Imagine a meadow with a calm stream slowly brushing past you. The sound of the stream is peaceful and reminds you of gentle rain falling. Around you, there are rainbows and green blades of grass dancing with the wind. The sweet fragrance of the beautiful rainbows overpowers you with happy memories. Peace is hugging you and the meadow. Now, imagine all of the rainbows destroyed and replaced with tall buildings. You can feel the smoke from factories squeezing your neck and choking you. The fumes from cars slither arounds your nose and prick your skin. The stream looks like a good place to do a mud bath and smells like a sewer. All around you, there are trash and littered cans. There are only a couple of trees, but they look like they would crumble into ashes. You have a hard time breathing, and people around you are coughing. Would you like a place with nature destroyed?
   

People are being careless and not considering how important nature is to humans. Trees are important and are not bothersome plants that people would like to cut down to use the wood. These plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, and oxygen is needed for humans to breathe.   
   

What about streams and rivers? Are they important too? Yes, they are. On Earth’s surface, only 3% of Earth’s water is freshwater, and 97% of Earth’s water is saltwater. That’s a small amount of freshwater. Polluting rivers and streams would make the water hard to purify to drink. Also, no communities should experience what the community in Flint, Michigan did. Well, can the salt from the ocean water be removed? The answer is yes, but removing the salt takes a lot of effort, time, and is costly. Not much fresh water can be produced from removing the salt from the ocean water.
   

How can factories and cars contribute to air pollution? Factories and cars release carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in the air. The more carbon dioxide that is in the air, the warmer the Earth gets because greenhouse gases trap heat. The more carbon dioxide there is, the more heat will be trapped in the atmosphere causing the Earth to get warmer. The Earth getting warmer is called global warming, and global warming can cause ice in cold places like Antarctica to melt. The melting ice will add more water to the ocean, and too much ice melting can cause floods on continents.
   

Humans need to take care of the Earth. Pollution, cutting down trees, and other harmful acts to the Earth can cause the Earth to be a worse, dirty, and harsh place to live for not only animals and plants, but humans too. Instead of worrying about the Earth becoming a bad place to live, take action and help take care of this planet. Plant some trees. Clean up and pick up trash. Try having cars using less gas like hybrids. Use public transportation to lessen the carbon dioxide in the air. Go and take action to help this planet, Earth!