2nd Place Essay Winner: 9-14 Age Group

"Go Green!"

Gus Shitama
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind
St. Augustine, FL

Upon seeing An Inconvenient Truth, presented by Al Gore in a groundbreaking keynote, the ominous messages struck a dent in my conscience. Guilt wouldn't be proper to describe the feeling, but rather, it's shocking to see how our government and people of the world are destroying this incredible place. Our planet is virtually the only planet in our solar system that supports intelligent life. It's so precious, more than a diamond in the rough.

I am proud to say, though, my family and close friends are already instilling a green lifestyle for me. One particular example would be how my godmother, a lovely woman named Liberty, opened a green store in the college town of Gainesville, FL. She christened the store INDIGO and every product for sale is always environmentally friendly. My mom and I went to help her renovate the formerly barren building to a wonderful shop promoting green living.

In my humble adobe, you can see I'm using several products from INDIGO, such as a toothbrush and razor made from recycled yogurt lids, organic cotton sandwich bags, and stainless steel water bottles. I'm also careful to turn off the lights when leaving the room. In my office, there's a power strip to ward away phantom energy being wasted. Recycling could be considered one of the Ten Commandments, seeing as how frequently empty yogurt containers and cardboard are being hauled away in good 01' Big Blue at home. Those small steps really make a difference, and it's invigorating to know it's helping the environment to hobbling back to health.

But, of course, there's the big, "What else?" I reckon there's so much more to do. One way to start could be initiating a community meeting semi¬weekly to discuss new ideas on how to improve green lifestyle. Also, I could try starting a boxed garden-a garden set up in a square box-and grow vegetables. That can help my diet; I'm already eating mostly organically and several types of produce in my refrigerator are bought from the local Farmer's Market. There are so many different techniques, but it's all for one goal we strive to fulfill, no matter how difficult and immense it may be: saving the Earth.

There's a famous picture that Al Gore used to end his keynote. It was a picture of the Earth taken from four billion kilometers away by Voyager 1. It showed the Earth as this incredibly small dot, nothing more than a speck of blue-like Horton and the Whos living on a mote-surrounded by space. Everything... history, the rise and fall of empires, the era of dinosaurs, corrupted governments crumbling...all those wonderful and terrible things are happening on that single one blue speckle. That is exactly what inspired me to try and save our precious planet. Sure, a small blemish of blue may seem insignificant, but to me, it's life. Life is so precious, and so easily wasted. But whilst our individual efforts may seem insignificant, too, just know that every drop in the ocean counts.