Today was a sad day for the environment, with reports released on the safety of our rivers and oceans being at stake.  It is hard to imagine that every river in the US has fish contaminated with mercury or that the plastic bags circulating in the Pacific Ocean in an area twice the size of Texas is now being found to be breaking down into a toxic soup of bisphenol-a.  More than ever, we need a movement to rise up and protect this fragile blue orb that supports life as we know it.

What gives me hope, is an article I came across today, that the seeding of such a movement is underway.  Over seven hundred youth from across the globe have gathered in Daejeon, Republic of Korea, to call on leaders to address Climate Change at Copenhagen in December and involve youth in environmental decisions.  Young people comprise of 3 billion of the global population and will be faced by the growing environmental challenges plaguing the planet.  They asked that environmental education be included in their curriculum and that global citizens take real steps to reduce their impacts on the planet like using public transportation and purchasing environmentally friendly products.

One of the most poignant statements from a youth delegate from the Netherlands, “We are the generation of tomorrow. The decisions that are made today will define our future and the world we have to live in. So we young people of the world urge governments to commit to a strong post-Kyoto climate regime. It is our lives we are talking about.”  Will the public and political leadership heed their call?