Habitat Destruction

People often damage Earth's animal and plant habitats to get the resources they need to survive. They clear land to plant crops, cut down forests to get wood, and dig into the ground for oil and coal. As the world's population grows, more and more of these habitats are destroyed because more resources are needed. Increasingly, there are fewer places where wildlife can survive. How can people get what they need without damaging the land? Look inside to find the answer and learn how everyone can help protect the planet.

Children's Literature

In very general terms, this selection from the "Earth in Danger" series alludes to habitat destruction as a result of human population growth and increased pollution. After explaining what a habitat is, the remaining text meanders through various human activities such as farming, mining, and driving. Each section details the purpose for the activity and the products that result in improved living conditions for humans, then weakly ties the activity to a landscape or environmental change and occasionally remembers to mention that the change has a negative impact on something else. The beautiful full-page photographs do not convey the destructive forces theme of the text. While often sidetracked into discussions of pollution and global warming, Orme briefly finds the heart of the title topic in the "Rain Forests at Risk" section with a specific example of active, on-going habitat destruction and the resultant loss of species. Some of the more useful information in the book is contained in six, oversized sidebars grouped into the "Just the Facts" section that follows the conclusion. Reviewer: Heather N. Kolich