by Andrea Beaty
You can learn how to join in at GBBC.birdcount.org.
ODE TO A GAS!
What is a gas?
It’s mostly just space
with a few molecules bouncing all over the place.
They bounce faster and farther when the temperature’s hot.
They slow and condense when the temperature is not.
Compared to a solid, there’s nothing much to it, so most of the time, you can see right through it.
Some gases fill caverns deep underground.
Some gases fill the sky.
Some gases fill your tummy and no matter how you try
they sneak out and make a sound. It’s embarrassing—but alas!—
it’s part of being human. And in the end, this too shall pass.
THAT’S FOR THE BIRDS!
Ada Twist loves science. She loves studying nature. Because of that, she spends a lot of time observing animals. Especially birds!
There are many reasons to study birds:
• Birds have played a role in art and mythology, music, and culture since ancient times.
• Studying birds helps us understand the planet and nature. For instance, studying finches in the Galapagos Islands shaped Charles Darwin’s understanding of natural selection in evolution.
• Birds are a food source wherever there are people. There are about twenty-three billion chickens on the planet!
• Birds live almost everywhere on Earth and they travel almost everywhere on Earth. The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) migrates each year from the Arctic to Antarctica and back again! That is a lot of flying.
• There are about 10,000 species of birds on our planet. More than 1,400 of them are threatened with extinction. Understanding birds can help us know how to help them.
• Forty percent of bird species have populations that are declining!
• Birds pollinate plants and distribute seeds. They help maintain variety in plant species, which also fosters variety in animal species. This variety is called biodiversity. Bird populations mirror the health of other animal and plant populations. Studying birds helps us understand the health of our planet!
• Bird populations respond to environmental changes. Both good changes and bad ones.
• Populations decline because of lack of food, destruction of nesting grounds, and pollution. Changes in climate can also affect where and when birds migrate. Birds might migrate early because of warmer temperatures, but the seeds or insects they need for food might not be available at the earlier time. Birds could starve in this case.
• A drop in bird populations often reflects a drop in insect, mammal, reptile, and other animal populations.
• We require biodiversity to have good sources of food and quality air and water. Without these things, humans cannot survive on Earth!
THINK ABOUT THIS …
Unless you grow it yourself, everything you eat comes from somewhere else. That might be a place close by, or it might be from the other side of our planet. Even snack foods might have ingredients from many places. In either case, product ingredients and their transportation and packaging have a big impact on the environment and animals, including birds.
One ingredient that is commonly used in packaged foods is palm oil. Palm oil trees are found in North and South America, Asia, and Africa. They are grown on plantations. Some plantations use good, sustainable growing methods. However, an enormous amount of native rainforest is burned to make room for palm oil plantations.
This is very bad for our planet, because the rainforest is home to almost half of the Earth’s species of animals and plants. Rainforest destruction ruins habitats for birds and other animals like orangutans that are threatened by extinction.
The trees of the world’s rainforests take carbon dioxide out of the air and add oxygen to the atmosphere. When the trees are destroyed, the carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere. Even worse, when the trees are burned, they release an enormous amount of carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere and warms the planet.
This warming of our planet is causing climate changes that are shrinking glaciers and changing weather patterns, which makes for stronger storms and higher ocean levels. Rising ocean levels and warming temperatures are a threat to millions of people’s homes and food sources.
What can you do about it?
Read the labels of food and other products including shampoo and cleaners to see if they contain palm oil.
Do some research to see if the product makers use sustainable sources for palm oil. Hint: A librarian is a great person to help you! Share what you learn with your friends and family. Learn about some groups who are working to stop destruction of the rainforest.
What actions can you take and what changes on your part can make a positive difference?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
From the moment an idea pops into our heads until a reader opens a book on a cozy couch somewhere, so many people add their talents and energy to make these books the best they can be.
We want to say thanks to all the librarians, educators, and parents who share our stories with the kids in their lives. Thanks to the independent booksellers who bring our books into your beautiful shops and share your enthusiasm and love for reading with everyone who comes through your door. Thanks to all the people who sell, market, distribute, and publicize the books and everyone involved in the design, production, business, and legal parts of the process.
There are indeed many, many people who show their love for these books through their hard work. Thank you, Abrams Family!
A special thanks to Erica Finkel, Andrew Smith, Chad W. Beckerman, Courtney Code, Jody Mosley, Amy Vreeland, Erin Vandeveer, Hana Anouk Nakamura, Hallie Patterson, Liz Fithian, Melanie Chang, Trish McNamara O’Neill, Jenny Choy, Elisa Gonzalez, Mary Wowk, Wendy Cellabos and Michael Jacobs.
Thank you, Rebecca Sherman and everyone at Writers House. Thank you, Christine Isteed and Artist Partners Ltd.
Thanks to Christopher Williams, Michael Uram, Katie Uram, and Andrew Uram. Thank you also to Jason Wells, Nicole Russo, and Tamar Brazis. And thank you, forever, to Susan Van Metre without whom none of this would have ever happened.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ANDREA BEATY is the bestselling author of the Questioneers series, as well as the novels Dorko the Magnificent, Secrets of the Cicada Summer, and Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies. She has a degree in biology and computer science and spent many years in the computer industry. She now writes children’s books in her home outside Chicago.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
DAVID ROBERTS has illustrated many books, including the Questioneers series, The Cook and the King, and Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau. He lives in London, where, when not drawing, he likes to make hats.
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