2007 High School Essay Contest Finalists

Read the three finalist essays for Moment Magazine’s 2007 contest. They were selected from hundreds of essays written by teens from around the world and exemplify the thoughtfulness and passion of today’s youth concerning saving the earth from global warming.

 

Our Responsibility To Stop Global Warming

Global warming presents a serious threat to our environment. The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that in the next 100 years increasing temperatures will raise sea levels by as much as 23 inches. This drastic change could destroy many communities and flood even my own home in Manhattan.

For a "Manhattanite" who rarely comes in contact with nature beyond the soccer fields of Westchester, saving the environment may not seem so important. A friend once retorted, after I scolded him about the harm of hour-long showers, "What does it matter to you if the environment is destroyed in three centuries? It’s not like we will be here anymore anyway." I was too far in shock to respond. I have always felt a deep connection to nature, and animals. The thought of one quarter of the animal species being killed off by 2050 deeply disturbs me. Beyond this, I have always felt we are part of something bigger than just ourselves. As a Jew, I feel connected to my past, and fervently hope my ancestors cared more about my well being than some people now care about our descendants. We are all Shomrei Adamah, guardians of the earth. Our planet is a gift to be cherished, not taken for granted. According to an early Midrash, G-d said to Adam, "Look at my works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are! Everything that I created, I created for you. Take care that you do not damage and destroy my world, for if you damage it, there is no one to repair it afterwards!"

Our generation is sliding down a slippery slope risking irreparable damage to the world. Fortunately, the solution to global warming is within our power. We have the resources to turn the world around, and fix what we have done. As a teenager, I often feel incapable of making big changes, and rely on the assumption that someone else will be there to save the world. But this issue is not just about our government’s issuing new legislation; each person can make a difference. Little things really count. Turning off unused appliances actually saves a lot of energy. For example, a computer system burns an estimated 300 watts of electricity per hour, even when idle. Why leave lights on when you are not in the house, or keep the radio on, when you are not in that room? These things may seem small, but they waste energy. I take tepid showers, and turn off the water when I am not using it. For some people this may be a bit extreme, but even cutting shower time by a few minutes makes a difference. Showers consume approximately five gallons of water per minute. Cutting one shower from 20 minutes to 10 saves 50 gallons of water daily.

Given available alternative sources of energy, additional ways to conserve energy abound. Solar energy is a great alternative. My school recently installed solar panels on our roof, which in the long run will save us massive amounts of energy.

One bill recently introduced in the Senate would greatly reduce our carbon dioxide production. By the year 2050, America's Climate Security Act would cut carbon emissions to 65 percent below what they were in 1990. Although I cannot vote for this bill myself, I can still help it pass. Writing letters to my senator and galvanizing other people to promote the bill alerts my senator that his or her constituents care about this issue.

Like Adam in the Garden of Eden, my job is to till and tend the earth; and I will do as much as I can to make sure I am playing my part in saving our planet.

Gabriella Baum
Junior, Bronx High School of Science
New York, NY

 

 

Jewish Teachings on Global Warming

Al Shlosha D’varim: Al Ha Torah, vi al Ha’avodah, vi al gimmeloot hasadim. The world stands on three things: the Torah, worship, and acts of loving kindness. Rabbi Yochanan taught this, but little did he know, this would one day be the reason why I am trying to slow down global warming. As a Jewish teenager on a mission to learn and become more religious, I found out that Halacha (Jewish law) and the Torah contain the values that drive me to stop global warming.

In Devarim, it states that when you invade a city, it is forbidden to destroy the trees. I don’t plan on invading cities, so I could easily say this doesn’t apply to me, but it actually does. By driving my car into the city next to mine, I create pollution with my car that can kill plants and hurt the environment. By killing those plants, I take away fresh air, which means I am hurting the world
G-d gave us. My school taught me ways to offset the carbon emission produced by my car. By simply donating $59.40 a year to a carbon-offset company, I just made the earth healthier. It’s $60 out of my wallet a year that will help my grandchildren and future generations.

