posted October 2, 2008
Earth's environment is being damaged because of us. We try to avoid the fact that it is basically our fault, but it's difficult.
Our environment is filled with pollution in the air and millions of trees being cut down every day/week.
More examples of how 'we' kill the environment follows: One way is buying stuff we think we need when we see it at the store, but when we get home we don't touch it for the next few weeks or months. We're wasting money and creating more garbage. Garbage men eventually burn it, which releases carbon dioxide in the air and that is not so good. It also leaves ashes everywhere.
Another way is there is overfishing. Overfishing has been going on for about two to three years now. We need to stop it. I read a magazine last week and it showed a picture of a man fishing and he didn't get anything even though he sat there for seven hours. You know why? It was because the lake was a reddish-brown and there weres dead fish floating everywhere. That's how bad the pollution is and we are killing too many fish. It is illegal. It needs to stop.
We are too greedy and self-centered. Someone needs to fix all of this.
Some solutions to these problems are very helpful. One is the 3 Rs of the environment: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. My family recycles paper, cardboard, and bottles. We go there every Saturday morning after we get the newspaper. Every day the workers say to me, "You have saved the environment." And I feel proud.
Another way is to get food, such as fruit, local. It comes straight from the soil and the trees and it is more organic. Do not use oil. The most important solution of all is to be aware, get involved, be positive and you can save the environment.
Shannon Han
7th Grader
Girls Preparatory School
* * *
Miss Han,
You have presented us with a concise and eloquent argument for protecting our environment from myriad man-made threats. Your wisdom belies your age. Thank you for having the courage to stand up for what is right, and point out problems in our world that should be obvious to every educated, informed adult; but, so few have the gumption to acknowledge the truth.
You restore my faith in humanity. I hope you retain your passion to fight the good fight, and perhaps inspire others to follow your lead in saving our planet from ourselves. Thank you.
Jonathan Cooper
East Ridge
* * *
I am sure I will be criticized for critiquing Ms. Han and her writing, but if you are big enough to write it you are big enough to take the heat.
Is it not great that Ms. Han can start getting a liberal education at GPS at such a young age? It is my response that all the changes in the environment are not due to humans. Climate change can and has been proven to be attributed to everything from volcanic eruptions, variations in solar output and earth's orbit, to atmospheric and surface reflectivity. A few questions for the young scholar to help her broaden her thinking process...
How is buying stuff we think we need and not touching it for a few weeks or months killing the environment and creating more garbage? It is not garbage until it is discarded and if we do not touch it we still have it. And what does Ms. Han really know about fishing and overfishing? As an experienced angler some good advice for the imbecile who did not catch anything sitting and fishing for seven hours would be to try a different spot or a different bait. Fish relate to cover, food, and structure. Those three items do not exist everywhere there is a body of water. If the water was so dirty why would you want to fish in it in the first place? Does Ms. Han realize that fish kills also happen when an area of water runs out of oxygen, which can be traced to natural causes as well as man-made?
Time to cut to the chase. Are her parents greedy and self-centered for sending her to GPS instead of an inferior public school? How about the money they could save and donate to charity or help feed the poor? She says to not use oil. Does she walk or bicycle to school every day instead of commuting in an automobile? Does her family travel by donkey or horse everywhere they go. Does GPS use lights and energy to operate their school? Do they cook their food on an open fire or use electric or gas? Do they use oil and gas in their buses?
How does she know that buying food local makes it more organic? Food bought locally may or may not be organic just as food bought regionally or nationally may be.
Last but not least, Ms. Han should ask herself, her friends, and her teachers to go home and look in the mirror. If you want to save the environment start with yourself and your family and have everyone remove the post-it note with 'hypocrite’ that someone who watches you has placed on your back. You may have to light a candle to see the note in the dark. But then the smoke from the candle will be polluting the air. So you may as well turn on the lights and use some electricity.
Of course, you can always by some carbon credits from GIM, the company Al Gore buys his from. Did I mention that Al Gore started the company he buys credits through so in essence he is paying himself to fly his jet and run his boat and power his mansion. Who would have guessed that Al Gore is making money off global warming. That sure is a 'Convenient Loot'.
W.G. Stoner
East Ridge
* * *
Ms. Han, I am so impressed by your ability to convey your thoughts in written form at only seventh grade, wow! Regardless of where your insight and intelligence is housed, excellence and self confidence is what is regardless of the school building it originates from. The fact that you are in seventh grade and recognize that just as flood models predict flooding, climate models and historical trends are a predictor of the future. I also have hope for the future in our young people.
I am sorry that some people believe that you must be in a a failing, dangerous public school to legitimize your position. As a working single mother, I relied on the work ethic of these young ladies to provide quality child care for my son almost 10 years while I worked. Character education is not just a billboard for this school, it is a life style.
Mr. Stoner, 30 percent of Hamilton County children are either a home schooler or in private schools. We should raise the "inferior" public school bar, rather than kick the high educational standards.
Allison Graham
* * *
To use words such as 'eloquent' and 'concise' to describe Ms. Han's writing is more than a stretch. I think Ms. Graham fails to see that Mr. Stoner must be alluding to the lack of true facts and the way the opinion is written. From what Ms. Graham states, she apparently utilized GPS students for a daycare. As a single mom, I did not take advantage of the GPS daycare as to have an attachment to the school one way or another.
Anyone can easily look on the Internet and find many articles that agree with what Mr. Stoner said concerning climate change. I have a question for everyone. Who was around to cause the climate change that lead to the Ice Age? Do you blame that on the dinosaurs? I do not see anywhere where Mr. Stoner said anything about the standards of the school.
What I see when I read these replies are two people who say..."How nice, a seventh grader wrote this" and one guy who wrote "Here is what is wrong with this...". You are alluding to the statement where the term 'hypocrite' is used because as Ms. Han describes everyone as greedy and self-centered she attends a school that costs more than the majority of colleges. After reading Mr. Stoner's article it appears to me that Mr. Stoner uses the term 'inferior' to describe the way many private school parents and students view the public school system.
Based on comments from Ms. Graham and Ms. Cooper, it appears that if they were running schools they would give all students an 'A' just for trying. So much for actually excelling, whether it be academics, athletics, or other activities.
Giselle Denton
Chattanooga
giselle.denton@yahoo.com
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