If spiders were extinct.

Hi! Today I'm going to talk about a world without spiders. Imagine a world without spiders. Sounds nice, huh? Actually, it would be a world catastrophe.

See, spiders are the one of the top predators for mosquitoes. In fact, some scientists think all the bugs eaten by spiders in the world would weigh more than all the people in the world! That is a lot of mosquitoes. Does this news change your mind about spiders? If not, I'll just have to continue.

One morning, you get out of bed. You go down the stairs, and look out the window. Sure enough, there's your newspaper outside. You go outside, and pick it up. You go inside and open the newspaper. Here's the headlines: Newsflash: Spiders have gone extinct!
Yippee! You think. You sink in your chair, and start to read the funnies. Nobody expects a great disaster.....

The disaster is one word: Mosquitoes. The annoying pest has made a violent move. Without spiders, the mosquitoes have sprung back to dangerous numbers. Everyone bravely grabs there bug sprays, and spray it at the enemies (Or in this case mosquitoes). The mosquito problem seems to go down. But something major is happening, that no one notices.

Bats, toads, and frogs are a few of the mosquitoes' main predators. But there's a problem. That problem is pollution. Pollution has a huge effect on these mosquito loving creatures.

There is a disease for bats called White Nose disease, which is caused by pollution. This disease kills any bat that has it. Another problem that bats face is habitat destruction, (which doesn't really have to do anything with pollution, but still is a big problem for bats).

Frogs and toads have a special skin that allows them to breath air and absorb water through it. But the skin also allows toxins, pesticides, and acid rain, from polluted air, and water into the frog or toad. Frogs and toads also face habitat destruction, UV radiation, (which kills frog and toad eggs, or deforms the frogs and toads that survive), and predators.

See the problem?

Well, when you spray the mosquitoes, the mosquitoes don't die immediately. They are still alive, and when a frog, bat, or toad finds it, they eat it thinking it's dinner. Of course, this poisons the creature that eats the mosquito. So with this terrible thing happening, the bats, frogs, and toads become extinct.

Now, without any top predator to worry about, there are more mosquitoes. That makes more, and more people grab for their spray bottles, and spray the mosquitoes. This makes all of the mosquitoes' predators die out. Now, with no predators to stop it, the mosquito multiplies, and multiplies, until it starts to take over.

While people put there concerns on this problem, another is occurring. All the animals that depended on the mosquitoes' predators are dieing out. All the animals that depended on those animals are starting to die out too. It's like dominoes. Once one domino falls, they all fall. That's why we should be more careful about what we do.

Now have you changed your mind? For the good of all of us, spiders should be alive.

Chiara.

Factory Farms

Hi!
Today I want to talk about factory farms. Factory farms are horrible places. The animals that are there are put in tiny cages that are stacked on top of each other. They are fed their own waste, never let out of their cages, and never go outside. Imagine never seeing the sun or feeling its warmth on your back. Babies are taken away from there mothers, never to see each other again. Like I said, factory farms are horrible places.

Hens lay eggs at factory farms, and if they have male chicks, the male chicks are scalded and put through a machine that chews them up. Some of the chicks are still alive after, with no wings or legs. Then, they are thrown in dumpsters. No matter what, organic eggs, or cage-free eggs, this happens.

All of the hens there are kept in dirty conditions. Tons of hens die of cancer in factory farms. In factory farms, the life span of a hen is usually 2 years. Free hens can live to be 30-35 years old, although the average lifespan of a healthy free hen is about 15 years.

Pigs in factory farms are put in tiny pens that they can't turn around or even move in! Isn't that sad? And like the hens, they are kept in dirty conditions.

It's sad to think about all those hens and male chicks that die for people to have eggs. Here are two ways you can help:
1. Use plastic eggs for Easter hunts, and decorate them with stickers.
2. Don't eat eggs.

Here is an amazing fact before I go:
Did you know????
Turkeys like to listen to classical music.

Until next time,
Chiara

Plant and animal jokes

Hi!
Here are some really funny animal and plant jokes!

What do you call a lamb that laughs?
Laughing stock!

What do you call a snake that loves rain?
A Rainboa!

