IT'S A SMALL WORLD, AFTER ALL!!

We humans have been living together on this little blue planet (EARTH) for at least 40,000 years and our most spectacular success seems to be our steady conquest of the environment. Fossil evidence explains how our way of life developed, based on our control of "nature." With that control, of course, populations have also grown and threatened the comforts that we take for granted in our everyday lives.

We all like to think we do our part to protect our environment. In the classroom we all teach and learn how we can recycle, plant/save a tree, drive our SUV only in the snow, donate to the endangered species, contribute to compost piles, and take short showers and a million more good-hearted endeavors. We, girls, like to make a difference to help mankind. We plan school and club projects that made us commit, work hard and laugh as we earn our "badges" of self respect for a clean little blue EARTH. The motto Change a Habit caused me to give up my electric can opener years ago to conserve energy. The lyrics to the song "I feel Good" seemed to be enough for us and we felt we had contributed to the cause.

Then, August 2003 arrived and the word grid became a part of lingo in all communities across the nation. Comfort stopped. Hairdryers, IM, fridge, air conditioning, and a trillion other realities hit us… and it hurt…a little. It didn't last long and life was normal again. Or was it? A new realization; we all need to individually do a lot more than throw away an electric can opener to save the environment. We need to make it a habit to connect to the POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT that makes the rules and decides where our tax dollars go. Our self-education needs to include an understanding of how politics can affect the environment and how environment affects politics.

According to the United Nations population projections, there could be approximately 9 billion people living on our planet by the year 2054! Just how many people can the Earth support with her resources that come from living systems such as rivers, croplands, forests, and oceans? Can our politicians help us to know how we will meet people's needs without exhausting those systems? Do they consider the quality of life for all of us? Click here to read 100 items. This is something you will want to discuss on the discussion forum

QUESTION: How important do you feel the natural environment is in the political environment? What do you think the important concerns are about the environment? Do you know how your positions and candidates at the local, state and national level stand on environmental issues?

LISTEN: Talk to your parents, friends' teachers, businessmen and the mayor's office about how they feel about what the political system can do. Do they think we consume too much? Should the political system do something about it? What rules, rewards, and punishments would work to save the planet? Show them the 100 Items. Ask them what they will do as 1 person to make a difference. Be sure to make the government aware of your concerns.

FORM AN OPINION: Environmental issues are the #1 threat to kids. Do you need to think twice about how important it is for you to form an opinion and express how important these issues are to you and the world? Decide for yourself what you think should be a rule for us all. How would you get others to agree?

ACT: Register for the DISCUSSION Forum then report to us what you find out. Check out where the political candidates stand on environmental issues. Show your siblings, parents and grandparents the 100 items and tell them they can register to vote on this site (click to register). If you are of pre-voting age, examine the candidates and choose whom you would vote for based on what you have learned on GirlsMatter.

Posted on: 12/29/2003

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