Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene

Okay kiddo, so let's talk about a really big word. It's called dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene or DDE for short. DDE is a chemical that comes from a type of insecticide called DDT, which was used to kill bugs a long time ago.

However, people found out that DDT was really bad for our environment and for animals like birds and fish. So, now we don't use DDT anymore but we still find DDE in our environment because it takes a really long time to break down.

DDE can be harmful to animals because it can damage their cells and make it hard for them to grow and stay healthy. It's important that we try our best to not let anymore DDT or DDE into our environment so that we can protect the animals and the Earth!