Pollution

Have you ever seen a sparkly, clear river turn all brown and muddy? Or have you smelled something funny in the big, blue sky when you take a deep breath? Sometimes, you might see little bits of paper and plastic resting on the soft, green grass where they don't belong. That’s me. I am the sneaky, icky stuff that makes things feel a little bit yucky. I make the water cloudy so the little fish can’t see. I make the air smell funny, which can tickle your nose. I am the messy leftover stuff. Hello, my name is Pollution.

Long, long ago, I was very, very small. The world was so clean and bright. But then, people became super smart and started building big factories to make all sorts of wonderful things. This happened during a time called the Industrial Revolution. These big factories would puff, puff, puff dark, sooty smoke into the air all day long. That smoke was a new part of me, and it helped me grow bigger. I got so big that one time, in a city called London, the air became thick and dark like nighttime right in the middle of the day. That big, dark cloud started on December 5th, 1952, and it was called the Great Smog. It helped people see that too much of me was a really big problem.

But guess what? People are amazing helpers. Even though I can be a big problem, they are working hard to make me small again. They are learning to clean up the sparkly water and the green land. They use special bins to recycle, which is like turning an old bottle into something new and fun. They even found ways to make power from the warm sun and the big, blowing wind. You can be a super helper, too. Every time you put your trash in the bin, you help keep me from making a mess. When everyone works together, they keep our Earth happy and healthy, with clean air and sparkly water for all the animals and people to enjoy.