Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle!! These three "R" words have rung in my head ever since I was nine years old. Growing up in Malibu, California, I attended Point Dume Marine Science School, where there was an incredible atmosphere of supportive teachers, who fostered a sense of learning about our planet, and how we were damaging it. I remember being introduced to the idea of global warming, what it was, and how it was harming our planet.

I write about these three words because they are so significant and very much needed in today's time onward. I have always had a very deep appreciation of the world around me, and a big part of this is from the fostered sense of learning about environmental issues that I was fortunate to have in my elementary school years. From the countless tide pool walks to Point Dume, learning about the sea anemone and studying the starfish, to starting Teaching Gardens in fifth grade, where I learned the concept of sustainability, and growing my very own fruits and vegetables in a home garden, those things have carried on into the majority of my young adult life. As an environmental studies major, I believe that without the early education of environmental issues, and caring for the world around us, I would not have the same appreciation of understanding and learning, that I now have about the planet.

The point I am trying to get across is that the information young children are learning about and discussing in the classroom, does carry on into their adult lives, and others lives. I can only imagine if classrooms included a climate-change or environmental issues part of the core curriculum, the affects we are making on the planet would be understood better, and the majority of people would care better for their environment.