Contamination and degradation of the earth is often generalized into one world; pollution. Pollution is not easily solved because there are so many contributing factors to it. There is not a solution that is one size fits all. The effects of our life style is not only harmful to ourselves, but to the environment and animals that live in it. A perfect example of animals that have been effected negatively by the human way of life are those that live in the city. This story is written from a city squirrel’s point of view, unaware of the dangers humans are causing him. This is supposed to inform people about ten different types of pollution, their causes, and effects on the environment, in a light hearted, twisted way.
Trash/Littering We have servants waiting on us hand and foot, bringing us an abundant supply of different delights. We don’t even have to order when we go out, humans just know we are hungry and hand deliver food, sometimes it’s ready before we even arrive. We have an unsaid agreement with the humans, we’re better then them and therefore get a bigger share. SO, they fetch whatever we desire from the squirrel food warehouses, take their share and throw the rest to us. Have you seen how fat some humans are? I don’t know what they’ve been eating, but If you want to stay strong and healthy, you know the saying, eat with a squirrel and you eat like a king. They shower us with so much food that sometimes it seems a little desperate. Some servants bring us better things than others, but there is so much to choose from who can complain!
Radioactive pollution I must admit it’s pretty awesome being a squirrel, we believe in a care free, easy going way of life. Where nothing is bad, and everyone is accepted for all that makes them unique. Humans are so uptight and superficial, only caring about appearances, worrying about how their hair is, or how great their Levis make their butt look. They are an angry creature, always fighting and breaking things, building big rocks and slingshots and throwing them at each other, a troubled bunch. I’ve seen some humans pour their problems in large bins and stick them in the ground with a label that says “Toxic Waste”. Then they turn around and tell us we’re “emotionally damaged” or “deformed”. I say Humans should stop shoving their problems in the ground and deal with their own issues before passing judgment on us. Squirrels don’t judge other squirrels, no matter what they look like.
Soil Contamination
You cant beat local produce. Organically grown and fresh from the ground, thats the squirrel way. By trade we are exceptional gardeners. Every squirrel does his part, planting trees everywhere he goes, trying to make a greener world. Humans get a little jealous of our naturally born skill and try to tarnish our crop. They fill our soil with electronics, oil, trash, nuclear waste, and even their sewage! In the hopes that we will stop showing off our gardening skills. But they cant stop us, we go right ahead planting our crops. Sometimes we impress ourselves with the things we grow!
Personal Pollution Nobody tells a squirrel what to do, nobody! There are no rules in the squirrel kingdom, anything goes! We don’t pass judgments or limit anyones potential by establishing arbitrary rules that might stop a squirrel from being the squirrel he wants to be. Humans cant stand this, tell us were “junkies”, “unhealthy”, “we drink to much”, or my favorite; “we’re contaminating our bodies”, PSH! Whatever that means. Let squirrels be squirrels, we’re the ones on top of the food chain, who are they to tell use how to live!
Visual Pollution The world is at a squirrels finger tips. An adventure around every corner. The squirrel’s world is filled with huge colorful mountains, glowing lights, there’s even a network of black wires made specifically for squirrel adventures connecting us to the far ends of the earth. Humans put up huge signs covered in riddles and
pictures to try and trick us. They build huge brown palaces just for us to explore, never stepping foot inside knowing they belong to us. In fact most humans give us the cold shoulder, pretending not to see our magnificent riches, they just walk right by. I am grateful for all the things humans build for us.
Light Pollution The great outdoors, after a long day of pooping on the sidewalk and dropping acorns on people, there’s nothing more relaxing then stretching out and looking up at the star. Humans always forget to shut off the lights when they go to bed, trying to ruin my evening, but as long as I can see all the star, Wait that might be a helicopter‌.
Noise pollution The squirrel life is a simple one. We don’t stray far from the nest, have tight nit communities, and have family dinners every night. Humans on the other hand are loud and obnoxious. Always zooming by in their cars and trains, don’t even get me started on the planes! All of a sudden birds were cool and next thing you know humans love flying. They play their music late into the night, some of us have acorns to bury in the morning. But no matter, we squirrels cannot be bothered by the pathetic humans clambering around. Though I must admit sometimes it’s distracting.
Mercury poisoning Because of our superior status, squirrels are covered by the best health care options available, free of charge of course. We would never subject one of our own to the disgusting job of a health specialist, good thing the humans are happy to do it. They even do it for free, because we are awesome, and they are not. We have beauty spas covered on our plan, a tranquil place with heated pools,
body waxing, teeth and nail cleaning, and deep muscle messages. After a dip in those luxurious mercury baths my muscles are so relaxed I can barely lift my arms. There is one peculiar thing though, humans label things in strange ways, all of their signs start with “WARNING” instead of “welcome”, or “extreme effects” instead of “todays options”. They heat the pools from factories that make their
concrete, coal power plants, iron, and steel. We squirrels get the top quality all the time, but for those less fortunate animals who cannot afford the luxurious life, they are forced to go to shady places to get treated. I’ve heard some stories about folks losing their sight, hair, nails, their kidneys stopped working, and even this one time where one guy’s teeth fell out! Well,I guess it pays to be a squirrel.
Air Pollution Working in a factory, stuck in a car, living in `a cooped up house? PSH! No thanks, Id rather be soaking in the sun, breathing in all this fresh air, experiencing mother nature at her finest. Every breath gives me a tingling sensation. And did you know, they even heat up the rain, just for us. This special treatment makes me tear up sometimes, actually all the time. Humans are jealous of our special treatment, they call it “Air Pollution”. They say “Air Pollution” is every where and its a “big problem”.
They say they are responsible for heating my morning shower by burning “excessive fuel”. All of which they use in their pathetic daily lives for cooking, driving and other industrial activities. Apparently they release a huge amount of chemical substances like “Sulfur dioxide” and “nitrogen oxide” particles into the air, which can create “acid rain” when mixing with water and oxygen in the atmosphere, making the air and rain “toxic”. The level of effects usually depends on the length of time of exposure, as well the kind
and concentration of chemicals and particles exposed to. They tell me to watch out because they can make my Eyes, nose and throat burn, give me upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions, chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even permanent damage to my brain, nerves, liver, kidneys and even my skin….I get free hot showers and fresh air and all of a sudden it’s “bad” for me, In think they’re just jealous.
Water pollution That’s right, you heard me! We squirrels work hard and play hard, with some help form the humans of course. I have to say humans make pretty good bartenders, they can whip up a mean drink. Squirrels used to only have water, but that was a bore. So we ordered the humans to spice it up for us. It’s a spectacular brewing process that involves taking our drinking water and mixing it with trash, chemicals, and then a little bit of heat from their factories. After the fermenting process you have yourself the finest squirrel moonshine in the city. When your thirsty after a long hot day nothing hits the spot better. And to think this we used to drink plain ol’ water…..
How can you stop all this absurdity? Be more like a squirrel. Live within you means and think about the effects of your actions. Take small steps to make the world a little better. It’s true, most of the damage is already done. We cannot reverse all the contamination and wastefulness. However that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stop it from getting worse. Educate yourself and others on pollution and how present it is in our everyday lives. All types of pollution are interconnected. For example, light pollution requires energy to be made, which means the electric plant needs to burn more fossil fuels to supply the electricity.
Those fossil fuels contribute to air pollution, which returns to the earth as acid rain and increases water pollution. The cycle of pollution can go on indefinitely, but once you understand the different pollution types, how they are created, and the effects they can have, you can make personal lifestyle changes to combat poor conditions for yourself and others around you, especially our furry friends.
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