Hope for the Future
Sunshine English Course 3 (Heisei 17) pg. 82-84
| Hope for the Future | |
|---|---|
| ? | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 268 |
| Book | Sunshine |
| Grade | 3 |
| Year | 2005 |
Hello, I'm Severn Suzuki speaking on behalf of ECO, the environmental Children's Organisation. I'm fighting for my future. I'm here to speak for all future generations. I'm here to speak for the countless animals dying across the planet.
I'm afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in the ozone. I'm afraid to breathe the air because I don't know what chemicals are in it. And now we hear about animals and plants becoming extinct every day - vanishing forever.
I'm only a child and I don't have all the solutions, but I want you to realize, neither do you! You don't know how to fix the holes in the ozone layer. You don't know how to bring the salmon back to a dead stream. You can't bring back the forests that once grew in the area that is now a desert. If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!
I'm only a child, yet I know we are all part of a family, thirty million species strong.
At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us how to behave in the world. You teach us: "not to fight with others," "to respect others," "not to hurt other creatures" and "to clean up our mess."
Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying, "Everything's going to be alright," "We're doing our best," and "It's not the end of the world." But I don't think you can say that to us any more. You grown-ups say you love us. I challenge you, please reflect your words in your actions.
Thank you.
See also
- Junior high school speech contest
- Changing the World (a similar story)
