For thousands of years, people have used the earth’s land, water, and air. Also, people have also polluted the earth with their waste, harmful chemicals, and other poisons.
Now people all over the world are working to protect the earth. They are working to preserve land, stop pollution, save natural resources, and protect endangered wildlife. There are many ways to help the earth. You can help, too.
The Three R’s
How many things did you use today that were made from trees or plastic? How many of those things did you throw away? How many things did you use that required electricity?
Many things that people use are made from trees or plastic. For example, lots of paper and wooden products are made from trees. Many plastics are made from petroleum, coal, and natural gas. And the more we throw away plastic and paper, the more rubbish dumps are needed.
Many things that people use are powered by the earth’s natural resources, too. As we use electricity to run refrigerators and other products, minerals are needed to create that electricity.
Many people are worried that the earth’s resources are being used up and polluted. With these three R’s - reduce, reuse, and recycle - you can help preserve the earth’s resources.
Reduce
- Use fewer paper and plastic products. Use cloth towels instead of paper towels.
- Turn off the lights, radio, and TV when you’re not using them.
- Instead of running water until it’s cold, use ice cubes. Or keep a jug of cold water in the refrigerator.
- To save hot water, take showers instead of baths.
- If you have a dishwasher, don’t use it until you have a full load.
- Ride a bike, or take the bus or train to save on petrol and oil.
Reuse
- Wash out plastic milk bottles, plastic bags, and aluminium foil, and reuse them.
- Repair and reuse toys and other products.
- Save used paper and plastic to make gifts.
- Use both sides of writing paper.
- Sell or donate goods so someone else can reuse them.
Recycle
- Recycle aluminium cans, glass and plastic containers, newspapers, rubber items, and paper. Recycled materials are used to make new products.
- Use recycled paper to write, paint, and draw.
Earth is slowly getting warmer. Most scientists believe that people are helping to cause this change. But how can people cause Earth to warm?
Have you ever seen a greenhouse? The glass walls let in light so plants can grow. Because the walls also hold in heat, a greenhouse becomes very warm.
Earth and its atmosphere act like a greenhouse. Light from the sun passes through the atmosphere and warms Earth. Much of this heat escapes back into space. But such gases in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide act like greenhouse walls. These so-called “greenhouse gases” trap heat in the atmosphere. This is called the greenhouse effect.
Our cars and factories burn fuels that release greenhouse gases. These gases are building up in the in atmosphere. Most scientists believe that the buildup of gases is causing Earth to warm. They fear that our planet will become much warmer in the next 100 years. This problem is called global warming.
Picture Credit : Google
Monday, March 1. 2021
Using the land wisely
Every year, there are more people on the earth using more of the earth’s resources. If people aren’t careful, the resources will be wasted, damaged, or used up.
To make space for the development of houses, roads, pavements, and car parks, people cut down trees and other plants. But careful builders leave areas in their developments where they plant trees to replace the ones they’ve cut down. This allows animals to keep their homes or find new ones.
Also, many governments protect some prairies, wetlands, forests, and other land from development.
Factories and other buildings can send waste chemicals into the air and water. So some countries have laws requiring builders to be careful so that new buildings don’t pollute the air and water.
Workers remove valuable resources from the land. If too much is taken, the supply will be used up. However, in many places, businesses save minerals by using better ways of mining and recycling mineral products. They also substitute more plentiful minerals for scarce ones.
Picture Credit : Google
