Environmental Changes MightyOwl Science 3 rd Grade

hello this is mighty owl we just like other animals in the animal kingdom spend our time making sure we have enough food and shelter for ourselves and our families we also find some time to rest and have fun though right we go on road trips fly to other countries or go camping in the woods did you know that all these activities could be harmful though to plants and animals no no no it is important to understand how our seemingly harmless activities can affect the environment now you may ask what is an environment well i'll tell you it is certain conditions in which plants and animals and even humans live look around you maybe you're sitting on chair in your room in your house on the street where you skateboard with your friend in your town this is your environment but let's take closer look at some different environments like rain forest or desert they're both very different right forest is characterized by heavy rain humidity and hot weather can you think of some of the animals that live there that's right jaguars monkeys different kinds of birds snakes and many other kinds of animals the common feature among them however is that they all adapted to living in that specific environment with plenty of lush vegetation rainfall and humidity on the other side of the spectrum you have deserts for example the sonoran desert where temperatures vary from very hot during the day to really cold at night with very little rain do you know that week of rainfall in rainforest equals that of year in the desert crazy right what else can you think of as characteristic for desert if you were thinking dry soil that is exactly right soil in the desert is sandy and rocky with few nutrients that's why vegetation is very different in desert animals and plants have adapted to living in long periods of time without any water camel has hump to store food and can drink up to 20 gallons of water at time cacti can store water for even longer periods saguaro cactus can soak up to 200 gallons of water during good rainfall but what do you think will happen if all of sudden there is more rain in the desert or less rain in the rainforest or if we chop down trees in the rainforest or even burn the trees you know what will happen the living conditions will change all these will upset the delicate balance of the food chains in their respective habitats quick reminder habitat is where an animal lives such changes in the environment that animals are used to are called environmental change many many years ago the earth looked lot different from what it looks like now no matter where you lived in big city or town or small village there were no roads schools or buildings back then most likely there was wilderness such as forests wetlands grasslands and beaches but over time as the human population grew and evolved we had to create our own habitat so we carved out roads into the landscape chopped down trees and built factories these environmental changes affected the ranges of animals and plants in those areas altering the landscape changed their habitat and respective food chains during that process some adapted while others moved to find other environments and some just couldn't survive we also started using more natural resources such as water burning more coal and petroleum for fuel and the more we use them the more bad chemicals are released and the more garbage is generated do you know that person in the united states creates 4.5 pounds of trash day that's an enormous amount cars buses airplanes and all vehicles generate huge amounts of poisonous gases even going camping could lead to fragile vegetation being harmed and the sometimes left behind waste that ends up floating in waterways can trigger an algae boom these all cause pollution as harmful and poisonous materials and waste get introduced into the environment thus changing it do you think that pollution is good for plants and animals or even for us humans well if you said no you're right pollution causes damaging changes to the environment it threatens animals and plants ability to survive in their habitats but it's not just us humans that have an impact on our environment take for example elephants to reach food they break branches uproot bushes push down trees and harm forests causing environmental changes and some beetle species are known to kill live trees whole forests can even be destroyed if they get out of control and beavers also cause major change to the environment they eat on trees and it takes just about five minutes for beaver to cut down whole tree now they use some part of the tree to build dams and rivers which create an entirely new habitat changing the environment around them so what can we do to preserve our environment and change it for the better we can't stop traveling exploring building nor can we change nature but we can do simple things like generate less trash recycle more eliminate single-use plastic take showers instead of baths turn off the light when not in the room and use long-lasting light bulbs you have no idea how much these little things will end up helping the environment scientists are constantly looking into various ways to reduce pollution coming up with solutions to reduce our consumption of fuel increase the usage of biofuels and electric cars and while our civilization continues to grow and change we need to be mindful of the changes we are creating in our environment there are many ways people can help plants and animals to survive and flourish after changes have been made together we can all be responsible and mighty members of our environment you