Lesson 3B: My Earth, My Responsibility

My mum grew up on a farm in Snowdonia, with dogs, chickens, cattle, pigs and goats around her. She loved taking care of them and the garden. She taught me that all living creatures share the same planet, and they should live in harmony with each other and nature. We should be doing that, but we aren’t. It’s shocking to see, in the news, how animals’ lives are endangered because of human actions. 

In polar areas, hungry polar bears cannot find food, because sea ice is melting earlier and forming later each year. This leaves them with less time to hunt for food, so they are starving. They could become extinct by the end of this century.

In rainforests and savannas, orangutans, tigers, elephants, rhinos and other wild animals are losing their habitat because of deforestation. Forests are cut down to make room for farming, roads and cattle pasture. If deforestation in the Amazon rainforest doesn’t stop or slow down significantly, more than a quarter of it could disappear by 2030.

High water temperatures have caused the death of large stretches of the Great Barrier Reef. In the past 35 years, the Reef has lost more than half of its corals due to climate change, pollution, overfishing and outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish. If water temperature continues to rise, the Reef could disappear by 2050.

These are just some of the environmental concerns we are facing today. What can we do? Lots of things, both in our homes and as part of various organisations. My mum and I are members of Size of Wales, one of the most important environmental organisations in the UK. Thousands of volunteers of all ages and professions work together to improve the local environment for everyone. Come and join us!