| Earth Treaty | |
Ari R. Dear Mother Earth, I want to thank you for creating one of my favorite places, Alaska. I visited Alaska on a cruise with my family almost two years ago, and it was the by far the coolest place I have ever seen. Where else can you see endangered animals like the bald eagle living in their natural habitat? Where else can you see a bald eagle in a nearby tree, seals climbing on and off of buoys in the water, and whales jumping playfully out of the ocean? Where else can you see a glacier up close, and snow-capped mountains that look completely untouched? You really outdid yourself when you made Alaska, Mother Nature! In Alaska, everything seems pure and balanced. The water is clear when it runs off mountains into the ocean from melting snow. The animals seem relaxed, and not worried about being captured. Everyone in Alaska seems to have respect for these animals and the land, and they understand that the way they live their life can keep Alaska this way. But something must have happened, because I read in today’s newspaper that everything has changed in Alaska. All of the endangered species are extinct, and the land no longer looks untouched. It looks more like Las Vegas, with billboards and hotels everywhere. I think that the article said that companies came into Alaska and started building because they thought they could make a lot of money with big resorts. Alaska tried to stop them, but their lawyers sued the state of Alaska and won. And now, even though Alaska is still there, it’s not really Alaska anymore. It’s like Alaska – The Amusement Park. It’s more profitable, but it’s no longer pure. It’s been ruined and it will be impossible to restore it to its original natural beauty. I can’t tell you how sad that makes me. I feel like I’ve been a good citizen of the Earth, and I’ve tried to live my life in a way that protects the Earth. I always recycle plastic and paper, and I try to reuse things when I can. I try to get my family to do this, too. I always turn the lights and TV off when I leave a room, so energy is not wasted. I drive a Prius, which is one of the most efficient cars around. We get 46 miles per gallon, which is about three times as efficient as the last car we had (a minivan). Was there something you could have done to keep Alaska pure? Was all of that recent severe weather, like the hurricanes and tsunamis, because of global warming? Or was some of it your way of trying to get our attention? Well, if you were trying, we weren’t listening very well, were we? Is there something I could have done to prevent losing Alaska? I would have done something if I knew. And I don’t know what else the Earth is in danger of losing, but now that you have my attention, I will try to do even more. The whole Leaders4Earth course for National Honors Society has shown me that a lot of teens don’t feel that being good to the Earth is as important as other things, so I am going to join an environmental organization like World Wildlife Fund and talk to my friends and family about what they are doing. I will try to convince them, one by one, that they need to take even better care of the Earth. I am also thinking about majoring in communications in college, so I might be able to use those skills to convince even more people about the importance of taking better care of the Earth. I hope we are not too late to save the shores of the Greek islands, the mountains of Switzerland, the Dead Sea in Israel, and all the other natural wonders of the Earth. Sincerely,
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