Why am I taking this course?

"The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago... had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands." ~Havelock Ellis, The Dance of Life, 1923

There are a couple of different reasons why I have decided to take this course. First of all, I had dropped a math course and I had an opening for another class that I could take. I looked at the options for the classes and as soon as I saw this course as an option, I wanted to take it. I have always been a person that has been very interested in the environment and things going on around the world. I’m a real animal lover and I hate to see wild animals becoming extinct and pushed out of their habitats because of the greed of human beings. I hope to learn about ways I can personally contribute into maintaining a planet suitable to all living organisms. I do not believe it is fair that humans have made other organisms extinct just because they want something out of their homes.
I have many concerns about the Earth and the environment. Even though I am only 17, I have still noticed many changes in the environment now, compared to the environment when I was younger. I remember the temperature getting very cold and lots of snow falling on the ground usually starting in November and lasting until about March when I was small. Now, things have drastically changed. This year we had a single snow storm in December, along with temperatures reaching 20 degrees Celsius, and plenty of rain. It wasn’t until sometime in January that we started to encounter cooler temperatures and more snow.
Recently in the news, it was announced that a huge sheet of ice had broken off in the Canadian arctic. It was thought to have happened about two years ago, but was just discovered. The ice sheet was approximately 11 000 foot ball fields big, and scientists were very worried about it getting into populated boat ports or other areas. When I heard of this news, it frightened me. I hate how the Earth is changing so quickly, and it feels like the Earth is almost literally "falling apart." Not many people realized the fact that the Earth is changing so drastically. Every day, many people wake up, have a hot 15 minute shower, eat half of their breakfast (throw the rest out), get into their car, get some gas and drive to work (not to mention various other things included in getting ready for the day). An abundance of the Earth’s resources are wasted every single day, but very rarely do people sit and think about how much they have used.
I think it is time that people start realizing what they are doing to the Earth and environment around them. Also, I want to learn more about what I can do to help preserve the beautiful planet we live on. It’s time to make some changes.