Growing Up on a Dying Planet

This past week when I was volunteering for a nonprofit, Bee Better Naturally, I had my eyes opened.

We had many kids coming up to our booth at the Bugfest in Raleigh, seeing as we had about 30 Monarch Chrysalises with us. Every child, and their accompanying parent, would be mesmerized by the emerald and gold chrysalises. But something else caught their eye.

We had a native bee box, a honey-comb shaped box with paper straws inside of it. A lot of kids thought that we were handing out these straws. Every single child would say, "Save the turtles".

These were kids who were 3+ years old.

Another volunteer standing with me opened my eyes. All of these kids are sincerely concerned about our world. They can barely hold focus for more than a minute, but they know of the threats we face environmentally. Imagine being a kid or teenager growing up in this age.

A couple of years ago, I was in high school attending this Global Warming presentation for a class. Nobody was really taking the presentation seriously. Today, we have 7 year olds who know of the terror we will soon face.

One climate change advocate is Greta Thunberg. She recently gave a speech at the United Nations. When she was asked, "What's your message to world leaders today?" she responded, "We'll be watching you." There was an assortment of laughter and clapping. The audience didn't take it as seriously as they should have. Maybe because she was a girl, or maybe because she's a kid, but this should make the matter even more pertinent.

There are kids who are being traumatized by the thought that we may not be here in 13 years, or even less. There are people who are petitioning to not have kids if action isn't taken.

This is not a political argument. There are no sides. We are all human and this is a problem for humanity. Capitalist society has turned this into a political fight so it can be dismissed. So they can continue to make more money and not have to invest in a future they won't be here for. But I ask, what side are you on? Humanity, or money? Will a piece of paper be worth more to you than your children?