Reflection

When I was researching the effect of climate change on our oceans, the thing that struck me the most was the quickly rising ocean levels. In the past century, the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has risen by 4-8 inches, meaning each year the ocean rises 0.13 inches. This rate of rise is roughly twice the average speed of the preceding 80 years. The burning of fossil fuels and other human activities have released a large amount of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. Influenced by this change in climate, the change in sea level is linked to three factors: thermal expansion, melting glaciers and polar icecaps, and ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica. My illustration shows a tabletop in which a child is coloring pages of sea animals and a diagram of the earth’s land and oceans. If you look at the earth closely, it can be seen that the original continent borders no longer exist due to the change in climate. “Our Oceans” have the ability to be saved by attempting to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and cutting carbon emissions. Take action in saving our oceans - it’s up to us.