What you do from day to day has a large effect on the world's animals.

When you eat candy, do you ever throw the plastic wrapper on the ground? Unlike things in the natural world, many man-made products don't break down naturally. Instead, they stick around, blowing in the wind and floating in rivers, sometimes hurting birds, fish, and other animals that try to eat them. Plastic, after all, can't be digested.

Pets and wild animals are also more closely connected than you might think. In Japan, for example, Red-eared Sliders are often sold at festivals. These turtles are originally from North America, not Japan. The Red-eared Sliders you see at festivals and at pet stores are just babies, so they look small, but they can actually grow to almost 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) in length. It's not uncommon for owners of these turtles to release them into nearby ponds or streams because they grew too large. Japanese pond turtles, a species of turtle native to Japan, have competed with these invasive turtles to survive, and have been dying away as a result.

We humans are part of a grand ecosystem called Earth. We can't live alone. We live only because other organisms, the air, water, and other resources sustain us. Hurting the natural environment where plants, animals, and other organisms live is the same as hurting ourselves.

Try watching closely all the living things around your home or in your neighborhood. You could even pick a place to sit and watch and record what you see. What kinds of insects are crawling or flying around? What flowers are blooming? More importantly, what do these organisms require to live? What challenges are they trying to overcome? This should help you become a responsible member of your local ecosystem.