| The greenhouse effect Gases get trapped in the atmosphere, which acts like the glass of a greenhouse, letting sunlight in but not letting all the reflected infrared heat out. Because our forests and oceans can't filter out all of the carbon dioxide we spew into the atmosphere (from power plants, large-scale burning, and cars), it gets trapped and starts to put pressure on the planet. We must use less energy; less electricity, and reduce the burning of fossil fuels (mostly coal and oil). We really need to improve gas mileage for cars. We must make a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources-like solar power-that don't contribute to global warming. We must plant more trees because they are nature's storehouses of carbon dioxide. |
| The ozone layer The ozone layer is seven miles up in the atmosphere and is a shield from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. This delicate membrane is being destroyed by man-made chemicals that drift up there-mainly the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that are used in air conditioners, refrigerators, Styrofoam (as in fast food cartons), and industrial solvents. These CFCs eat away at the ozone and also contribute to the greenhouse effect. We need to work for laws that will ban CFCs. That's the key. We can't wait for everyone else to do it -you change the world by changing yourself. |
| Rain forest destruction Forty-nine million acres of rain forest are destroyed or degraded each year. That's equivalent to one and a half football fields each second. These forests are vital sources of oxygen: They moderate our climate, prevent floods, and are our best defense against soil erosion. Forests recycle and purify our water. One quarter of all prescribed medication in the U.S. is derived from raw materials found in these forests. They are home to millions of plants and animals. The beauty and inspiration of these forests are important to millions of people. Rain forest destruction contributes to the greenhouse effect because there's no way to replant these jewels of nature fast enough to soak up the exorbitant amount of carbon dioxide they release into the earth's atmosphere when they're burned. One force behind the destruction of the rain forest is our country's importation of millions of pounds of meat annually from Central America. To provide pasture for cattle, these countries have been burning and clearing their priceless tropical rain forests. We must make our outrage known to the businesses (especially fast food places) that use this meat; we must demand that they stop contributing to the destruction of our rain forests. One reason our Central and South American neighbors have participated in this destruction is because of the tremendous debts they have to countries all over the world. By exporting meat they make some of the money they need to pay back these debts. I say we should figure out a way to forgive them their debts so we may all live. It's a tragedy that one thousand plant and animal species become extinct each year due to the destruction of tropical rain forests-and that the native rain forest tribes are being forced out. As the rain forests disappear, many of our migratory birds are also losing their winter homes. They're dying, and this is harmful because they naturally control the population of insects-and tragic because their beauty will be lost to the world. |
| Garbage We've run out of room for all of the garbage our' 'throwaway', society has created. We must implement recycling programs in our homes, schools, and communities. You can start by recycling aluminum, glass, newspaper, cardboard, and paper. Talk to your teachers and call your local elected officials to find out how you can get involved. Buy products that come in recyclable containers. Be persistent. Be enthusiastic. Be determined. |
| Chemicals, toxins, and pesticides We are literally poisoning ourselves because of the pesticides sprayed on our produce; the chemicals dumped on our farmlands to "nourish" the soil; the hormones, growth stimulants, tranquilizers, and antibiotics fed to animals that humans eat; and, of course, the pollutants spewed into the air. Pesticides don't just affect the creature who ingests them first. They accumulate in the tissues of animals and then, as one organism is eaten by another, they build up in even higher concentrations. This means that a worm living in the soil will store pesticides in its tissues. Then a bird will eat the worm and ingest the pesticides eaten by the worm-and the tens of thousands of other worms it ingests in its lifetime. At each stage up the food chain, the concentration of toxic chemicals is greatly increased. The same is true of cows or chickens or pigs. Animals raised on factory farms build up especially high concentrations of chemical toxins because they're fed great quantities of fish meal (made from fish swimming in polluted waters); their other feeds are grown on land heavily sprayed with pesticides; and they are dipped in, sprayed with, and intentionally fed many toxic compounds to keep them "healthy" while living in filthy and unnatural conditions inside these factory farms. The days of livestock animals grazing together in lush green meadows are over. These poisons are retained in the fat of animals. Each step up the food chain, animals become ever more concentrated carriers of the most deadly chemicals. You sit at the very top of the food chain, and whenever you eat anything that comes from nature, you are ingesting these toxins, too. |
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