FAHAD MESHAL ALI HUSSAIN BAQER AL-ABDULLAH, 14, 8-18 Media reporter "My hope for 2021 is that the pandemic ends and life gets back to normal."

In a rainforest, there are many magnificent creatures belonging to different kinds of species. All these creatures rely on their home to keep them safe like we do with ours. Except, their home is different in a way because our homes aren’t filled with burning flames, dead organisms scattered all over the place, and the sound of animals heavily breathing before their final breath. This problem is caused by the human species which is called Habitat Destruction.

People view all sorts of animal habitats as places to clear for new homes, buildings, or even factories. As the writer, I’ll pretend to see from an animal’s point of view- I’m a little dove chirping on top of a dark oak tree. I force my head to the right and notice all of my surroundings, plants and animals losing the one place they call home. I then hesitate to choose my next action to commit, but I decide to fly and as I’m soaring through the air I glimpse all the dead living things which were once shelter for many wonderful creatures.

So I now fly, with an empty mindset on where to go and where to live. Keep in mind, that more than 3.5 billion trees are butchered each year (The Understory). That leaves hundreds of millions of animals left homeless, unsheltered and unsafe. Animals access their nutrition and shelter from their habitat and once the habitat is destroyed the result for the animals could be death due to hunger and loss of hydration. Take sea turtles for example, only 6.5 million sea turtles are left in this corrupted world. They did not die due to old age, infact, they were practically murdered by the human species. The weapon we used to kill them was oil, plastic, and lastly pollution. Many people throw both their belongings and trash into the ocean which all leads back to habitat destruction.

Not only is this subject affecting animals and their habitats but it is also affecting ours. We live in a wasteland where our climate is polluted and destroyed. We breathe in toxic materials floating freely around in our air. We waste water and take it for granted. This matter impacts many other global issues such as hunger, lack of access to water, and climate change. In conclusion, focus on yourself but also your surroundings. Think about every little action you commit and what it could result in. Focus on what is important in life. Think back to things you did that could affect others. The phrase, “treat others the way you want to be treated” goes for all including both animals and humans. You may be thinking as you’re reading this article, why is he not focusing on one topic? It is because this subject is extremely complex and multifaceted, it’s impacts are far reaching and the consequences will be devastating to all of humanity.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Fahad Meshal Ali Hussain Baqer Al-Abdullah is 14 years old and is a grade 9 student at the Al-Bayan Bilingual School- Kuwait. He often spends his summers in Marquette visiting relatives. His hobbies include jet-skiing, exploring, playing card games, reading, MUN, jumping off diving boards and watching Game of Thrones.