how they live) is to switch off the lights when we leave a room: at home and at school.
Leaving TVs and consoles on standby uses electricity – so we can remember to turn things that are not in use off.
Leaving chargers plugged in wastes energy and of course money. This includes chargers for phones, ipods, game consoles or laptops.
Using less electricity, wont just help our carbon footprint and help reduce the impacts of climate change (like the floods and droughts we spoke about earlier) it will save us money too.
We’ve heard that using less electricity saves money and also means we have to produce less electricity so we don’t produce as much Carbon Dioxide or C02 which is better for the environment. And you can play your part…
To help everyone make a difference, Our school is going to join in with Energy Month, with lots of activities to help us learn all about energy and how to reduce the amount we use in school and also help our families to use less at home too. You’ll learn more about this later. In the meantime, get ready to play your part and save energy by switching on to switching off!