Taking Action to Help the Environment

Taking Action to Help the Environment — page 1 — INTRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM CUT CARBON a ENERGY ACTION POLUTION UNLOCK Tens of thousands of people CLEAN march in New York City to raise awareness of global warming A nun chains herself to the gate of a factory to dra raw attention Some environmental activists plan or attend rallies to air pollution An actor and protests speaks to Congress about endangered animals A fifth grader in North Carolina writes to his mayor to ask her to vote on an organic farming bill These people are all environmental activists They each noticed a problem and they took action Whether the problem that attracted their attention was related to food climate change or another environmental issue they all became activists because they wanted to make a change in their world It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you think about our environment Animals are going extinct Coal oil and other fossil fuels are polluting the air Climate change is threatening human

Taking Action to Help the Environment — page 2 — Factories and power plants can release pollutants into the air Concerned people might find a way to take action and plant life The food people eat might be chock full of unknown ingredients It can be enough to make you grab the TV remote and settle in for your favorite escape Or you can decide to do something about an issue you care about You don't have to be a member of Congress or a famous entertainer or even live in a big city You don't have to be old enough to vote or get a job You don't even have to be old enough to read to be an activist You just need to have the desire to make a change and the commitment to follow through on an

Taking Action to Help the Environment — page 3 — CHAPTER 1 PROTECTING ANIMALS NT Olivia Bouler in 2012 OLIVIA BOULER SAVING BIRDS THROUGH ART Olivia Bouler was an eleven year old artist and bird lover when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank off the coast of Louisiana in April 2010 Within months the sinking ship spilled nearly 5 million gallons 18 9 million liters of oil into the Gulf of Mexico It was the world s largest ever marine oil spill Olivia watched as people from across the United States joined a rescue and cleanup effort The goal was to contain the spreading oil and protect wildlife from its harmful effects But Olivia was focused on one particular impact of the oil its effect on birds Olivia learned that birds can't avoid oil as it spreads in water They need to dive into the water to find fish to eat But when they get oil on their feathers birds can lose their ability to fly They also swallow oil as they dive and eat And that s poisonous for

Taking Action to Help the Environment — page 4 — Although she lived more than 1 000 miles 1 609 kilometers away in Long Island New York Olivia had spent summers with family in Louisiana She loved the many birds living near the Gulf of Mexico And she knew she wanted to do something to help save them Olivia had always admired the naturalist and artist James Audubon who painted and described the birds of A brown pelican covered in oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 North America in his book Birds of America And she knew the nonprofit National Audubon Society named after Audubon worked to protect birds and other wildlife from environmental damage After the Deepwater spill the Audubon Society started raising money to help clean up the Gulf and protect the birds there Olivia decided to help the Audubon Society in whatever way she could But as a kid what could she offer She didn't have a lot of money She did have a skill though drawing She wrote the Audubon Society a letter and offered to make original drawings of birds for each person who donated money to help birds Eleven years old and willing to help she wrote The Audubon Society took her up on her offer Olivia drew and donated five hundred drawings AOL helped out by donating 25 000 hosting her drawings on its website and distributing thousands of

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