1st Place Essay Winner: 15-19 Age Group

"Once a Baydestrian, Always an Environmentalist"

Nia Lazarus
Berkeley High School
Berkeley, CA

The Hyphy Movement* isn’t just what the tide washed into the San Francisco Bay Area; the mentality and attitude of going green also surfaced. Being one of the most discussed topics in the world, especially in the Bay Area, the global warming issue has us in the choke hold of paranoid thoughts of being extinguished from the face of this earth. Being a resident of one of the greenest places in the U.S. (according to Alternet.com’s “Do You Live in One of the World’s Greenest Cities?” article, San Francisco is ranked 8th out of 15), I feel as if it is obligatory that we Bay Area citizens meet all the expectations of a good green citizen by reducing, recycling, and reusing everything we can; purchasing products free of toxic chemicals, plastic and other non-recyclable materials; and traveling environment-safely. Residents of the Bay Area, or “Baydestrians,” are automatically environmentalists. Environment-friendly citizens of this community believe in the idea of cherishing the Earth and take action to prove their dogma. I am influenced by those people in my community to be an environmentalist because it’s only right to give back to the Earth what it has given to us.

When my mom would say, “There’s some money on the ground!” I would reluctantly hop out of the car in the middle of the street to chase down that plastic Sprite soda bottle rolling down the curb until I got hold of it. As a prepubescent kid, I had not understood the value of money and recycling to preserve the Earth as I do now. Bottles, cans, glass, plastic, and aluminum are the prizes in a win-win situation, meaning that for a garbage bag filled to the brim with a colorful assortment of recyclables, I get a nice little chunk of change from the recycling station. Plus the Earth isn’t increasing a mass accumulation of landfill. I feel like it is extremely valuable to recycle every Aquafina water bottle, Jones soda glass bottle, 7-Up soda can, and any other recyclables I see for two reasons: one, I feel that we all can relax knowing that we’re not wasting precious materials to landfill and two, it’s the wisest thing a Baydestrian could ever do! I have to hand it to some of the vagabonds in the Bay Area for contributing more to a greener environment than those who live in homes. Homeless people push carts piled with bags and bags of recyclables. They set a great example to me and other citizens of how important it is to recycle!

A ten-inch thick stack of unnecessary fall semester work surely would meet its fate in the shiny blue cylinder bin if it were to be in the hands of a girl like me. Boy, papers from teachers come at me like a stampede: notes, curriculum papers, worksheets, you name it! When these papers expire of their importance, they’re most likely to meet their new buddy: the blue recycling bin. I’m fond of writing papers, but I also love the feeling of dumping heavy burdensome papers! While cutting paper for an art project, I collect all the scraps and put them in the recycling bin. As a little munchkin, I would often tag along with my mother to the recycling place in Berkeley to dispose of out-of-date newspapers as well as milk cartons and such. I was very fascinated by how everything was organized and the fact that whatever my mom was getting rid of didn’t have to go in the garbage cans along with candy wrappers, broken toys, and torn up socks. In elementary school my teacher would often emphasize the importance of recycling papers that we didn’t want in the blue recycling bin until we understood that.

Banana peels, fatty remnants of raw chicken, cracked eggshells, and rotten tomatoes are often the remainders of what is eaten in the house. Having the knowledge that food is a decomposable substance, I don’t throw food scraps in the trash can with rubbish; I pile them up until the end of the day when I go outside and get rid of them in the green recycling bin among the yard trimming. I vividly recall my amazing gardening teacher from elementary school, Mr. Bush, who frequently lectured to us snotty fourth and fifth graders about food decomposition. He explained how decomposed vegetables and fruit made the soil rich and fertile. Ever since Mr. Bush told my classmates and me that information, I kept it in my mind and recycled as much food scraps as I could!

My close attentiveness to people who set good examples of what an ideal environment-friendly person would be helped me to see the value of giving my time to respect and value the Earth. From watching people who are dedicated to making the Earth a greener planet all these years, my mind was cultivated into a mind filled with positive thoughts about taking part in promoting the movement for a greener planet. People all around me in the Bay Area have a great influence on how I think about and behave towards the Earth. It’s not so bad taking care of the Earth when you want to wake up each morning inhaling fresh air and see beautiful green trees outside of your window rather than smog and withered trees, for crying out loud!

* A period of time where certain talented artists (Mac Dre, E-40, Mistah FAB, etc.) were discovered (originating from California’s Bay Area) and soon they were the ones to change the face of Bay Area music into something that is now known and wanted around the whole world. -Urbandictionary.com