The Gifted Four were seated on a magical milky-white cloud above the calm Pacific Ocean, enjoying the dusk. “The calm of this ocean reminds me of ocean news,” Felix interrupted the silence of the setting sun, “A recent study done at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark found that the Gulf Stream could collapse as soon as 2025.”
Orak looked concerned, “Gulf Stream? I read about this in The Book of Everything. It is a major warm ocean current pathway, right?”
Felix nodded a yes and added more to it, “Exactly. The Gulf Stream is like nature’s air conditioning system for Europe. It is a name for the warm ocean current flowing from the Gulf of Mexico toward the United States, Canada, across the Atlantic Ocean moving toward Europe.
The current carries water almost 100 times the combined flow of all the rivers on Earth. The new study released a few weeks ago says this warm stream could become colder and create a lot of problems.”
Verum was puzzled. “But why would it collapse?”
“Hello, climate change! As the Earth gets warmer, more fresh water is pouring into the Gulf Stream from melting ice in places like Greenland, disrupting the system.
If it does collapse, Europe could get much colder, at least 10 to 15 degrees colder and on the other side of the ocean, in the eastern United States, sea levels could rise, causing floods. It could even change rain patterns, affecting agriculture,” explained Felix.
“That sounds bad, Felix. Are scientists sure this change will occur?” said Orak.
“While this study claims it may happen by 2025, other scientists are not completely convinced. They think it might not happen so soon and humans still do not know a lot about this complicated system to arrive at any conclusion,” Felix clarified.
“So, what can we do about it?” said Verum.
“The most important thing is to take care of Planet Earth. Humans can reduce their carbon footprints by using less energy, and governments and companies can make appropriate decisions that bring down global warming,” Felix said.
As the sun began to set, the Gifted Four shared a sense of responsibility to protect MysticLand, too, from Bruha, their only dreaded enemy.