Go Metro on Earth Day (or any other day), save a polar bear and help fight climate change

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That’s right, I’m going to use photos of cute critters threatened by climate change to guilt you into riding the bus and/or train every now and then (if you don’t already ride).

Why? As I like to write, generally speaking taking the bus or train or Metro Bike Share (which is free on Saturday) instead of driving alone is a good way to cut greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.

Polar bear

The threat to polar bears is due to the loss of sea ice, from which they hunt.

American pika

The American pika lives at high elevations and is adapted to cold weather. The jury is out on how much hotter weather it can tolerate.

Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog

Credit: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, via Flickr creative commons.

There are many threats to the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, and climate change is complicating things by changing the frog’s habitat.

King Penguin

The King Penguin is possibly threatened by changes to its food chain brought on by warmer water temperatures.

Giant sequoia trees

A lesser snowpack (obviously not an issue this past winter) and hotter summers could mean less water for young trees and loss of habitat that was small to begin with.

Koala Bear

 

Increasing drought and CO2 decreasing the nutritional value of eucalyptus trees, which koalas depend upon. More here.

It’s probably worth mentioning that climate change alone isn’t threatening these species. Most have had a number of other challenges to contend with before climate change began altering habitats and food chains.

And back to that statement I made up top about transit versus driving when it comes to greenhouse gases. The chart below dates from 2009 so things have changed a little in terms of the fuel efficiency of cars, as well as the amount of electricity that comes from renewables. But the gist of this still holds up:

And this….

Happy Earth Day!

Categories: Transportation News

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