Article 1: Hibernating Animals Suffer Dangerous Wakeup Calls Due to Warming (environmental issues)

This is an issue, not concerning us humans, but how animals suffer. It has been noticed that winters are getting milder and this causes animals which hibernate through winter to wake up earlier than usual. This means that they do not hibernate as long as before, one full winter, but instead, a shorter winter.

To animals which hibernate, this process is an important one. In the winter, food for the animals is scarce, causing trouble when the animals try to look for food. By hibernating, the animals are able to conserve the energy which they stored in their fats. Moreover, by hibernating, the animals sleep through winter and do not move about, allowing them not to lose any energy.

So what does it mean for the animals to wake up earlier than usual? It means that the animals are abnormally active. This causes them to lose energy stored more quickly than they can find food. Moreover, as mentioned, food is scarce, making it practically impossible for them to find food.

Looking at the consequences of a shorter, milder winter, we cannot help but wonder why this happening is. Well the answer is simple, “Global Warming”. Yes, global warming is causing our winters to be shorter. Although we as humans might not be greatly affected by it, animals are suffering, especially those which hibernate.

One example will be hedgehogs in England. Due to the changing climate pattern, hedgehogs gave birth later than usual. This resulted in the hedgehog pups not being able to put on enough weight, or in other words, store enough energy to sleep pass the winter.

I personally feel that the animals are very pitiful as they are suffering because of something mostly caused by humans, Global Warming. It is quite unfair that other creatures on Earth are suffering because of us. Polar caps are melting and many species of animals are decreasing due to weather changes. After reading this article, I really wish to stop Global Warming, but I as an individual cannot do anything much. But as a group, we should not harm animals anymore and instead try to preserve their natural habitat. We might not be able to help them by giving them food or providing shelter, but we should not harm them by damaging the environment. We can help by reducing Global Warming. This can be achieved by reducing the use of electricity and CFC products.

This is quite a grave environmental issue as there is a possibility that after a few generations of this type of occurrence, it might be possible that the particular type of animal goes extinct. This would affect our ecosystems and it might be damaging to Earth. Therefore, it is important that we try as best to stop or slow down Global Warming.

Think of yourself waking up early because you are suffering from a problem that someone else caused and you will understand and have empathy for the poor animals out there suffering due to a shorter winter.

Article from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070202-groundhog.html