Sixth Grade
Worksheets
What You Can Do to Save the Earth
Caption: The picture shows household trash that has been sorted for recycling.
You've probably been hearing about global warming. You know that trash is a problem. There are stories on the news all the time about air pollution and water pollution and water shortages. You know the Earth needs help. But you may feel helpless. "What can I do?" you might ask. "I'm just a kid!"
Everyone can do something to help. What can you do? Don't ask your parents to drive you somewhere when you could easily walk or ride your bike. If your community has bus service, use that whenever possible. Cars are among the biggest causes of air pollution. Car engines use fossil fuels. Some scientists think burning fossil fuels causes global warming. Help your parents use the car less. Getting more exercise will be good for your body, too.
Recycle paper, plastic, glass, aluminum cans, and steel cans. Recycling means reusing something old to make new things. Much of our household trash can be recycled instead of having to go into a landfill. Just learn the rules to recycle things properly. Glass needs to be separated by colors. Plastic needs to be separated by the number on the bottom in the recycling triangle. Newspaper needs to be separated from white office paper. Visit your town's recycling center. Learn the rules and start to recycle. It's fun! You will know you are doing something very good for the Earth.
Newspapers, old magazines, phone books, junk mail, and white paper can be recycled. Recycling a ton of paper saves seventeen trees. It has been estimated that recycling just half of the world's paper would save twenty million acres of forests!
