Water, Water Everywhere…

Water is arguably Earth’s most precious resource. After all, we can’t live without it, and Earth is
the only planet we know of that has it. Our entire planet is covered in water, with little pieces of land
called continents peeking through here and there. Not only can water be found in the oceans, but it
also present under the ground and in vapor form in the air. Clouds formed by the vapor ensure that
water falls back down to Earth as rain, sleet, snow, or hail.
Approximately 97% of Earth’s water is salt water. The process desalination, removing salt
from water, can be expensive. That leaves only about three percent to meet the needs of people, plants
and animals so we can all survive. Now it’s beginning to make sense that there is concern for
protecting this rare and critical resource. Unfortunately, only about one third of our fresh water is
even available for us to use because the rest is frozen solid in glaciers, in the snow on high
mountaintops, and in the polar ice caps. So the end result is that we have only about one percent of all
the water on Earth that we can use.
It is important to protect our water supplies from pollution. Once water becomes polluted, it
can be difficult or even impossible to clean. Chemicals, like cleaning supplies, paints, and other toxins
can seep into the ground and make the water unusable. People have an obligation to dispose of waste
products appropriately so that we will have plenty of fresh water to go around.

Ecology: Taking Care of Earth

The term ecology comes from a Greek work that means “the study of the house.” In a way,
Earth is the house of all living things. We all live together and interact on the planet that we share.
Ecology is the study of these interactions between living things and their environments. Today, we
also understand ecology to mean taking care of the Earth so that humans, plants and animals can all
thrive. Sometimes damage is irreversible.
Ecology is a huge area of study, because it touches on every part of a living thing’s ecosystem
that can affect its ability to live. Things like climate, soil conditions, the availability of clean water, and
access to natural resources all must be taken into account, along with many things not even listed
here. By learning about how living things, including humans, affect each other, we can make smart
decisions that protect not just the living things, but the resources that the living things need as well.
As a young person, you may think that none of this is your responsibility yet. However, there
are many things that children can do to help make sure that their world stays healthy so that it will be
around for many years to come. Although it may seem strange to be thinking about them already at
your age, some day you will have children of your own who will need a safe place to live. The decisions
you are making even today can affect them in the future. Conservation is one area of ecology where we
can all make a difference, regardless of our ages or where we live. Conservation means using Earth’s
limited resources wisely so that they don’t run out. We can also show oursupport of businesses that
make their products using methods and materials that do not damage Earth. By buying their products,
we are telling them that we appreciate their efforts to be Earth-friendly. When you are in your own
home, take a moment to think about how you use resources. Most people are just plain wasteful.
Leaking toilets, half-filled dishwashers or clothes washers and unattended hoses waste precious
water. Leaving lights on and appliances running in rooms where they are not even being used wastes
energy.
We need to take the time to learn about how to save resources, and thenput into practice what
we learn. Even children can do their part by modeling ways to save resources. Together, we can all
make a difference.
 Ecosystems
An ecosystem is all the things that interact in a specific area, whether they are living, or non-
living. Some examples of non-living things that support life in an ecosystem are light, air,soil, and
water. Living things are the organisms (plants and animals) that use those resources. Each of the
specific ecosystems in the world has its own conditions created by the non-living things. These
conditions determine what kinds of living things will be able to thrive there. Organisms can only
thrive where their needs are being met. Everything in anorganism’s environment has an effect on it. A
temperate zone is an area where the conditions never become too hot or too cold, allowing many
different kinds of organisms to thrive.
All the living things in an ecosystem are called acommunity. All of one specific kind of organism
living in acommunity is called a population. All the tree frogs in arainforest community are one
population within the community.All the white birch trees are another population within the
samecommunity. All the jaguars are yet another rainforestcommunity population.
All living organisms perform certain life processes. Theytake in nutrients like air, sunlight,
water, and food. They useenergy from those nutrients to grow and develop. They releaseenergy by
doing work and moving. They release wasteproducts. They react to things in their environment.
Theyreproduce, producing offspring (babies) that are similar tothemselves.

World Climates
There are quite a few different climates found on planet Earth. A climate is the usual or
average condition of the atmosphere (the layers of gases and air above Earth) in a certain area.
Climate can change slightly from day to day, but you should think of it as what the weather is like most
often.
Scientists have identified eleven different climates on Earth. They are named either for the
specific region where they can be found, or to describe the typical weather found there. In the polar
regions of Earth, near the north pole and the south pole, there are two extremely cold climates: Ice
caps
and Tundra. In the warmer tropical regions near the equator, there are three separate climates:
Monsoon, Wet, and Savannah/Grasslands. In the subtropical regions between the tropical regions and
the polar regions, there are six different climates: Dry summer, Dry winter, Humid, Marine West Coast,
Mediterranean, and Wet.
Why are the warmest climates found near the equator? The equator is at the widest surface of
Earth, so the sun shines directly on it when Earth is facing the sun. Because Earth is a sphere, the
surface curves as it moves away from the equator, and those areas receive less direct sunlight. The
poles, at the top and bottom of Earth’s sphere, receive the least sunlight of all, and therefore have a
layer of ice year-round.

