I know what you’re thinking. Why is [global warming] MY problem? I’m just a kid. I didn’t cause it. Why should I have to solve it?
I’ll tell you why. In ten short years, you’re going to be a young adult. It will be YOUR world. And down the line, the people who brought on all these problems (that would be MY generation and my parents’ generation) will no longer be around to fix them.
Did you ever go camping? You’re supposed to leave the campsite in better condition than it was when you arrived. Well, Earth is our campsite. Your grandparents and parents have not taken very good care of our campsite. If your generation doesn’t clean up the mess, you’re going to have to find another planet to camp on.
And that’s not going to happen.
The good news is, there is a solution to our problems. In fact, the solution is obvious. We need to use less energy and we need to stop burning coal, oil, natural gas, and wood.
HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THAT?
The sun shines. The wind blows. Why do we need to burn stuff to create energy? We don’t. We just need to switch to other sources of energy. There are plenty of them. Solar. Wind. Nuclear. Hydroelectric. Geothermal. Ethanol. Biofuel. Hydrogen fuel cells.
We don’t have to invent these things. They already exist. But up until recently oil has been cheap and the world became addicted to it, like a person becomes addicted to drugs. The way to kick that habit is to change attitudes. And this is where YOU can have a big impact.
Tomorrow, read Part 3: Me? I’m just a kid!
Dan Gutman is the author of nearly 100 popular books for kids. He also edited Recycle This Book: 100 Top Children’s Authors Tell You How to Go Green. Learn more at www.dangutman.com.