This book is dedicated to Ms. Krystal McCrae for the great idea to talk about conservation and recycling and being such an inspirational teacher.

Author: Gabrielle Gonzalez Illustrator: Gabrielle Gonzalez

Proper air quality is important for all of us. Bad air or air pollution can make humans, animals, and plants very sick. Air pollution can be caused by cars, homes, factories, even some electricity. Smog, smoke and fog, is a form of air pollution found in areas where there is a lot of motor vehicles, calm winds, and high temperatures.

Biodegradable is a chemical change where living organisms (decomposers) breaks organic materials like banana peels, old food, paper and dead plants and animals. But not all things can be broken down easily. Plastic bottles, cans, plastic bags are non-biodegradable. Too many of these items can cause serious harm to the environment.

Conservation is the things we do to maintain a good relationship with nature. This can be simple stuff like turning of the light in room once you leave, recycling, shorter showers, or shutting the water off while you brush your teeth. But we can't just do it once in awhile. Conservation needs to be a way of life.

Ever hear of a disposable plates or forks? This is something we see daily. It means an item the can be thrown away after use. However, not all these items decompose easily and has led to an overabundance of trash in the world. Other common disposable but non biodegradable items are diapers which can take 500 years to fully decompose or batteries that take 100 years.

The land we now live on use to belong to many wild animals. However, since we have take their homes many have become endangered species. This mean that there is a limited number of these animals left in the world and if we are not careful they may disappear forever. Already 30 to 50% species may be heading to extinction. Other reasons include over hunting and destruction of habitat. Tigers, elephants, panda bears are just a few that are in trouble.

A fossil fuel is what is used to power our electricity, cars, and heating. It is fuel that comes from long decomposed animals and plants. there are four types; coal, oil, nuclear, and natural gas. About 80 percent of the entire worlds power comes from fossil fuel but there isn't an unlimited amount. One day we could run out!

Global warming is serious threat to our earth right now. It is the rising global temperatures that is causing negative effects. It is caused by a an unnatural increase in greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide and methane. Due to global warming, glaciers are melting, the ocean water is getting hotter and the ocean levels are rising. This is bad for us and the animals in poles or ocean.  

Jungles and forests are a key environment in the world. Not only is it home to thousands of species but its plants provide clean oxygen for us to breathe. However, deforestation is destroying these places about 18 million acres of forests are lost every year. This leads to an increase in carbon dioxide gases. What difference can you see in this picture of the Amazon jungle?

Even as a kid you can do your part to help the environment. 1) To help slow down climate change, ask your parent to help you plant a tree, drive less or carpool, and try to reduce paper usage. 2) To save natural resources try to use less water, electricity, and air conditioning. 3) Use less plastic be reusing water bottles, reusing grocery bags, and recycling plastic. Can you think of other ways to help?

Litter is a type of trash that is thrown in a place where it doesn't belong. It can be small like a gum wrapper or big like a car tire. You might see litter as you go for a walk. But littering is bad, it can be eaten by an animal or cause harm to an environment. Billy here, is a huge litterbug.

Overpopulation is big issue facing the planet today. It means that there are more people then the planet can carry. Therefore there is not enough land for both humans and animals and not enough resources. This is because of better technology, medicine, and now people live longer.

One of the first steps to making a difference is to question your impact. Think about what you are using, or doing, or throwing away and see if there is a better option. Did you turn the lights off when you left the room? Could that bottle you threw away been recycled?

The three R's are essential for waste management and conservation. It's three simple steps that can be done in everyday life. Reduce the waste you produce by buying less, using less resources. Reuse products. Things like having a refillable water bottle, reusable shopping bags helps decrease waste. Many items can be be broken down and remade into new items. Look for the triangle above that shows that an item can be recycled.