Climate Change, the Children's Eternal Rainforest, and Beyond

The United Nations just published a paper indicating that the world is going to pass 1.5° C warming on average. What is so important about this specific amount of warming? This is the temperature where sea levels will rise, covering island nations; where weather patterns and ocean currents will begin to shift; and where ecosystems will be deeply impacted, rendering many species extinct. It is considered a dangerous level of warming and a threatening milestone to 2° C, which will cause global tipping points that will be nearly impossible to come back from once the world has reached that level of warming. An example of this is most of the ice melting from the arctic and Antarctic regions, which will not be able to be built back up again once the ice is gone. 

Global warming will have a direct impact on rainforests that we care deeply about. For example, the Monteverde Cloud Forests have become drier as cloud cover lessens on average. The forest still gets the amount of rain it is supposed to, but with less cloud cover surrounding the trees, epiphytes such as orchids and bromeliads can become dried out and perish. This is a problem because these epiphytes store water in the canopy and help cycle nutrients. They also create homes for amphibians and other cloud-dependent animals. Without this moisture or fog in the air, other plants also begin to dry out, and the ecosystem becomes less resilient overall. At lower elevations, less rainfall and hotter temperatures are causing Costa Rican and other rainforests around the world to transition to other ecosystems such as shrub land.

Although these impacts are being seen in real time, we still have an opportunity to act and address climate change as well as protect the ecosystems and species we love. This must be done in community, and not just one person alone. It may look like advocating for your church to go solar and use compostable materials or encouraging your child’s school district to switch to electric buses. It also looks like us coming together to protect and manage rainforests around the world to sequester carbon and to ensure large swaths of forests are protected from becoming disjointed, and thus more susceptible to becoming shrub land or prone to fire.

Image and Information About Monteverde Cloud Forest from the Tico Times