Hi I'm Wallee! I know this is the place for the dedication, but I thought I'd introduce myself here. I'm everyone's favorite whale, and I'm here to teach you about climate change and the different effects it has on the ocean.

Climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. As Earth's climate heats up, it would cause more precipitation in West Virginia, creating problems for flooding and crops. This would also affect the livestock and forests throughout the state.

It's important to know what climate change is and how it affects where you live.

Oceans

Obviously oceans are important, I live in them! They're also directly affected by climate change and play a huge role in other areas that are affected as well. Is anyone else starting to sweat?

The atmosphere and climate of the earth is heating up. This, in turn, raises the temperature of the ocean, creating harmful effects for sea life and other related beings.

Tides

Tides can be super fun to swim through and do tricks in! They can be more productive than just recreational use for us whales though...

Tides can be used to create energy. They do this through several different methods- tidal streams, barrages, and tidal lagoons. Each structure is used to harness tidal energy. This energy can be used to replace the burning of fossil fuels that help raise the Earth's temperature. This would eventually help slow and stop climate change.

Offshore Drilling

I had a friend that was playing hide-n-seek one day and came back covered in a layer of brown, greasy oil. Needless to say, we avoided the old oil rig for a while.

Offshore drilling is done by oil rigs created out in the ocean, usually a farther distance from shore. Climate change creates stronger storms that can have a devastating effects on the rigs, and even cause some of them to break down and spill. The rising temperatures also causes a rise in water level, which can create issues for the different types of rigs.

Tsunamis

Tsunami's are caused mainly by plate tectonics and subduction occurring. However, the rise in global temperatures causes the sea level to rise as well. This creates a greater risk for more powerful tsunamis. The tsunamis will also reach farther inland because the sea level will already be higher than usual.

Tsunamis are GREAT for speed racing other whales! (I always win of course) But the heating climate can make them very dangerous for you land creatures.

Red Tide

The Red Tide is caused by the harmful algae species Karenia brevis. This species feeds off of different chemicals in the air- the same chemicals that have caused climate change. The climate change occurring results in the production of more coastal pollution, which also fuels the algae that causes the Red Tide. The warming waters provide a place for the bacteria to grow.

I'm not going to lie, this surge of red colored bacteria freaks us ocean animals out just as much as you guys. From what I hear, you guys play a part in causing it though...

Coral Bleaching

As we've discussed before, climate change is causing the ocean temperatures to heat up. This causes many issues, one of them being coral bleaching. When water is too warm, corals will expel the algae, zooxanthellae, living in their tissues causing the coral to turn completely white. Climate change enhances this issue greatly.

Hey it's not just your vacation spots that get taken away because of coral bleaching! Us ocean animals don't have the beautiful coral reefs to admire anymore either.

Garbage Accumulation

The temperature of the water plays a huge role in the currents of the ocean. The warmer the water is, the stronger the currents are. More upwellings are caused, which will eventually lead to more accumulation of more trash in the ocean. The ocean heating up because of climate change will enhance garbage accumulation.

Listen, I know us teenage whales get a bad rap for not keeping our living spaces clean... but this is NOT all my trash!

Ocean Acidification

A large part of ocean acidification is caused by acid rain. Acid rain occurs when chemicals are emitted into the atmosphere and fall back to the earth as precipitation. The chemicals being emitted are the same greenhouse gases that are causing the dramatic climate change.

Have your science teachers ever warned you about getting acid on you during labs? Yeah, imagine swimming around in it all the time...

Hurricanes

Climate change directly affects hurricanes and how much of an impact they have on an ecosystem. The warmer the water, as well as the atmosphere, the stronger the storm will be. Climate change heating the earth creates bigger and more powerful hurricanes.

For us whales, hurricanes are like getting caught in a powerful swirley. They're like the ocean bully.

Dead Zones

Climate change makes all of the nutrients in the water become depleted. This means that the fish do not have enough oxygen to survive and end up dying. The lack of oxygen caused by climate change is called hypoxia. The parts in the ocean where this occurs is what we call dead zones.

Oh no! Fred? Jerry? I must be in a dead zone!