Addressing all the youths across the world…

Let me be frank. You all have heard about climate change. You all know about the threats the environment faces at present (pollution, global warming etc. etc.). You’ve written enough compositions and paragraphs on those topics for your exams. Each and every one of us could rant off points on how we could do this and that to reduce the effects of global warming, to prevent environmental pollution. So I’m not going to ask you what you could do, as a youth, to contribute to the environment.

I want to ask you something slightly different.

What are you doing, as a youth, to contribute to the environment?

Before you could fumble out an answer, I will tell you about a survey I carried out in my school and in the neighbourhood I live in. I asked twenty-five teenagers two questions:

1) 

 .  What do you think, as a youth, you could do to put an impact on saving the environment?

2) 

..  And are you doing as you say? If so, how much have you done? If not, what’s stopping you from doing so?

I will admit I was surprised to get many creative answers from a lot of youths. Almost everyone had mentioned they could carry out campaigns on planting trees and creating awareness among others (those who had said this, also mentioned they would first need to become aware themselves). One of my friends said something that I liked:

“As a youth, I think I could use my voice and my boldness to aware others. But why would people listen to me? So I need to become a role model myself. I will take small steps at first, and then move on to bigger ones. When I establish myself, others will listen and follow my examples that inspired them.”

However, when I asked the second question, I did not get satisfactory answers. None of them could say they have done anything out of the list they had just presented to me earlier when I asked the first question, and the came up with many excuses to back up their answers.

Under so much pressure from studies, don’t get much time…

Nobody else does anything…

Where do I get the chance? Give me a group of youths and I will carry out campaigns. Give me an audience, and I will inspire them. Give me an opportunity, and I will gladly take it. (my friend said this to me, the same one I had mentioned earlier)

In addition to the twenty-five youths, I also asked the same questions to grown-ups (most of them were my school- teachers, some the parents of my friends). Although, instead of asking them what they did, I asked them what they thought we could do, as youths.

“The youth community has the ability to gather together and step out to do something,” one of my English teachers had said. “They can utilize that quality to save the environment.”

“The youths have the voice,” another one of Biology teachers. “They can inspire, they can lead. And it’s not just true in the case of saving the environment. All the movements around the world are always carried out by the youths.”

This one I liked the best:

“One of the most promising qualities of the youths is that they recognize the wrong, and speak up against it. They never back away even if they are threatened. They never keep quiet. All the insurgent activities, political movements, protester rallies-who does these things? The young generation. Similarly, youths can raise voices to save the environment, protest against activities that harm the eco-system, become role-models for others also.”

This was said by our ninth-grade physics teacher. I liked this quote so much, that I decided to forgive him for forcing me to study the stupid subject.

Now. Let’s back to the ‘excuses’ I listed above, the ones my interviewees came up with to back up their ‘not doing anything-ness’.

Don’t have any time…too much pressure on studies. Okay, I admit there is pressure from studies, but isn’t it a bit funny that you guys are the ones who post daily in Facebook and always available to chat on Messenger? Where do you get that time?

Nobody else does anything. First of all, this isn’t even a proper excuse. Nobody does anything, so I won’t do it either. It doesn’t really excuse the fact that you didn’t do anything. And you know the saddest thing of all? I’m sure each and every one of you wonder from time to time, hey, I wish I could do something for the environment. But then you shrink back and think, no, I don’t think I’m cut out for this. Besides, why do I have to do anything at all? Nobody else does anything…

Second of all, it isn’t wholly true. That nobody doesn’t do anything.

Open your eyes and look around. See how many people donate on the environment’s behalf in your neigbourhood. Open the newspaper and check out the headlines:

Two young female scientists create a type of bacteria that can kill plastic.

NYC Fall Festivals That Promote Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Behavior.

Sharon Barak’s Solutum: A Mission to Weed Out Plastic

Fifteen years old teen writes the best ambassador report for Tunza eco-generation and wins a Nobel prize at literature

(Okay, the last one might be fake)

And now, to answer my friend. Give me an opportunity and I will gladly take it. Opportunities are everywhere! You just don’t see them because you’re not looking! Why don’t you join the volunteer groups you read about in your newspapers that carry out eco-friendly tasks? Why don’t you donate your savings to a charity organization that work for the environment? And if you don’t have money or the time to volunteer, you could contribute from your house. Write blogs on the internet, posts arts you made yourself on the Instagram. You could participate in essay competitions, video-making contests, pitch ideas in innovation challenges-there are so much you could do! Even when you’re planting a single tree beside your house, or using paper bags instead of plastic, you’re contributing a lot to save the environment.

All of you, who are reading this, are members and ambassadors of an environmental platform. Everyone is here because they want to contribute to the environment. Therefore, many of you might be annoyed at the way I wrote this report: like all of you are spoiled children and I am the high and mighty person you should listen to.

So I want to add in my last words: youths are contributing to the environment. But  not all of us are getting the message. There are many youngsters who wander aimlessly around, not aware of the strength and boldness in their hearts. Not aware that the world is dying and their hands could save it. That’s why I think, as a youth, my first priority is to convey the message to everyone.

And I hope I have succeeded in doing so.