Green Energy: new generation's opinion

S.O.S. Nature

Happy Flopi flies away. „If I hurry, I'll be home before it gets dark.” He breathes deeply and smiles.

”How beautiful!”, he said: „ Clean air... here, high up, I can breathe easier than in dirty water. My friend will be surprised when I tell him about the humans I met and the adventure of my life.”

This is the beginning of Flopi's story - a strange animal that flies like a bird and swims like a fish. Lost in thoughts, he's dreaming and doesn't realize he's flying above a factory. Suddenly, he wakes up in a cloud of dust, starts coughing, his eyes fill with tears, he can't see anything and hits one of the towers of the factory. He hurts one of his wings and remains hanging on the huge tower, yelling: „Help, I'm falling!”

This cry for help is not only his, but it belongs to our entire planet. The Earth coughs often, surrounded by clouds of dust. From green, it turned grey and the ice caps are melting.

We all realize that our planet is ill, it's suffering because of human negligence that pollutes the environment. People are not very aware of the damage they're causing, therefore we need to make them think about the effects of their activities on the life of our planet and of course, the lives of everybody.

Human beings must understand they live on a planet they must take care of constantly! What nature created in millions of years could be destroyed in a few years, months or days.

A recent study regarding the climate change proves the way in which natural resources were exploited until now, endangering the future generations, modifying dramatically most ecosystems. The way in which society ensured its supplies of food, water, wood and oil in the last 50 years caused real damage to the environment. There were, of course, some advantages: economy increased and agricultural products were abundant.

But here are the costs: since 1945 the land that was cultivated got bigger and bigger; more than half of fertilizers were chemicals, after 1985; the diversity of animal species was considerably reduced - between 10% and 30% of mammals, birds and amphibians are endangered to become extinct; the level of drinkable water is a lot under the limit that can cover present needs.

A big number of books and magazines alert the public every day about the dangers that burden our life conditions, the future, as a result of increased human population and deep degradation of the environment. The destruction of forests from temperate climate and tropical zones, the erosion of the land, the sterility of mineral ground, the energy crisis, the pollution of waters are enough elements that prove that human civilization has an intense negative impact on the biosphere.

Man has always searched for the shade under the tree, the cool of the forest or the clear waters, the warmth of the sunny beaches, the beauty, serenity and balance around him. All these are generously given to us by NATURE, that must be respected, loved and protected like a living soul. If it's a more difficult and longer process for older generations to change their mentality, it is a matter of first priority for the education of children, raising their awareness on the importance of preserving and protecting the environment. Children are the future agents of social action in 21st century. The society and natural environment where they will live depends directly on the minds and behaviors they are developing now in school.

Specialists have found the solution to release the burden that humanity placed on nature: the Education for sustainable development – that has a purpose to answer the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future, of new generations.

Do you remember Flopi, the little animal from the story mentioned earlier? He is the one who swam in a dirty river and, to save himself, flew through the atmosphere, where he entered a cloud of dust from a factory, hurting his wing on one of the towers. Fortunately, Friends of the Environment cared for him until he healed and returned home again, in the clear lake from the wide forest. He was looking forward to seeing his friend the snail, that he had left behind.

written by Pascariu Iustin, 6th grade, Scoala Profesionala Holboca, Romania