Raised in Vancouver and Toronto, Severn Cullis-Suzuki has been camping and hiking all her life. When she was 9 she started the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They were successful in many projects before 1992, when they raised enough money to go to the UN's Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Their aim was to remind the decision-makers of who their actions or inactions would ultimately affect. The goal was reached when 12 yr old Severn closed a Plenary Session with a powerful speech that received a standing ovation.
Where most of us are happy to do lip service, she went onto study Ecology and Evolutionary Biology – and today, is an Environmental Activist, Television Host and Author, all in the name of preserving the environment.
On the 10th anniversary of this speech in 2002, she wrote a wonderful piece for TIME Magazine titled, ‘The Young Can’t Wait.’
You can read it here.
No comments:
Post a Comment