Food is Our Fuel

Everything that is alive needs energy. All animals, including people, get the energy they need
from food. If you think about the human body as an amazing machine that can do all kinds of
wonderful things for us, think of food as the fuel that helps keep it running.
Plants use sunlight to make their own food. Animals are not able to do that. Some animals eat
plants. Some animals eat other animals. Some animals, like people, each both plants and animals.
Since plants make their own food using sunlight, the sun’s energy is found in plants. When we
eat plants, like fruits and vegetables, we get more of the sun’s energy than when we eat animals.
Energy is very strong in the sun. It loses a lot of its strength by the time it goes into a plant. By the time
an animal eats a plant, the energy is even less strong. The animal has also used energy to find the plant
to eat. When a second animal eats the first animal, it gets even less energy than the first animal got.
The second animal has had to find and chase down the first animal, and so it has also used up a lot of
energy to get more.
 T he Scientific Method
The scientific method is the way that scientists organize and keep track of their studies as they
learn and experiment. The scientific method is all about asking questions and trying to find out the
answers. You start with a question about something that interests you, or something you notice about
the world. Then you observe and read about that topic as much as you can, organizing your
observations and taking notes.
After you have made a lot of observations, it is time to set up an experiment and make a smart
guess, or prediction, about what you think will happen. You make your guess by using all the
information you have, and your knowledge and common sense. Scientists call this a hypothesis.
Experiments should be done more than once so you know what the usual result will be. It is
important to take good notes. By the time you finish, you willeither prove that your guess was right, or
you will prove that your guess was wrong. Either result is okaybecause you are learning how things
work!

Competing for Resources

The resources of any one environment are limited. Depending on which plants and animals
share the environment, there may not be enough of everything to go around. All organisms need
water, food, and shelter to stay alive. These resources are beneficial, or good for organisms.
When an environment is low on its supply of any of these things, organisms have to compete for them.
Those who get to the resources first have the best chance of survival. Being without water, food, or
shelter for very long is detrimental, or harmful, to organisms.
The resources of an area determine the size of the plant and animal populations there. When
the number of living things grows too large, the weakest of the populations will not be able to get the
resources they need. As the weak die out, the populations get smaller until the area’s resources can
support them. Sometimes people will step in and capture members of large animal populations and
move some of them to another location with less competition so that they can all survive. Sometimes
the government will allow hunting of large
animal populations, such as deer or rabbits, as a food source for people. When there are too many of
these animals for an area, they come into the cities looking for food and cause trouble. Hunting keeps
their numbers under control.

Plant Life Cycles

Every living thing goes through changes. Living things grow through different stages, until
they reachthe end of their life cycles, and die. There are many kinds of plants, and each kind has its
own life cycle. Lots of plants start their life cycle as a seed. The seed needs certain things or it will not
grow into a plant.
Sometimes seeds wait in the ground until they can get the things they need. When they get
enough warmth from the sun, and enough water, a tiny little sprout will push out of the seed and
stretch up until itpokes through the dirt and into the air.
As the little plant continues to get sunshine andwater, the stem grows taller and leaves unfold.
Moreleaves and stems grow on the main stem. The adultplant grows flowers. The flowers of many
plants makefruit. The fruit has seeds inside it so more new plantscan grow.
New plants look like their parent plants. Seedsfrom a plant will grow the same kind of plant.
When aseed begins to grow, it is the beginning of anotherplant life cycle.
 Forms of Matter
Everything around you, wherever you look, is made of matter. Scientists group matter based on its
properties, or characteristics: what it looks like and how it acts in different situations. Matter can take
three different forms: solid, liquid, and gas.
Solid matter has a definite shape. It also takes up a definite amount of space. That means it has
a specific volume. If you could look at solid matter under a very powerful microscope, you would see
its tiny particles moving back and forth. The particles are packed very tightly together, so they vibrate
in place. Their overall shape does not change.
Liquid matter takes the shape of its container. In a cup, it is shaped like a cup. In a vase, it is
shaped like a vase. The volume of the liquid stays the same. If you were to look at liquid matter under
the microscope, you would see its tiny particles sliding past each other. Because of this unique sliding
movement, the liquid is able to change its shape so we can pour it.
In the form of a gas, matter is usually invisible. The air around us has several different gases,
like the oxygen we breathe in, and the carbon dioxide we breathe out. If you could look at gas matter
under the microscope, you would see its tiny particles floating around with lots of space in between
them. They spread out to fill any container the gas is placed in.

Limited Resources
Natural resources are things that we use that come from Earth. Our natural resources are
limited. This means that they will not last forever. Some are renewable, like when you plant a new tree
when you cut one down. Others are not renewable, like when you dig coal out of the ground. Once it is
used, it is gone.
People are aware of the fact that Earth’s natural resources are limited, and can do things to
help conserve those resources. When you try to conserve a natural resource, you try to use less of it so
it does not get used up so fast. One way that people conserve fuel, like gasoline, is by riding a bicycle
or walking when the distance is short instead of driving everywhere.
Water is a very important natural resource because we all need it to stay alive. We can
conserve water by makingsure that our pipes and faucets do not leak. We can also conserve water by
making smart choices, like only using the dishwasher or washing machine when they are full.

Save the Earth

Without a doubt, we are ruining planet Earth day by day. Although most of us are aware of this
fact, we still do very little to help. In fact, a lot of people think that this is too big of an issue to solve,
and that even if they did something, nothing would change. Thankfully, the members of the Greener
World association are setting an example. They say that unless we take action immediately, the planet
will be destroyed. Greener World believes that if each of us tried to reduce our carbon footprint, the
difference would be much greater then we can imagine.
This year, Greener World are organizing worldwide campaigns about ways in which everyone
can help, like saving energy, buying reusable products, using public transport and so on. So mark it
down on your calendar: next month Greener World will be visiting our town to present the benefits of
owning biodiesel and hybrid cars. They are also going to address the issue of recycling as well as the
use of energy-efficient devices. The event will be held outdoors and is expected to attract people from
nearby towns, too.