Relax in the Atlantic Ocean Jacuzzi with a Plastic Frou-frou Drink

Mama gnome relaxes in the warm water, sips her frou-frou drink and daydreams about emerald green forests.

Yuck. That drink was awful.

Then she felt seaweed wrap around her foot.

Wait a minute.

Seaweed?

In the jacuzzi?

She opens her eyes.

AHHHH!

She wasn't in a jacuzzi.

And the frou-frou drink was from a gross used plastic bottle.


Mama gnome can be dramatic sometimes.

But who knew real life would be even more dramatic.

According to this news report today:

"July was the hottest the world's oceans have been in almost 130 years of record-keeping."

The hottest in one hundred and thirty years...

Is there a gigantic water heater out there warming up the oceans?

Um...Let me guess.

Could it be...earth warming? Or as humans call it: GLOBAL WARMING?

I'm being facetious.

Mama gnome is quite familiar with earth warming, thank you very much.

'Tis a very unpleasant reality.

And to all who think the warm ocean waters will be fine by next summer, think again.

"This warm water we're seeing doesn't just disappear next year; it'll be around for a long time," said climate scientist Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria in British Columbia. It takes five times more energy to warm water than land.

So what can happen with oceans warming up?

Coral reefs are bleached white and can die off from the heat.

Warmer temperatures affect weather patterns including hurricanes.

Warmer waters affect ice sheets and glaciers causing the ice to melt and therefore sea levels will rise.

And then afterwards...

It's too depressing for Mama gnome to continue.

Mama gnome needs a drink,

preferably not from a gross plastic bottle bobbing in the ocean like these:


photo from: greenpeace.org


Oh, I know.

Mama gnome will just watch a nice, relaxing, funny cartoon.

That'll get rid of these "end of the world" feelings.


video from: SenhorCroft



Mama gnome is going to hide under the covers and hope it's all a dream or nightmare.

Seriously, PLEASE, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Go GREEN.

(c) 2009 Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Earth Warming 101

By the by, Daddy gnome settled the gnomelets into bed. He opened the gnomelets' favorite bedtime story book, Fairy Tales.

But before Daddy gnome could start, a gnomelet asks, "Daddy, what is earth warming?"

Mama gnome took over and said...

Once upon a time, there was a planet called Earth.

Earth was different from other planets that looped around the Sun. All sorts of creatures and humans lived on this special planet.

But through the years, the humans became industrialized...building giant factories, cars, massive farms and power plants.

Most of the things man made relied on fossil fuels. They burned off fuels and released gases including carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.

They're called greenhouse gases because they act like a greenhouse with Earth the figurative plant housed underneath its dome.

Greenhouse gases mainly trap the sun's radiation in the atmosphere. Thus causing earth warming or as humans call it Global Warming.

According to a National Geographic News article:

"The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century's last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia, according to a number of climate studies. And the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850."

"Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier. Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice loss."

"Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for example, Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910."

Mama gnome said, "Come out from underneath the blanket, sweetie. I know it's scary. But let's finish the story---"

Some humans and gnomes tried to help Earth. But they are not enough to offset the effects of countless factories, machines, power plants...and more than six billion people.

Mama gnome wishes she could say, "And they lived happily ever after."

Then I would start over. And I will tell you,

Once upon a time, there was this beautiful planet. She was called EARTH.



video link: http://tinyurl.com/3b9em4


(c) 2009 Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog