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Our planet is changing. We need to help it change for the better and we're asking

for your help to do that! There are a lot of things that affect our planet in a bad way but thegood news is that everyone can help to reduce them and do their bit for the environment.There a few ways so we can protect our planet taking into consideration: electricity,pollution, water, food, rubbish, raintforests.

Energy is everywhere. We use energy to move the mouse for a computer, to ump andshout and walk and run. t takes energy to power a light bulb, and the light that the bulbgives off is also a form of energy called radiant energy. "adiant energy from the sunenables vegetables, plants, trees and us to live and grow! Other forms of energy includeheat, chemical energy, kinetic #motion$ energy, gravitational energy and nuclear power.%lectricity is a form of energy and this is what powers the T&, the kettle, dishwasher,

hairdryer, toaster, remote control, mobile phone, fridge, stereo, electric toothbrush, mpplayer and more! Our growing need for energy is one of the problems facing the worldtoday, because producing electricity also produces our ne(t topic ) pollution. We also havesome cool downloads, here*s two ) %nergy  and  +lternative %nergy. ow to helpwhen you*re using electricity think about where it comes from and how you can use less totake the strain off of the environment ) here are some simple ways to make a bigdifference:

• On or Off- eaving televisions, stereos and computers on standby with the little redlight showing still uses up electricity, even though they might look like they're turnedoff. To stop this you can turn them off at the wall. /imple!

• ights out! Turning lights off when you're not in the room #make sure no)one else is

too!$ can save a lot of energy.• 0utting the kettle on 1ritons drink an ama2ing 34.5 billion cups of tea a day

according to The Tea 6ouncil. That's a lot of tea, and a lot of electricity too! That'swhy it's important to only boil as much water as you need in your kettle. t's best toboil enough water for one cup, not three or five ) plus you won't have to wait aslong, which is a bonus!

• 1rrrr The fridge is an important part of the kitchen, it keeps food fresh, cool and

healthy! 1ut it takes a lot of energy to keep cool, so help it by not leaving the fridgedoor open or putting hot things inside.

• /hopping 7any products are now helping you to reduce your energy use and your parents* energy bills! 6heck new products for their efficiency grade and rating andkeep an eye out for the %nergy %fficiency "ecommended logo.

• arness the sun*s energy ) +n increasing number of people are fitting solar panelsto their houses. 0hotovoltaic #0&$ solar panels create electricity from sunlight,which can then be used to power their homes. /olar heating panels make hotwater, reducing the need for electricity or gas to heat water or run the centralheating system.

Pollution0ollution is caused when harmful or poisonous substances are released or found in the

air, rivers, seas, animals, plants or even our bodies. 8ow, we live on a strong planet withrobust plants and hardy animals and humans ) but there*s only so much we can take.

Pollution is one of the main causes of asthma, which affects a whopping 1.1million children in the UK.9nless we are using renewable energy  sources such as solar panels or wind turbines,

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producing the electricity that powers our homes and gadgets causes pollution. /ome of the petrol or diesel that we put into our cars turns into pollution, which is contained ine(haust fumes. iesel fumes contain particulates ) a fine dust, which is not good for asthmatics, for e(ample. The livestock we rear for meat emit more greenhouse gas thanall the world*s transport! The greenhouse gas that livestock produce is called methane.7ethane, together with other greenhouse gases like carbon dio(ide contribute to global

warming by acting like a blanket surrounding the whole planet, trapping the sun*s heatwithin the atmosphere and causing global temperatures to rise.6hemical waste from factories and sewage works can also cause pollution that can getinto our rivers and seas, which soon carry the harmful particles for miles. itter isconsidered pollution as it can cause harm to wildlife and disrupt rivers, streams, seas andother habitats. armful chemicals can also be found in many household and gardenitems, from plastics to cleaning products, weedkillers and sprays.1ut all is not lost. We can all learn a few little tips to help protect the environment and itsfuture:How to help:

• on*t drop litter 1irds and animals can mistake litter for food. itter can end up in

rivers and block drains, or in the sea and be eaten by fish. +lso, some litter will stayaround for thousands of years!

• /ave it! +ll of the electricity saving tips in the above section will also help reduce

pollution.• On your bike nstead of taking the car get your bicycle out or take the ;shoelace

e(press* ) also known as walking.• 0leasing products 7any household cleaning products contain harmful chemicals

which are washed down the drain. %ncourage your parents to buy eco)friendlyproducts or even make your own from natural substances like vinegar and lemon uice.

• etectives f you spot pollution, such as oil on the beach, report it to the local

council. f you suspect a stream is polluted, report it to the %nvironment +gency.Food We can*t live without it! With more than < billion people on earth the demand for food hasnever been bigger. n the 9= alone we spend about >?@5 billion pounds a year keepingfed and watered. That*s a lot of food! The first Auestion is ) where is all this food comingfrom- Our food comes from all over the world ) your green beans might come from %gypt,coffee maybe from +frica, perhaps your bananas have travelled from %cuador and applesflew across the 0acific Ocean from 8ew Bealand. +ll of these ;food miles* amounts to a lotof transport and transport means fuel and fuel means pollution. What else does food needto grow- Water and good soil! 0lants and trees that give us fruit need to eat too you

know. /ome countries and farms add pesticides and insecticides to food to keep awaypests and insects. These chemicals can sometimes be harmful to wildlife and their habitats and sometimes to humans too. ook at ;ow to help* to find out more.ere in the west we eat < times more than people in poorer countries. +nd one thing weeat a lot of is meat and dairy food. What do these foods have in common- 7eat and dairyfood both come from animals, and animals also need food and water. +nd as we sawabove, they also fart a lot! ivestock farts produce a greenhouse gas called methane andall this amounts to 54C of the world*s climate)changing gases. 0hwoar! + suggestedalternative to meat is insects ) nsect 1urger   anyone-

How to Help:

• "educe your mileage eating food and drinking drinks produced in the 9= reducesthe carbon footprint of your diet. This means that you are helping to reducepollution! ook at the for little red tractor on products in your supermarket.

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• 7eat Dree 7ondays are an easy and effective way to cut down on meat. 7ake oneor even two of your days meat)free.

• %at organic organic foods have had no insecticides and pesticides added to them

which makes them that bit more natural and healthy. %ating organic food reduceshow many chemicals are made and spread across the countryside.

• Eet worms! Dood waste is an important issue as < billion of us munch our way

through millions of tonnes of food. Eive your leftovers to worms in your very ownwormery and they*ll turn it into rich and healthy compost for your vegetable gardenand flowers!

• Washing +lways wash your hands before eating to prevent the spread of invisible

bad stuff like bacteria and chemicals. t*s also good to wash fruit and vegetablesbefore eating or cooking.

Water Turn on the tap and there it is. Eetting water is so easy that you*d be mistaken for thinkingthat there was an endless supply. 1ut the world has a water shortage. <4C of the world iscovered in water ) we should call our planet ;ocean* not ;earth*! 1ut most of this water issalt water, leaving only a small percentage of fresh drinking water. 6ountries including

/pain, taly, 0eru, 6hina and /outh +frica actually import water from e(porting countriessuch as the 9/, +ustralia and +rgentina. + staggering ?.? billion people on earth have noaccess to clean drinking water. This global shortage is predicted to get worse as globaltemperatures rise.%very person in the 9= uses about ?F4 litres of water a day ) compare this to somecountries where they only have F)?4 litres! 0oor countries would be shocked to hear thatwe use drinking water to flush our toilets. There are many simple ways that we camreduce our water use. et*s have a look at how you can help:How to help:

• Eet your teeth into it We brush our teeth twice a day and by turning the tap off 

while we brush we can save F)?4 litres of water. f every adult in the 9= did thisthen we*d save enough water for F44,444 homes. /o, kids ) let*s show them howit*s done!

• 1ottle in your loo What- 0ut a bottle in your loo- That*s right. f it will fit, fill up a

lemonade or cola bottle with water and pop it into your loo*s water tank. Then whenyou flush and the water fills back up you*ll save a bottle*s worth every time.

• "ain Eain 6ollecting rainwater in a water butt in your garden is a great way of collecting and reusing the water to keep plants healthy in the summer.

• "euse /hare bath water with your family to reduce costs and water use. Or, set

yourself a challenge to cut down your shower time by ? or 5 minutes.

Dor more information take a look at our fun free maga2ine download called The Gippittee )this issue is all about water, where it goes and what happens to it after it disappears down."ubbishet*s start with a fact. %very year the 9= produces 5@4 million tonnes of waste ) that*sabout the same as <44,444 fully loaded airliners. We throw away unwanted food, glassbottles, plastic bottles, cans, wrappers, paper and cardboard. 6an you think of anythingelse- 7any of these things are made up of natural resources such as trees, coal, oil andaluminium and one day some of these resources will be used up completely.Over the last ten years the whole of the 9= has come together to do more about this. H4Cof all household waste is now recycled compared to ust ??C in 5444. o you recycle athome and at school- Why recycle- Well, this takes us back to the topic of energy.

