Elephants and Climate Change

What is climate?

Climate is the pattern of weather for an area over a long period of time.

For example, Florida has a sub-tropical climate because it has very hot, sunny, and usually rainy summers with little change in the winter.

What is the Atmosphere?

Think of Earth’s atmosphere as a bubble of gas around the planet. When energy from the Sun reaches Earth, some heat stays trapped inside the bubble while some escapes. The heat that gets trapped is what makes the Earth warm enough for us, and other living things, to live on it.

What is the problem?

Over the past few hundred years, humans have been using oil, gas, and coal to power things like homes, cars, and factories. When used for energy, these sources release a gas called Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into Earth’s bubble. CO2 traps heat inside the bubble that should have escaped, causing the temperature of the Earth to go up and the planet to warm.

What does this mean? This change in climate has caused glaciers to melt, droughts and wildfires in many parts of the world, and coral reefs to die. This puts a lot of animals in danger by destroying their homes.


What does this have to do with elephants?

One animal that is largely affected by climate change is the African Elephant. Climate change is putting them in danger because of their sensitivity to high temperatures and being more likely to get a lot of diseases. Also, future generations of elephants will have a hard time adapting to these dangerous changes in climate because the African Elephant lives for a long time and can only have one baby at a time (although twins are possible) just like humans. This makes it very difficult for elephants to make up for the population lost because of climate change.

How can you help?

  • Use public transportation, walk, or ride a bike instead of driving wherever you go, but always go with an adult or a buddy. This limits the amount of CO2 released by cars.

  • Reduce and reuse whatever you can. This limits the amount of CO2 released by factories.

  • Unplug electronics when you're not using them to save energy.

  • Buy locally grown and in-season produce to limit the amount of CO2 released from transporting food.

  • Eat less meat and dairy to help limit the amount of heat-trapping gasses released in the atmosphere.

  • When it's hot, open the windows instead of blasting the air conditioning and when it’s cold, wear a warm sweater inside instead of blasting the heat.