Have you ever looked up at the vast sky on a cloudless night and noticed how the stars seem hazy, more distant? Or gone to the beach and found trash littering the once beautiful shore? Have you ever looked at all the majestic and powerful animals that are endangered and wondered; why? Who would do this to them?

The truth is, no matter who or what we try to blame, it is not anyone’s fault but our own. No other species on this planet releases 2.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide every second, demolishing the ozone layer and the air quality in the process.

No other species repeatedly pollutes the earth, and then silently watches as the extinction rate rises to 1,000 times what is natural, with 150-200 species disappearing every day.

No other species puts billions of pounds of deadly plastic and other harmful waste into the ocean, destroying over half of the coral reefs- with still more expiring- sadly making at least 25% of innocent marine life serious danger of losing their lives.

This ocean that we are wrecking is also the very same ocean that provides us 50% of oxygen and food for over three billion people.

And those 20 football fields worth of trees we are brutally cutting down every minute? That 2% of our earth that is covered in rainforests is laiden with life, faithfully housing 50% of all plants and animals. By not cutting them down, we could not only save them, but decrease climate change by about 20%. Therefore, not only are we putting every species on this planet in significant danger of being eradicated, but we are putting ourselves in jeopardy in the process. No other species does this. We are the ones at fault. We are the villains.

And it’s extremely insolent of us. The courteous earth gives us everything, fresh air, bounties of food, clean water, sturdy shelters, plenty of supplies, and the list goes on. This is no way to pay it back, thus why we have to take immediate action.

This is not an issue that can be put off for any longer. There will always be some who wrongly doubt this, but our earth, the home to around 8.7 million species including our own, is in immense danger, and we are the only ones who can save it. In life, if you do something wrong- even if it is unintentional- you make it right. That’s what we must do to save our earth. We must take the blame for our actions and act like the ultra smart species we are supposed to be. 100% of us depend on this magnificent earth. Let’s save it.