Monday, October 15, 2007

BLOG ACTION DAY - Global Warming: Extreme Story Ending


"and they lived happily Never after"...thanks to Global Warming!
"y Nunca vivieron felices para siempre"...gracias al Calentamiento Global!

“The happiest penguin ever”…that is how our little penguin friend was feeling as he reunited with his friend Osi Posi. When I saw them that moment, so full of joy, I just hoped they could be always that happy (and I know most of you did too) …and that their story could end as fairytales do; “and they lived happily ever after” However, life is harder than fairytales, not that it’s hard itself, but we humans make it that way. Our friends’ story is no fairytale…its taking place right here, right now….and it seems it’s end is not going to be as happy as expected…Why? …Simply because our friends are a family of penguins and a polar bear, they belong to the two popular species that are fighting for survival in the face of GLOBAL WARMING. When we talk about global warming, we're usually talking about a change of degree over many years, it's hard to believe that can have much impact, but it does!

"We're wrong if we think that climate change is something that will happen far off in the future. Polar bears are starving now and we need to act now to stop climate change," said Kevin Jardine, Greenpeace climate impacts specialist. (Polar Bears starving due to climate change) According to a recent report, polar bears could be two-thirds gone by 2050. The shrinking bear population is a direct result of melting ice in their Arctic habitat. Polar bears need the sea ice to stand on when they hunt seals, their primary food, but there’s less sea ice throughout their Arctic range due to climate change. (Goodbye polar bears?)

While polar bears are struggling on the top of the planet, penguins are fighting for survival down south. “There are quite a few species which are disappearing, there are only 17 species of penguins in the southern hemisphere, and 11 of those are considered to an endangered or threatened species,” said Paul Leonard of the New England Aquarium. Changes in weather are impacting food supplies and mating seasons for penguins. (Penguins, Polar Bears Feel Global Warming Effects)

When we talk about the earth heating up - the greatest increases in temperature are actually being experienced on the north and South Pole. That's one of the reasons why these two species are among the most heavily impacted. (P) But global warming will also hit communities on every continent. That’s a guarantee. It will destroy many of them. Imagine it becoming so inhospitable that you have to abandon your community. The flooding becomes too frequent. The forest fires nearby choke the air. The water supply is contaminated by storm surges. Droughts destroy farmland and food is scarce. Sound far-fetched? It's already happened in Bangladesh, Indonesia, China, Africa and Australia. Still think global warming is no big whoop? (Effects)

If GLOBAL WARMING continues, “they lived happily NEVER after” would be the sure end of the story…that if they live at all! And most of our stories could end like that too if we don’t act right now to stop climate change!
So, click on these useful links to help this story get a happy ending:

· Learn More
·
Take Action! A list of few things that you can do to make a difference.
·
Sign a Petition to End Global Warming
·
Polar Bear SOS
·
Penguins United

Keep our friends and Global Warming in mind...download as wallpaper

23 comments:

zime said...

Excelente mensaje Zari!!!!

Tony LaRocca said...

That's powerful- penguins are always big heartstring tuggers!

Alicia Padrón said...

Really good job Zari, tienes tanta razon con esto.... es muy triste.
Really good message!! :o)

kdhamel said...

Wonderful post! I connected my IF illo this week to blog action day too! Your characters are so cute and what a great connection to the arctic crisis!

mike r baker said...

Great illustration and an awesome idea. Brilliant and so well done. And the wallpaper is wonderful too! xoxo!

bsilvia said...

Great message and I love the illustration!

shaky mouse said...

great illustration.. with an important message behind it.

Pascal Kirchmair said...

I love the cartoons on global warming!

Georgina said...

muy bueno Zari! ojala todo este movimiento ponga su granito de arena y algunas cosas se modifiquen! Besos

Paola De Gaudio said...

Impresionante trabajo Zari!
Buenísima toda la información, muy completo!
Lástima que no sea de mentiritas y haya tantos Osi y Pingu sufriendo las consecuencias de la estupidez e indiferencia humana...

Fossfor said...

this is a great post, thanks for all the links

Unknown said...

Everyone can make a difference! And it can be just as simple as changing a light bulb! If you are passionate about stopping global warming and the environment you should check out this website http://www.nvisioncfl.com . Changing to CFLs is a great way for individual people to really make a difference! You should also check out this site http://www.youtube.com/user/helpourworld for more ideas on how to help our world!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

cool drawing and very important message! Very nice! :-)

Danielle McDonald said...

What a wonderful way to raise awareness. Great work and I love polar bears - yours is so cute!

j.caro said...

muy buenas las ilustraciones, y la tecnica impecable

Kstyles said...

Great message and great illo! Cute characters!

buep said...

Hermoso mensaje, Zari! Los dibujos, como siempre, encantadores.

Besos contentos desde el sur!

Daisy Edwards said...

I LOVE YOUR WORK!!! Definitely going into my fave's...

Kay Aker said...

Really captures their plight! Love the look of juxtapositioning photo and drawing!

Ester García said...

Me dejas anonadada Zari... Qué lindas, esas sombras en el agua...q detalles, está genial genial... y la idea de la trompa del elefante en la de Extremes. Uf!

Creo que cada día te superas, ya lo sabes!

Besazos grandotes, cuidatee

;)

Gina said...

wow, your style is just, RAD

kermitjohnson said...

Great story about the polar bears and penguins.

Thank you for contributing to Blog Action Day.

I did not participate. However, I wrote a belated post of my own about a serious environmental issue that directly impacts global warming.

BRAZILIAN TEAK FLOORS, SLAVE LABOR, AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RAIN FOREST.

You can find it at:
http://www.realestatetwincities.net/blog/

Your blog seemed like the right place for sharing this post.

Anything that you can do to share this link or help promote awareness of this issue will be greatly appreciated. Normally, I don't ask for this kind of help, but the issue is that important to me.

Thank you!

Zari said...

-thank you all for such lovely words!!!!!!

-Dear Kermit Johnson; i still haven't done the illo for posting about your interesting article...but my computer is not working : (