"ecycling glass, paper, cardboard and plastic should save the energy it would take tomake new paper, glass bottles and plastic containers +ccording to "ecycle8ow, recycling in the 9= saves more than ?@ million tonnes of carbon

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dio(ide a year I eAuivalent to taking F million cars off the road. "ecycling isn*t a new thingeither. uring World War , the 1ritish people recycled everything they could to help.Toys were made with scraps of fabric and metal pots and pans were melted down to bereused. /o, is all our rubbish really rubbish-

How to help:

Thinking more about what we waste helps to protect the environment by saving energy,reducing pollution, cutting costs and preserving our natural resources.

• /ort it out! 8ot all of our recycling is taken by helpful dustmen. 9nwanted or 

leftover food such as tea bags and potato peelings can be added straight to acompost heap. 0lenty of minibeasts will be on)hand there to help! ittle insectshelp break down food and plant matter and make it into scrumptious soil that plants,trees and other animals love. 7any local councils now include compostable wastein their recycling collections.

• "ecycle 1ank /ome councils don*t collect plastics or cardboard but there is always

somewhere nearby with big recycling banks where you can take them.• /ave trees /ave trees by recycling your own paper. 0aper with a clean side can

be made into notepads with a simple staple or a hole to tie a piece of string. Theseare great for doodles and notes. f you are buying paper, buy recycled paper.

• Dashion /tatement Eive any unwanted clothes to charity shops or to a /alvation

 +rmy recycling bank. + lot of our unwanted clothes go to the homeless to keep themwarm or alternatively, the clothes are sent to developing countries. There*s alwayssomeone who will want that knitted umper!

• Would you like a bag- f you can carry your shopping home without a bag thencarry it home. f you can*t why not take a bag you already have with you. "e)usingbags is the cool way to shop!

• 0ackaging 0ackaging is a big problem for the environment because once the

product is open you don*t need it and it*s thrown out or, if it*s lucky, recycled. /oavoid buying products that have a lot of paper and plastic around them.

• /hout out ) Tell Driends of the %arth what products or companies you think highlight

the problem of our trashed planet. To let them know what you think click here.Rainforests (eforestation!"ainforests are valuable habitats. +bout half of all the species of animals and plants in theworld live in rainforests and thousands of rainforest plants contain substances that can beused in medicines. The tribal people of the forests have great knowledge of them."ainforests are also important because the huge number of plants and trees there provideus with o(ygen through a process called photosynthesis and help to regulate the world'sclimate and atmosphere. This is why they are often referred to as the ;lungs* of the earth.

Get despite their value, an area of rainforest the si2e of 1ritain is destroyed every year, andthis is called deforestation. One and a half acres are cleared every second, an area aboutthe si2e of a football pitch. "ainforests now only cover 3C of the world as we cut down thetrees for materials such as paper and wood and use the land for farming and crops. /ometimes they're burnt down to make space to grow soya which is an animal feed andto grow palm oil. 0alm oil is a bio)fuel used as an alternative to petrol and diesel, as wellas being in C of products in your local supermarket! %veryone can do their bit to helpreduce the need for deforestation, ust follow our tips below.We have lots of resources on rainforests. 6heck out these factsheets for more information) "ainforests, "ainforest +nimals, "ainforest Tribes and download our free fact)filled andfun maga2ine for free ) 6onservation %ducation

Gou can also download our cool online maga2ine on "ainforests  for free.ow to help:

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• Eood wood Tropical hardwoods such as teak and mahogany are grown inrainforests and take hundreds of years to grow so avoid any products made withthese woods. t is better have products made with pine, beech, ash or oak. Thesetrees don*t come from the rainforest and can be more easily replaced as they growa lot faster.

• Dlowers Orchids are popular in florists, but many come from the rainforest. The 9=

imports millions of flowers every year and despite checks some orchids may havebeen taken from the wild. 6heck that any orchids have been grown in 1ritain or the%9 before buying.

• 0rotected 0et- /ome parrots and macaws are unfortunately still being imported

into the country to be sold as pets. f you want a parrot as a pet, make sure it hasbeen hatched in 1ritain.

• /ave trees /ave trees by recycling your own paper. 0aper with a clean side can

be made into notepads with a simple staple or you can punch a hole to tie sheets of paper together with a piece of string. These are great for doodles and notes. f youare buying paper, buy recycled paper, whether it is writing paper or toilet paper!

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