There is another concept in Judaism, one of my favorites, called Pekuach Nefesh, saving a life. It is the highest commandment in the Torah. Many laws can be broken in Halacha to save a life. By cleaning and saving our environment, I'm not breaking any rules. Right now, you are probably thinking that I'm stretching this concept, but I promise you I'm not. By simply changing all the light bulbs in my house to compact fluorescent bulbs, not only did my parents save a lot on their energy bill, but we just reduced our carbon emission. Reducing our carbon emission puts less pollution into the environment. That’s just one of the things I already do. I've also become a fanatic recycler in the past few years. We drink a lot of soda and water from bottles in my house. Our friend drops the empty bottles off at a recycling plant and gives the money he receives to Tzedeka. Double mitzvah right there! By recycling, I create renewable energy. The more we use renewable energy, the more energy there is for the rest of the world and future generations.

You are still wondering when I'm going to talk about saving a life and if I can even make the connection. The connection is simple. By reducing carbon emissions from recycling and changing my light bulbs, it reduces the pollution in the air. By reducing the pollution, it helps create cleaner air and water. There are people in third world countries who barely have enough food and water to live and the death rate is growing. If we simply help the fight against global warming, we can save these people who might otherwise not have a chance to live.

It is our duty, not only as Jews, but as inhabitants of this earth, to take care of it. I know I can’t do it alone, but it is a start. If I can get my friends to change light bulbs and recycle, and they get their friends to do the same, the chain goes on until everyone in the world is doing it. It is only a matter of time until people realize the jeopardy the earth is in, and by then, it might be too late. "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, When?" I will follow Rabbi Hillel, and I will start now, because if I don't help slow down global warming, it might be too late.

Danielle Burstein
Senior, New Community Jewish High School
Calabasas, CA

 

 

Seeing

As a little girl, when I imagined the future, I envisioned robots doing housework while I waved goodbye to my son. I could so clearly see him boarding a hover bus to zoom off to school. Like most people, it wasn't dreaming in full color about my future that was hard, but looking at the world around me and not being able to truly see.

I remember watching An Inconvenient Truth in middle school and being horrified, yet still going home and always forgetting to turn off the light. Somehow, seeing the animation of the drowning polar bear and the land that would be lost to rising sea levels didn’t sink in. When I asked myself the question, "What will my life be like in 10 or 20 years," the answer was never "A world without a North Pole for a secular Santa to live on." I never pictured myself sitting down for the late-night news to find reports of thousands dying from drought or flood after putting my child to bed under a starless smog-filled sky.

Now this is my biggest fear: that not only will my child have all the normal reasons to demote me from "mommy" to "mom," but he will have not be able to catch snowflakes on his tongue and see all the beautiful places and creatures that are rapidly deteriorating; because I couldn’t remember to turn off the light.

In elementary school every year a retired fire fighter would come and talk to us about fire safety—about picking a meeting place with our families once a month to check smoke alarms. Every year the same information, yet when he asked how many students practice fire safety tips at home, no more hands went up every year. As Mark Twain once said, "Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt."

As of 2005, 20 of the 21 hottest years occurred in the past 25 years. In 2003, Europe was hit by a massive heat wave killing 35,000. According to an MIT study, released in 2005, major storms brewing in both Atlantic and Pacific oceans since the 1970s have increased in duration and intensity by about 50 percent. As Al Gore helped to inform us, global warming is no longer a question of "if" but "when."

It's not switching to fluorescent light bulbs or to recycling that will be difficult. Who hasn't heard numerous times how if anyone just makes a few little changes we can better the world? It is the acceptance of why it is necessary that will be the challenge. It will be waking up to the truth that global warming will not be halted by ignorance. What can I do to help global warming? I can make a pact with a group of friends to reduce my carbon footprint and have a green party to celebrate our efforts. I can challenge my family to limit themselves to 15-minute showers; they get no hot water for their next shower if they go over the time limit. I can push for a new standard that all typed school assignments and notices be emailed. I can take a friend’s hand as I bring my reusable bags shopping. I can take a friend’s hand and help to open her eyes.

Megan Kimmel
Freshman, Cherry Hill High School East
Cherry Hill, NJ