Dhrithi Dhannode, First Place Winner of Grade 1-5 Category, EcoEdu x GoSTEM Climate Change Essay Competition

Hi, I am Wonder Girl for a day. These are my ideas for climate change. Climate change is shifts in temperature and the weather. These shifts are natural, but long ago, human activities were the main cause of climate change. It is caused because people burn lots of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gases. There are more droughts, storms, heat waves, warming of oceans, and rising waters. This is why I want to be a superhero. I want to stop climate change by using my wonder girl wand powers to convert anything into biodegradable products.

There are lots of things you can do to limit climate change like saving energy, using non-gas transportation, throwing away less food, Reducing, reusing, repairing, and recycling. A lot of our light and our heaters are powered by coal, oil, and gases. You should use less energy by turning off you're heating and cooling vents, turning off your lights when you are not using them, washing your clothes by hand with cold water, drying your hair with a towel instead of a hair dryer, switching to LED lights, and a lot more. LED stands for light emitting diode. LED bulbs are up to 90% more efficient than the old light bulbs that were made in the 1800s. There is another way to save energy. You can use solar panels. Ask a utility company if your home's light or energy comes from coal, oil, or gas. If it is possible, see if you can switch to limitless resources such as wind or solar power. You can install solar panels on your roof to generate energy for your home. The earth's roads are jammed with hundreds of vehicles, most of them burning on diesel or gasoline. Walking or riding a bike/scooter instead of driving a car will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it will also help your health and fitness. For much longer distances, you can take a train or bus or you can carpool whenever possible. If you are planning to buy a car, you should get an electric one with cheaper cars on sale in the market. Even if they still run on electricity that is made from fossil fuels, electric cars can help reduce air pollution and it causes fewer greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline or diesel-powered cars. When you throw leftovers away, you're also wasting the time, energy, and resources that were used to grow, make, box, and transport them. And when food is rotting in a landfill, it makes methane, a greenhouse gas. It's powerful and highly flammable. So, use what you buy from the market and compost the leftovers. Eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and seeds and less meat and dairy products can lower your environmental impact. Making plant-based foods results in less greenhouse gas emissions and needs less energy, land, and water. Electronics, clothes, toys, and the other items you buy cause carbon emissions at each point when making the item. Each stage causes carbon emissions to remove parts from raw materials to manufacturing, and transporting goods to the market. Nowadays lot of plastic is being used for different purposes. Plastic takes 20 to 500 years to degrade, so do not use plastic and find/use alternate biodegradable options. To protect our climate, buy fewer things, repair what you can, and recycle.

As a superhero, these are the things that I will do to stop climate change, and will spread the word around so everyone can help stop climate change. Everyone can help limit climate change, so everyone can live happily without a lot of climate, water, and weather problems. From the way we travel or the electricity we use, we can make a difference. Use this information to start you off on the journey to saving the planet.

photo courtesy of shuttershock