Here is a writing text using the LEER structure that we did as a class.
L- Lead sentence
E- Explain
E- Example
R- Relevance
Intro : Climate change is the biggest challenge of our lifetime. Centuries of pollution and
deforestation has led to global warming, rising sea and a plethora of natural disasters.
What is it, and what can we do to fix it?
Global warming : One measurable aspect of climate change is global warming.
Greenhouse gases get trapped in the atmosphere causing the global temperature to rise.
Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are the 3 main greenhouse gases. Solar energy
(heat/light) gets trapped in the atmosphere - this is the natural process of global warming.
Humans are making this global warming process worse by emitting lots of greenhouse gases
from factories. Global temperatures are rising - causing the melting of glaciers in Antarctica
and more natural disasters. IN the 1800’s, humans began the Industrial Revolution, resulting
in many factories being built all over the world. These factories emitted carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases. Humans rely on factories and transport (e.g cars, buses) which all burn fossil
fuels. In the last century, the global temperature has risen by 1* C.
Deforestation : Another devastating component of climate change is deforestation.
There are lots of human actions that are increasing global warming, which needs to be stopped
before we get to the point of no return.
Deforestation is caused when trees such as confires are milled for temper.
When forests are culled less oxygen is produced (as less trees exist) and more
carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed. This excess CO2 is then released into the
atmosphere contributing to the greenhouse effect. A famous example of
deforestation is the culling of trees in the Amazon rainforest. The amazon
rainforest is the biggest in the world, home to 390 billion trees. People are
cutting the native trees to plant palm oil and other food sources. The immediate
result of this is that animals' habitat is destroyed. The plight of the orangutan
is known around the world. They are a symbol of fighting against climate
change. The longer term effect is that certain species have become endangered
and even extinct. Damage to the land caused by agriculture is often permanent.
Saving the rainforest would help minimise the long term impact of global warming.
Agriculture : A third factor contributing to climate change is agriculture.
Agriculture is farming with animals. Cows produce a lot of methane through farting and belching which is a greenhouse gas. Agriculture requires huge amounts of land which could be used for forests/rainforests and as habitats for native species. Another damaging part of agriculture is the damage done to local waterways (E.g. rivers and streams) through the fecal matter and urine of those animals. The water gets
polluted and fish who live there die. In New Zealand, there are 26.6 million sheep
and 10.1 million cattle. If people ate less meat, we wouldn’t need so much land for agriculture and we wouldn’t be damaging local waterways as well.
Rising sea : Global warming is causing rising seas through the meeting of Antarctica and the arctic.
The largest concentration of ice on Earth is in the arctic (North homisplene) and Antarctica
(Southern tomisplene). In these places ice sheets and glaciers hold vast amounts of water.
Ice sheets are massive flat platforms that are made on ice, glaciers form over land. Solar
energy and greenhouse gases increase global temperatures which leads to these ice from melting,
This meltwater causes rising sea levels around the world, leading to increased flooding and coastal
erosion. A small island in the pacific which is directly impacted is kiribati. Kiribati is a lowing island
experiencing levels of flooding, high tides and coastal erosion. Kiribati is trying to save their island
by building new sea levels of coral. Kiribati cities are now becoming climate change refugees seeking
asylum in neighbouring couettes such as Australia and New zealand. Kiribati land, culture and native
wildlife will be lost forever. While global warming seems like a big problem for the people of Kiribati,
it is a matter of life and cleath.
Weather/ Natural disasters : The increasing frequency and severity of natural
disasters is the direct result of climate change.
How to fight climate change : There are many actions that can be taken to reduce
the impact of climate change.
Some of these can be done by individual people, such as not using plastic bags, putting
your rubbish in the bin and recycling any plastic you use. Actions that every community
should take is to have lots of rubbish bin available, plants lots trees and native bushland,
use wind farms and solar panels where you can. At a national level, actions New Zealand can
take are planting more trees, conservation programmes for native species, introducing laws
and policies that limit overfishing and monitoring the deforestation of native timbers. Both
individuals and countries should actively be trying to increase the number of bees they have
in their land. The biggest change would be if globally, companies stopped burning fossil fuels
as this would minimize the greenhouse gases that are entering the atmosphere.
One scientific study found that only 100 companies are responsible for 71% of the world's
carbon emissions. There are four petrol companies (Exxonmobil, shell, BP and chevron) that
are the highest emitters in the world. Another thing consumers can look for is what products
they buy - some products use palm oil which is the reason for a lot of deforestation. People
should buy palm oil free products.
There are lots of ways both individuals, groups and governments can make a difference to
reducing climate change.
In concussion, climate change is a terrible problem that is the number 1 concern facing
our planet. If we do not take the action discussed, within a century our plant will have
irreversible damage and our children and grandchildren will not enjoy the world in the way
we did. It is upto every person to make change.
