The Martian Who Knew How to Save the World

The Martian Story
| Spot your Trash | Composting
Maze |
Word Search | Martian 101

Jack and Nina were walking home past the landfill
when they saw the flying saucer. A
big silver disk was skimming along low to the ground – too low in
fact, because as they watched, it crashed into a huge pile of garbage!
Nina and Jack hurried over to take a look – just then the saucer’s
hatch popped open and out staggered a little green person – even
greener than a little green person usually looks.

"Are
you O.K.?" Nina asked the Martian. The Martian nodded while
brushing off his little silver suit and belt. "Whew…"
said the Martian. "That was close!" He looked up at the
pile of trash he had crashed into and scowled. "What’s up with
all this mess anyway? Who piled up all this stuff!?" Nina and
Jack looked around them. Nearby were some broken bottles, some car
tires, empty juice boxes, cans, paper cups, egg shells, and bicycle
with wheel missing. "Well," said Jack, "I guess it
came from people. You know, people throw things away when they don’t
need them anymore." The Martian looked curious. "What
do you mean, ‘Throw things away?’ How far away? They’re still on
your planet, right? What kind of planet are you running here? You
just use as much as you please and throw everything away? Sheesh!"

Nina
looked puzzled. "But what are we supposed to do? We gotta throw
stuff away…" The Martian looked at her sternly. "I bet
you a ride in my saucer that anything you show me in this landfill
could either be done without, used over again, or turned into something
else." Jack was excited for the saucer ride and said, "Hah!
We’ll take that bet!"

"All right then, said the Martian, "pick
something." Jack pointed, "See those juice boxes? I need
them at school for my lunch." The Martian sighed. "Guess
again, Earth Kid. If your mom would buy juice in big bottles, she
could pour it into a reusable container for you – and it would make
a lot less trash!"

"Let
me try," said Nina. "See that broken bicycle? The wheel
is missing. It doesn’t work so you have to throw it away!"
The Martian snorted. "Huh! This is too easy. "Look,"
said the Martian, "a new wheel would make this bike good to
go. It might even be faster than before! And it wouldn’t be cluttering
up your lovely little planet."

Jack looked around and saw a pile of old vegetables,
coffee grounds, and egg shells. He knew now he had that saucer ride
in the bag. He pointed and said, "How about that pile of gunk?
There’s no way that isn’t garbage." The Martian smiled. "To
some friends of mine, that’s dinner." The
saucer’s hatch opened and two little red worms wriggled into view,
wearing identical helmets. "These guys help me grow vegetables
during those really long deep-space hauls," Said the Martian.
"Just put them in a box with some shredded newspaper and feed
them stuff like that ‘gunk.’ They’ll make the riches t fertilizer
in the galaxy to feed my plants."

"Now," said the Martian, "let’s
get my saucer fixed. I need some metal to fix this hole in the side
of my saucer from the crash. And
luckily, right here on the ground are lots of…" "Cans!"
shouted Jack and Nina together. "You can recycle cans and use
them over. Even I know that!" said Jack proudly. The Martian
wriggled his antenna and a little Martian machine beeped and whooshed
and a pile of old cans quickly became a gleaming new sheet of metal,
which the Martian fastened over the hole in the saucer’s side.

"Well,"
said the Martian, "that looks right. Now, I’ve got an appointment
6 light years from here I have to hurry to. As for you," he
said looking at Nina and Jack, "I want you to remember what
you’ve learned today. Look at how beautiful the Earth is. It has
to be taken care of. Every time you throw something away, it doesn’t
really disappear. It has to go somewhere. And someday, unless we’re
careful, there might not be room left for all this stuff. Not
to mention all the natural resources (like trees and water) that
get used up." With that, the Martian printed out his computer
file on How To Save the Earth From
Too Much Trash. "Read this," said the Martian,
"and show it to your friends and parents."

Jack and Nina watched as he hopped into the saucer
and closed the hatch. The saucer beeped and hummed and took off.
The Martian waved good-bye, and Jack and Nina hurried home. After
all, they had a lot to tell their friends and family about.