Photo: Farmington Observer/Eccentric
Farmington Observer/Eccentric
By Sue Buck
For WDIV meteorologist Paul Gross, the debate is over about global warming.
It is now up to everyone to pitch in to slow it down, he said.
Gross, who spoke to students at Steppingstone School for Gifted Education,
a private school in Farmington Hills, said highly credible scientists say
atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and methane are at the highest levels
seen in hundreds of years.
“This is not the result of natural causes,” said Gross, a Farmington Hills
resident.
Gross said that students don't have to look as far away as the polar bear
habitats to find evidence of global warming.
Take for example, he said, the small ticks on Isle Royale in Michigan's
Lake Superior. This is an area that local residents have fought to keep
pristine for years.
The ticks are living longer and spreading more disease among the moose,
who are preyed upon by wolves.
“When we had harsher winters, some of these ticks would die off through
attrition,” Gross said.
Scientists have studied the delicate prey-predator balance between moose
and wolves on Isle Royale. They believe that global warming assists these
blood-sucking bugs and could ultimately wipe out the national park's moose
and wolf population.
Since 2002, the number of moose on the island has declined from 1,100 to
385, following a dramatic increase in these winter ticks.
“With the moose dying, the wolves are starving because they don't have as
much food,” Gross said. Scientists compare global warming to a game of
dominoes.
“As scientists, we are trying to figure out which dominoes are the most
important ones and in which order they will fall,” Gross said.
THINGS TO HELP
Students should consider anything that uses less fuel and electricity,
Gross said.
“One of the biggest contributors to our greenhouse gases are our power
plants,” Gross said.
Tommy Collins, a fifth grader, said that his family dials down to save
energy. “It's cold at times,” Collins said.
Thermostat control saves energy, Gross said.
He also recommended using CFL light bulbs, “curly-cue light bulbs.”
“These things are a miracle,” Gross said.
“A CFL light bulb can replace a regular 100-watt light bulb and use only
24 watts of electricity,” Gross said. “You can get the same amount of
light for three quarters less electricity.”
Gross held the adults' interest as well as the students' interest.
Sherelyn Kahn, the PTO treasurer who helped to arrange Gross's visit, said
his lecture was informative and made the topic of global warming “easy to
understand.”
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