by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

About the author: Dorothy Hinshaw Patent is a zoologist and the author of numerous nature books for children and young adults.

Throughout human history, people have changed their environment to make it more suitable for human life. This ability to alter our environment, to create habitats in which we can thrive, is the secret of our success as a species. We can stitch clothing and build houses that protect us from the extremes of climate. We produce weapons that make us masters of the hunt. We grow foods that feed us well, and we raise domesticated animals that provide us with meat. As a result, humans are the only species to inhabit every continent on Earth, including Antarctica.

But our ability to alter the environment comes at a...