Page 1 Panel 1 Title: “The Esfera Damas (and how they save the world)” Box: “4 girls with magical powers. Let’s meet them!” Panel 2 Box: “Erika Baixa-Terra, guardian of the lithosphere.” Panel 3 Box: “Sonia ‘Sofi’ Aigua, guardian of the hydrosphere.” Panel 4 Box: “Avigail ‘Avi’ Finestra, guardian of the atmosphere.” Panel 5 Box: “Raquel Vida, guardian of the biosphere.” Panel 6 Box: “This is Bellesa, where humans live. Sometimes, they abuse the environment. That’s when the Esfera Damas step in!” Page 2 Panel 1 Box: “The Paleo River runs right through the city of Bellesa. Erika has been asked to visit the area right by the river in Upper East Bellesa.” Panel 2 Erika: “What’s the problem, Mayor?” Mayor: “The sector of East Bellesa by the river oftens floods. Is there anything you can do?” Panel 3 Erika: “Actually, I know just the thing!” Erika: “Bioswales!” Panel 4 Box (Erika): In cities, the hard ground ground is not permeable, and when it rains, water runs off into the river. The soil can’t soak up the water, increasing the chances of storm sewers backing up and flooding. Panel 5 Box (Erika): “Bioswales help soak up and filter some of that water, reducing the chances of flooding. Plus, when native grasses are planted inside, they really spruce things up!” Panel 6 Mayor: “Thanks, Erika! I’ll bring that up at the next town meeting.” Erika: “No problem. Happy to help!” Page 3 Panel 1 Box: “Out in the country, Sofi is meeting with a crop farmer.” Panel 2 Sofi: “What’s up, Miss Pasalina?” Miss Pasalina: “I’ve been watering my crops constantly to ensure a good harvest, but they still won’t grow. I also have giant white spots in my field.” Panel 3 Sofi: “Hmm. I think soil salinization might be the problem.” Miss Pasalina: “What’s that?” Sofi: “Let me explain.” Panel 4 Box (Sofi): The soil out here lets water through rather easily. The water from irrigation gets through the soil and into the groundwater before it can evaporate. Over time, the groundwater rises up to the plant roots and the salt in the water eventually kills them. The white spots are salt deposits.” Panel 5 Box (Sofi): “To prevent this, you can start by only watering as much as the plants need. Planting crops with deep roots and rotating fields will help as well. If you want to go even further, you can install subsurface drainage systems or drill into your field to safely lower the groundwater level.” Panel 6 Miss Pasalina: “That’s a lot to think about. I didn’t know that water and soil interacted like that.” Sofi: “It might take a while to heal the soil, but taking care of the environment is worth it!” Miss Pasalina: “Thanks for your help!” Sofi: “No problem!” Page 4 Panel 1 Box: “In Hansen Park, the Natural Resources Committee has asked Raquel for advice on their animal populations.” Panel 2 Raquel: “Hello, Jessica! You said that you needed my help?” Jessica: “Yes! Our deer population is out of control, and vegetation is struggling. Any solutions?” Panel 3 Raquel: “What predators do you have in the park?” Jessica: “We really haven’t had any ever since all the wolves were hunted down.” Raquel: “Aha! Wolves are a keystone species.” Panel 4 Box (Raquel): “Keystone species keep an ecosystem in balance. Without wolves, there’s no predators for the deer. Because of all the deer, they are eating more vegetation than can grow back. This indirectly causes soil erosion and affects behaviors of bodies of water.” Panel 5 Box (Raquel): “Wolves keep the deer population under control, and the limited numbers of deer also keep the wolves from multiplying too much.This is a stabilizing feedback loop, which is a feature of a healthy ecosystem. It should help vegetation recover, as well.” Panel 6 Jessica: “I actually didn’t know wolves had that big of an impact. Thanks, Raquel!” Raquel: “My pleasure, Jessica.” Page 5 Panel 1 Box: “While the other girls are solving problems, Avi is worried about a bigger issue. This will take all of their powers to help fix.” Panel 2 Avi: “Humans in Bellesa have been emitting lots of carbon dioxide into the air. I can feel the atmosphere suffering from it. Surely it must have an impact on the others.” Panel 3 Avi: “I don’t know if it’s just me, but something feels off in the spheres.” Sofi: “No, I feel it too.” Panel 4 Sofi: “The ice shelves up north are calving too fast. I worry that soon, the ice will be gone altogether.” Panel 5 Erika: “My concern is forest fires. The seasons have been getting longer and the destruction greater.” Panel 6 Raquel: “I am more worried about the humans. They waste so much food, and they have people who go hungry. It makes no sense.” Page 6 Panel 1 Avi: “Aha! I see the connection now! They’re all linked together.” Panel 2 Box (Avi): “Wasted food and burning forests are releasing more carbon dioxide into the air. Add that to burning coal and there’s a lot of greenhouse gases up there. The carbon dioxide weakens the protection between us and the sun, raising global temperatures.” Panel 3 Box (Avi): “The increased temperatures are weakening ice sheets, causing them to melt and break apart. When they melt, they release even more carbon dioxide. If we’re not careful, we’ll create an amplifying feedback loop that’ll be almost impossible to stop.” Panel 4 Sofi: “So we must act as soon as possible!” Raquel: “We can always start with education. Let people know what they can do.” Sofi: “Of course! We should start now.” Panel 5 Box: “The girls work for a few hours, discussing how their four spheres work together to create balance, how humans often disrupt that balance, and how they can restore the harmony.” Panel 6 Erika: “Ready to present to Bellesa?” Raquel: “Absolutely!” Sofi: “Me too!” Avi: “Let’s go!” Page 7 Panel 1 Box: “Dear citizens of Bellesa, hello! We are the Esfera Damas, and you may already know us from our work in your city. We are very passionate about the environment, and we love to help you solve problems related to the four spheres.” Panel 2 Box: “The biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere interact in all sorts of ways to create balance within nature, and sometimes, humans disturb that balance. When that happens, we have traditionally helped based on which sphere it affects. This time, however, it’s going to take all of us.” Panel 3 Box: “The issue at hand is carbon emissions. When humans burn coal and oil, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere and weakens the protection between us and the sun, which raises global temperatures. Rising temperatures cause ice to melt, seas to rise, and more problems to occur. We can’t solve this alone. We need your help.” Panel 4 Box: “First, less carbon dioxide needs to be emitted. The big step is switching to more renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power. This will make a huge impact on the environment.” Panel 5 Box: “There are smaller things that individuals can do, as well. Buying more local produce, wasting less food, and recycling are little ways that people can contribute to these efforts.” Panel 6 Paper: “Disaster may not seem imminent enough to make these changes, but the sooner we start, the easier it will be. Though humans may disturb the balance, there are ways to return to harmony. We only get one Earth and we must take care of it. Sincerely, Avigail F., Sofi A., Erika B.T., Raquel V.”
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