Introduction

'What does this subject have to do with me?'
This is an important question that students sometimes ask,
but answering the question isn't always easy as each different 'me'
might relate to or connect with the topic in different ways.

The hot environmental issues adults face today - pollution, rainforest destruction, landfill space ... were not on our minds or addressed in school when we were young. Also, many times students don't realize the long term consequences that actions can cause until it is almost too late.

The future of the earth belongs to the next generation. As an ancient proverb reminds us, 'We have not inherited the earth from our ancestors, we have borrowed it from our children.'

There are obvious reasons for protecting the environment in terms of conserving natural resources and controlling pollution, but why animals? The dinosaurs are gone - would we really be able to co-exist with them given their size and/or 'personalities'?

Once an animal is extinct, is their absence that much of a threat to human survival? What might be the impact of an animal's extinction or survival on the world as a whole? What's a few less bears, or birds, or fish, or marine mammals? The big question: Endangered animals - do we protect them or forget them?