The Thorn Words

Insuring that every night will have a dawn.

by Christian Thorn

How are we going to preserve rugged mountains for future generations?
ome people thought that the world would end with Y2K, or that the human race will poison themselves and the the world, or by choking each other out by overpopulating the world. We're still here, but we are slowly poisoning the world, and overpopulating the world. In the news, big oil spills and chemical dumps continue to make headlines, and statistics detailing how fast the remaining wilderness disappears flash over and over again on the screen. So what do we do?

But I have hope for the world. We can't save the world overnight, or change everyone's views on how to use the planet's resources at the drop of a hat, or even go back to nature right away. We must first educate ourselves about our environment and learn how to better co-exist with nature, and then we must spread the word and teach others what a wonderful place our world can be. We have to be realistic, though. Some people will just not understand why I love the rugged mountains, or why others love the rolling plains, or the roar of the ocean crashing on the beach.

This guy's got the right idea.
It's not all about enjoying the natural world around us, though. Everyone must be his or her own steward of the earth. The first step to being a steward is to be a critical reader, viewer and thinker when presented with mass media in the newspaper, the news on TV or the radio. It's important to think about the source of the information; for example, I went to a youth-oriented environmental conference and in one of the workshops, a lecture was given about how bad it was that a business was building several new factories. What the presenter wasn't saying is what kind of plants they were, that the business was building cleaner, more fuel-efficient, environmentally-friendly factories. The point remains: we must question everything and question how we can make everything better if we are going to change the world.

Before we can make a global change, we have to start changing ourselves and our lives. Once we can start making a difference locally, within our social circles, change can happen on larger and larger scales. Lots of little things can add up to make a big difference, so here's my list:

    The computer I'm using to type this will one day be recycled.
  1. It's summertime; now that the sun is shining, walk, or ride your bike instead of driving to where you need to go. Not many people my age know that for every gallon of gas our cars burn, they release almost twenty pounds of carbon dioxide into the air.
  2. Reduce the amount of refuse that you create, by purchasing recyclable products; you can find everything you could possibly want that has been or can be recycled, from CD cases to paper bags at the grocery store.
  3. Think before you buy, and when it's time to clean out your winter wardrobe, make sure it gets reused by taking it to a thrift store.

Every individual is unique, and everyone has their own thing. We all don't think the same way, or like the same things, or want to do the same things with our lives. I think that's great, because that means we can be earth-friendly in our own personal way. There are so many little deeds that you, the unique individual can do, at home, out in your community. Nothing great happens overnight, but over time with many people helping out, eventually the little things grow and get bigger and bigger. Before you know it, we can make a major impact on the world and all who live in this planet.




Christian Thorn is a senior at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle.



the archives:



Visit the archives, including the premiere edition of
SASS Magazine, featuring Loyalty Clothing, Venture Snowboards, San Francisco's Greenfestival, and so much more. Lydia DePillis opines on the state of the world for young people, in "Heir Brains," only in the premiere edition.



getting young people involved everywhere:



Action Sports Environmental Coalition is all about connecting with youth to help make a world of difference. Read an article by Frank Scura, ASEC's founder, right here in SASS Magazine.