Tinto Primary School Questions Answered
By Lauren Anderson
Why are people cutting down trees?
We cut down trees to create materials (such as timber and paper) to use in our daily lives and in construction. We also clear the areas occupied by trees to use the land for agriculture (plants and farm animals), new roads and buildings.
Here is an article to help: Death by Deforestation: The Amazon Rainforest and Deforestation Agreement Signed: What Does It Mean?
Can I save trees before it is too late?
As a student there are a number of ways you can assist with saving our trees.
Put your paper into the recycling bin rather than the general waste bin. Doing this will give the paper a second life as it can be turned into something else rather than never being used again.
Have a scrap paper drawer in your classroom where you can use loose pieces of paper for notes instead of binning it.
Ask your school if you can have a wildlife garden where you can grow your own trees.
How much of the forest can be cut down?
We can cut down parts of the forest where trees are sick so that the disease does not spread onto healthier trees and kill them. Also, cutting down trees that have not grown in as large compared to other ones help the growth of a healthy forest.
Can we use the dead trees rather than the healthy trees?
In a lot of cases, dead trees are also useful – just like living ones. Numerous animals (such as birds and squirrels) use dead trees to nest and store food in.
Despite some of the wood from dead trees being rotten and covered with fungus, we can still make good use of the tree by chipping away at the non infected part of the tree. The chips of wood from the healthier part of the tree can be used for paving in parks and gardens.
Why are people not stopping climate change? Why are people not helping the world? Why do people want to wreck the planet? Why are people destroying animals habitats?
No one wants to ruin the planet as we all know how important it is to us. Stopping climate change is something we all want to do because we do not want to face the consequences that’ll happen if no action is taken to prevent it. But stopping climate change is not so easy.
For example, one of the biggest contributing factors towards climate change is how we produce and use energy. WInd, solar and hydroelectric power are all forms of sustainable energy that is good for the environment as they emit no harmful gasses to the atmosphere. However, these forms of energy are unreliable because they rely on particular weather conditions to produce energy.
The unsustainable forms of energy (fossil fuels) such as coal, oil and natural gas are bad for the environment, but they are reliable sources of energy as we know straight away how much energy we will get from them before they are put to use.
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is an area where living things work together with their habitat to create their own community of life.
Can we work on the world like an ecosystem?
The world is made up of a variety of ecosystems. Each ecosystem has different requirements in order for them to thrive.
Any change in an ecosystem can cause a massive impact on the wildlife there. Take a river as an example: If plants in a river die, then the fish will not find any food there and will move on somewhere else. The animals that eat these fish will then be left with a lesser food source, hence causing them to starve.
Humans can affect ecosystems in good ways and bad ways. Cutting down trees reduces and destroys animals’ habitats, but planting more trees gives bugs and animals more places to live.
Why do we need rain?
Rain is a great way to provide plants and animals with the water they need to keep hydrated.
Why are fish eating plastic?
Fish and other marine animals often eat what has been littered into our ocean as they confuse it for food.
How do wipes get from the toilets to the sea?
Water we use in our homes for our toilets, dishwashers and washing machines do not go straight into the sea. Instead, they travel through drainage that is below the ground of your town to a wastewater facility that treats the water for it to be reused. Flushing wipes can block the pipes that connect the sewer systems and often lead to many drainage complications.
How did COP26 start?
COP (Conference of Parties) started in 1994 where leaders from all over the world met to discuss changes they would make to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent global warming/ climate change. These meetings were held annually, COP26 marks the 26th Conference of Parties.
Here is an article to help: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/sl/climateemergencynewsroom/2021/11/01/description-of-cop26/
Why does electricity not help climate change?
Electricity produced from fossil fuels is bad for the environment as they emit carbon dioxide which contributes towards global warming. However, green energy sources (wind, solar and hydroelectric) are good to use as they emit no greenhouse gases, making them a much eco friendlier alternative.
How are animals disappearing forever?
Global warming is a huge culprit for the loss of our species. The increasing temperatures have caused the ice caps to melt leaving animals (such as polar bears) with a loss of habitat. Warmer waters are also killing off many of the world’s coral reefs as they require very specific temperatures to thrive.
Why is the Earth getting hotter? Why do we even have climate change?
Global warming.
This is caused by the emissions of greenhouse gases which act like a blanket to the Earth. They trap the sun’s heat in our atmosphere which in turn, raises the average temperature of our planet.
Here is an article to help: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/sl/climateemergencynewsroom/2021/11/01/so-what-is-climate-change/
How can we recycle more?
Familiarize yourself with what should go in each bin and keep the recyclables that you use clean. Dirtying them (or not cleaning them out) will cause them to be non-reusable.
Does ice stop the water from rising?
The cold temperatures that keep glaciers from melting do stop water levels from rising.
Warmer temperatures will cause Icebergs to break off of glaciers and melt into the ocean. This causes sea levels to rise as the iceberg broken off of the glacier is putting more water into the sea as it had previously been stored above land.
Here is an article to help: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/sl/climateemergencynewsroom/2021/11/04/why-are-sea-levels-rising/
Why do people litter? Why are people littering?
Simply put, many people litter because they think that it is easier to throw their rubbish onto the ground rather than keep it until you find a bin.
How can we stop thunderstorms and the ice melting? Can I help the climate? What can I do to help climate change? How can we help save the world?
As a young generation of students, you can promote climate change by asking your teachers to hold lessons about it in order to raise awareness to your peers. The more people that know about it the better, as together you can all do small actions that can create a huge impact. Examples of these actions are: walking to school, recycling, saving water and energy within your home.
Here is an article to help: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/sl/climateemergencynewsroom/2021/11/02/act-local/
