Facts

We can all agree that 2020 is a truly disastrous year.

The surface of the Earth is largely covered by water. Oceans regulate the atmosphere and approximately 50-85% of the world’s oxygen comes from the oceans thanks to phytoplanktons. Oceans also absorb millions of tons of carbon dioxide and thus, successfully cool down the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the increase in greenhouse gases has been ruining that. The climate around the world is getting warmer and warmer, and the fish are shrinking in size due to this since sea surface temperatures also increase.

Our Earth is undergoing radical change with regards to the climate. The ice caps are melting, hurricanes and storms are getting harsher and harsher, a couple of locations are experiencing greater flooding, wildfires are turning into much more common occurrences, extreme droughts are eliminating entire water sources- the list just goes on and on. Today, a lot of organizations and institutions are keeping an eye on what’s going on on our planet climate-wise, and NASA is one of the most important ones out there. Throughout the years, NASA has been watching more than thousands of locations around the world using its space tech, searching for signs of climate change. Because of these reasons, they launched the website called the Images Of Change where they show the comparison photos of various places on Earth, focusing on melting glaciers, results of wildfires, deforestation, extreme droughts, and a couple of other phenomena.

Due to the heavy rains in the region, wolf spiders, and money spiders around Yinnar which is a rural community in central Gippsland, Victoria, Australia migrated to this nearby park using a technique called ‘ballooning’. They covered the entire park in spider webs and the photos of the result will send shivers down your spine!

By now, all of us aware of the dangers of global warming, but we still don’t take the necessary actions to help prevent the situation from getting even worse. It’s safe to say the entire world is going through a drastic change. But in our daily lives, it can be kind of hard to notice that change without having side-by-side comparison pictures at hand. Thanks to Google Earth, though, we have such comparison photos that are going to help us see the changes our planet has gone through. They even shared a series of videos on YouTube. In these videos, you can clearly see how much our world’s oceans, forests, glaciers, beaches, and cities have changed from 1984 to 2020. Google Earth is aiming to promote climate awareness through its new timelapse feature with these videos. It’s really unbelievable to see these changes in these shocking images. Even though this is the direct result of human behavior, it’s still pretty disturbing to see the dramatic rhythm of change in only a very short period of time. Every one of us should contribute to stop the climate change. That’s why we gathered together this list of photos below that we hope will raise awareness on what’s actually going on with the planet. Scroll down to see our eye-opening gallery for yourselves.

Global warming and climate change are very important problems we are facing in today’s world. 

A photographer has taken pictures of camels after a snowfall in the Tabuk region in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The area-located near the border with Jordan- experienced peculiar weather this month.

Hyperion discovered in 2006 is the tallest living tree in the world. The three is 115.85 m high and it is located in a remote area of Redwood National and State Parks. It has approximately 530 m3 of wood and the estimated age of the tree is 600-800 years old. In order to protect Hyperion from possible hazards, the precise location of the tree is kept secret.

Plastic contamination and floating waste in water supplies is a rising global issue. It poses serious risks both for humans and for the wildlife. However, sometimes some easy and simple solutions turn out to be the most effectual ones for problems like these. Kwinana, an Australian city became a globally known city just for this reason.

A few Peruvians established a project called ‘Bio Plant’. Bio Plant has one and only objective and that is saving the planet. This small group of Peruvians is thinking to do that by reducing usage of plastic.

Most people love fireworks and think they are great entertainment. However, things went quite differently for this British dog rescue center on this fateful night.

This extremely dangerous, natural booby trap can be found between Barden Tower and Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, England. It's a tiny, harmless-looking mountain stream, approximately six feet across, named Bolton Strid, or simply the Strid. However, under the water's surface, there is a deep gorge with strong undercurrents that pulls whoever falls into it to certain death. According to the rumors, not even a single person that has fallen into the Strid has managed to come out of it alive. Even their bodies haven't been found. If you have doubts about how a small mountain brook can be so deadly, you need to walk upstream. In less than 100 yards, this "harmless" stream will turn into a river 30 feet across. This river is called River Wharfe which runs through Yorkshire, but when it comes to the area of Bolton Abbey the river has to go through a small gap which causes the water to gain enormous speed and depth. The small gap on the Strid is merely an illusion as both banks are significantly undercut. Underneath is a network of hidden caverns and tunnels with the rest of the water of the river inside them. Nobody has an idea about how deep the Strid actually is.

This weird -ooking landscape that is filled with craters just like the surface of the moon in the middle of Thetford Forest in Norfolk, England looks highly similar to mortar craters in Normandy and Somme from the First World War. However these craters in Norfolk have a different background story, and even though their name suggests otherwise, they're not actually graves. In reality, Grime's Graves is a huge flint mining complex from the Neolithic age that's more than 4,500 years old. In the New Stone Age, flint- a solid, mineralized version of quartz- was a precious natural resource and extremely prized due to its tendency to break into small flakes with a razor-sharp edge that was very convenient to make tools and weapons. So, flint kept on being used for many centuries even after men started to make tools out of metals.

