Welcome to Green Power!

We need your help in solving some of the environmental problems in our country and in the world.

Throughout American and World history, cities and countries have dealt with the problems of growing too fast and of suffering from pollution.

That is to say --- when cities grow and get bigger, it can lead to the suffering of plants, animals and nature in general.

Pollution is still a big problem in many U.S. cities.

When Europeans first arrived in what is now the United States of America, the country was mostly a place for nature.

Although Native Americans were living here, they had great respect for nature and their towns and villages were small.

Most of the country was still a place where… Buffalo could roam free One could find crystal clear water And the skies were unpolluted

But as more and more European settlers came, that began to change But as more and more European settlers came, that began to change.  The new American cities that grew up quickly in the 1800s were crowded and dirty places.

There were very few laws against damaging the environment or nature There were very few laws against damaging the environment or nature.  Big factories spewed out pollution through their smoke stacks.

Sometimes businesses and governments dumped trash into rivers and lakes.

And as cities grew, there was less and less green space.

In New York City, things became so crowded that some city planners began to worry that citizens would not have any nature to enjoy.

In the mid-1800s, two park planners designed an enormous park to be located in the middle of upper Manhattan.  They called it Central Park.

This was an important moment, because it was one of the first times that city planners made a special effort to put green space in their city.

Soon after, Bostonians tried something similar in their city Soon after, Bostonians tried something similar in their city.  They built a series of small parks that linked to each other to form a so-called “Emerald Necklace" throughout Boston.

But it wasn't just in the cities where people feared that nature was slipping away. * Out west, cowboys and fur traders had hunted almost all the buffalo Other animals were also on the brink of extinction

And more and more, towns kept popping up everywhere And more and more, towns kept popping up everywhere.  In the early 1900s, President Theodore Roosevelt signed laws that established national parks all over the country.

Roosevelt loved nature and he wanted to protect open land and make sure no one would build on it.

The parks would be special places where nature had to remain as it was.

But as more animals became extinct And all the buffalo died out Some people became concerned there was too much hunting

In 1973, Congress passed a law that protected certain animals called "endangered species."   Once an animal went on the endangered species list It could no longer be hunted

But many animals are still in danger both in the U. S But many animals are still in danger both in the U.S. and around the world.  And of course, for some species, the endangered species law came too late.

There are many other environmental problems in the world as well…

Many people feel that human habits are causing the temperature around the world to increase.

This change in the climate may be causing stranger and wilder weather This change in the climate may be causing stranger and wilder weather. For instance, the number of hurricanes and tsunamis seem to be increasing.

In 2005, New Orleans was engulfed with water from a hurricane called Katrina. Many residents died as the city was helpless from the storm.

And there have been many examples of rivers and lakes being polluted by humans. Recently in Flint, Michigan, it was found that there was too much lead in the drinking water.

Thousands of children have been exposed to drinking water with lead and may have health problems later in life.

In some places in the world there is not enough water In some places in the world there is not enough water. In places like California, India and the Middle East, governments have had to require that people only use a certain amount of water per day. Could this be the future?

There is a lot of work to do to make our world clean and safe.

What ideas do you have to solve some of these difficult environmental problems?