My name is Gus Rutherford and I am a seventh grader at Maplewood School in Edmonds. I would like to talk about the impact of climate change, specifically its impact on local wildlife and ecosystems, and how we need to help.
When I was younger we would always go over the Puget Sound on the ferry to see my grandparents. We would see the orcas all the time but slowly we’ve been seeing them less and less. This is because climate change is heating the waters and killing off their prey causing them to start dying. I haven’t seen them in over a year and I want to change that.
The problem is that humans are emitting too many greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. That causes the sun’s heat to be trapped and the earth starts heating up. Because of this, the waters are growing warmer and the sea is dying. Then, on land, there are more erratic weather patterns such as more floods and droughts. For example, 2023 is the fifth driest year to date in Washington over the past 129 years with 12.39 inches less rain than normal.
I want everyone to do what they can to use less carbon and do their best to stop emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. So please do what you can to help with climate change, and make it so I can see the orcas again and be happy.
Gus Rutherford
Maplewood School
Edmonds
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