Jabuticaba is a Brazilian grape tree that is common in the states of Minas Gerias and Sao Paulo, in the south of Brazil. 

Walking around a tree can create a person a healing, regenerating and calming effect which could be felt more and more amongst the areas where trees are gathered; the forests. Suzanne Simard, an ecologist, says that there are many things happening in the forests that we’re not aware of and that they have an interconnected and complicated social connection which is sourced from underground. "A universe of endless, biological pathways that link trees and enable them to interact, and enable the forest to act as though it were a single organism."   After 30 years researching forests in Canada, Simard discovered that trees can talk with each other over certain distances. She even concluded that trees are very similar with humans as being extremely social and as their survival depends on other trees. Intercommunication in the forest is very critical thing. Mushrooms, via their roots that look like hair, hidden messages are transmitted amongst trees, also those who are in need of water and nutrition can meet their needs through them.   Suzanne would love to lie down and gaze throught ancient trees of British Columbia forests, where she grew up. One day, her dog had an accident and fell into the forest, they needed to get him out of there by digging which caused Suzanne realize the underground connections of trees that she would do studies about later on. During her studies, she discovered that carbon could be transmitted via root of one pine seedling to another root.

It seems like people are starting to realize, slowly but eventually, devastating effect our acts can have on earth. Plastic is one of the biggest and environmentally damaging human labels we have made. One of the greatest sources of waste in our oceans and soil is single-use plastic straws and cutlery made of plastic. Although there are many ways in our daily life that can minimize plastic waste, there is a need for a bigger move, which includes converting the linear economy into a circular economy, and some businesses are finally taking action about it. 

The Icelandic Forest Service claims that spending at least five minutes a day hugging the nearest tree is a great way to feel less lonely during the time of social distancing. People have cleared the paths out of snow in East Iceland to give the citizens easier access to trees. The IFS shared the photos of people hugging trees on their website to encourage more people to do the same.

Unfortunately, the years of exploitation of nature by us humans brought us to this point of global warming, and we are facing the consequences of it every day. If we don’t do anything to stop it, the next generations will face even more disastrous results. Check out the gallery below to better understand how serious this problem actually is.

Are you living in a place surrounded by trees and greenery? If so, good news! According to some study, those who lives in the green area shows better cardiovascular performance. Although the reason is not accurate, living in a green environment is somehow linked with a healthier life. So, it may be beneficial for you to chill under the trees!

 Balloons are inevitable decorations for all parties. While these decorations create a fun atmosphere, in the end, they turn into harmful objects. According to some research, balloons generally end up in the sea, and seabirds consume them accidentally. As a consequence, a great amount of plastic takes its place in seabirds systems. Also, not only seabirds but also turtles and other sea animals are affected by these pollutions. The only solution is to diminish the amount of contamination.  

Despite being considered fruit, pineapple actually grows on a plant close to the ground. This fruit, which contains a single pineapple in each plant, was considered a very luxurious food in ancient times and was only available to the rich.

The bagworm moth caterpillar creates an amazing 'log cabin' shelter around itself as a larva. The caterpillar reinforces its silk cocoon with twigs, leaves, and other debris, and then sleeps in its little house before being born as a Bagworm moth.

Founded in Germany in 1976, Roncalli Circus announced a radical change that they will no longer use live animals. Viewers enjoy an incredible experience with one-to-one holograms of animals using the latest technology products. Animals are not tormented and viewers can have fun with peace of mind

Despite being the smartest creatures of the planet, humans are the most polluting, consumerist species in the world. Their one-time usage of many things gives damage to the entire planet and livings. As though the plastic waste doesn’t cause enough trouble, there’s also a sub-category named balloon waste.

In modern days, pollution is a major issue that it is becoming a serious challenge to prevent. Before there comes a miracle solution to restore the world and make it pollution-free, there are a range of steps that should be done to reduce the pollution. One of those steps is treeplanting.

One of the biggest obstacles that humanity struggles is plastic pollution. Plastic pollution in the waters have reached serious levels that put living creatures and environment in danger. Every year, there are more and more sea creatures that come ashore full of plastic materials.

In these times, which environmental problems are increasing day by day, we want to introduce you to the inarguably the best law that has been adopted up to date, so that young people have enough awareness for their future! Filipinos have lost thirty percent of their forested land due to illegal logging activities.

Michael Schneider, who went on vacation with friends in the Swiss Alps, did not have much expectation, except for good old fashion entertainment. 

While the photographs shared by the travelers from the regions they visit mostly reflect the magnificent beaches, sunny skies, coastline and such aesthetic beauties, in this series we will share with you what people who cross the road from those beautiful seas and oceans turn these places into and the hidden face of those beauties. 

Colombians aimed to plant about 180 million trees to their lands for reforestation. Their plan will be extended over a four-year period. They started with a small amount such as 200.000 that they planted in 24 hours, which does not sound that small.