Why did the bee call the turkey rude?
Because the turkey gobbled down his food!

Why are blue sharks always sad?
Because their blue!

Why is it hard to talk to an owl about someone?
Because he always says who!

What kind of pumpkin is think around the edges?
A plumpkin!

Why is it hard to take walnuts out?
They always go nuts!

Until next time,
Chiara

Air Pollution

Hi!
Today, I want to talk about air pollution, and some ways to help. Air pollution can be made by the following: Trucks, cigarettes, cars, machines, factories, trains, airplanes, jets, cargo ships, buses, and more.

Air pollution can be visible, and sometimes it's invisible! Air pollution can also hurt your eyes, throat, lungs, and can cause lip and tongue cancer. When a smoker smokes, it not only harms its lungs, but it harms other people's lungs, and lets pollution in the air. It also harms the Earth.

When smoke goes into the air, it raises the Earth's temperature. This is causing the ice in the Arctic and Antarctic to melt. When this happens, polar bears, penguins, seals, and walruses lose their homes.

When polar bears swim, they need to rest on ice burgs. But, with pollution melting ice, the polar bears end up drowning.

Here are a few ways to help prevent air pollution:
1. If you can, buy a hybrid.
2. Plant trees along the road.
3. Walk or ride a bicycle to get to close by places.
4. Don't smoke.

Until next time,
Chiara

Mistreated animals

Hi!

Today I have some sad news. When I lived in Reston, VA, I went to the Reston zoo. There I saw a very sad sight. There was a llama, pacing back and forth in it's cage. It turns out that an animal who is pacing back and forth is a sign of stress. If you go to a zoo with animals that are stressed out, it's not a good thing. The poor llama was also alone and in a very small cage, only big enough to turn around, and take a few steps. We never went there again.

Talking about zoos, some zoos send some of their animals to circuses. There they are beaten to do terrible tricks, like tigers jumping through flaming hoops, or elephants standing on their hind legs. But there is an eco-friendly choice. There are human circuses, that don't have any animals in them. You should support those circuses, instead of the circuses who use whips with hooks on the end, to scare the animals into doing those tricks.

Some other zoos send their animals to hunting ranches. There they are hunted and killed easily since they had lived in zoos and were accustomed to people. The animal doesn't fight or run and the hunters boast about how they killed a panda or something.

Some zoos say they help breed endangered and rare animals. Most of those zoos have animals that aren't rare or endangered.

Some zoos are great, like the San Diego Zoo in California. We should support zoos that are like the San Diego Zoo, not zoos with stressed out animals that are all alone. I like to call this looking out the green window. That's when you look to more eco-friendly choices, to save the evironment.

Did you know about a chimpanzee that was found in a dirty pit? It was hairless and had been fed rotten produce and dog food. How did the chimp get there? A zoo sold it to someone when the chimp was 3. The person obviously wasn't used to having a wild animal for a pet. People that work for PETA saved it.

Until next time,
Chiara

Animal jokes

What do ducks eat?
Quackers!

What kind of flower do you see in a frog's garden?
A crocus!

Why are dalmations not good at hide-and-seek?
Because there always spotted!

Why did the cheetah cub get better grades then his whole class?
Because he cheetahed!

Why did the horse skip his speech?
He had a horse throat!

Did you like the jokes? A duck friend of mine said I needed to 'quack up' more often.

Until next time,
Chiara

Go Green Girl

I made this blog because I feel sad for all the animals that die everyday for their fur, horns, tusks, skin, meat, blubber, and fins. In Asian countries, sharks are “finned” and the rest of their bodies, often still alive, are dumped at sea. The fin is used to make shark's fin soup. It is more for tradition and a sign of prosperity to eat shark fin's soup than it is for taste.

In Africa, rhinos are killed for their horns. Just their horns! They believe that it has medicinal value. The northern white rhino of Africa hasn't been seen since 2006.
At that time, there were only 4 left in the wild.

Many animals are killed everyday. In one year alone, about 95 farm animals are killed to feed one non-vegetarian.

This blog will help you to understand the problems with the environment, how being vegetarian or vegan can help, and will also be filled with facts and funnies.

Until next time,
Chiara