Francine C. Coss
“The water and the air were the two things we all shared.”
Few people truly realize the impact that one person can have on the environment. Yet we all take the air and water around us for granted. Just as the local water authority encourages city residents to dispose of household waste properly, the definition of hazardous is most definitely an individual’s perception. What is hazardous? Diazonon is hazardous to grubs, ants and other backyard pests, but it is also hazardous to earthworms, birds, pets and children. Yet, the American gardener uses Diazonon freely in and around their backyards each and every day. Oh sure they may follow the directions for use carefully, but they are not really reading the warnings and cautions. If the local garden center sells it, it must be safe enough.
Safe enough. Again an individual’s interpretation of hazardous. An enlightened parent chooses not to use chemicals to add ‘green’ to their lawn, but their neighbor does. That same chemical-free individual drains their antifreeze from their car in front of their home and watches as the greenish liquid runs to the end of the block into the sewer grate. Safe enough? Hazardous? It’s a matter of opinion.
The main thrust of “You Can Change the World” is to enlighten the children who have not yet formed their own opinions. They only know the opinions of their parents, relatives and neighbors. The goal of the unit is not to force a way of thinking onto the children, but to provide a thinking pattern that will look beyond their own backyard.
The quality of our environment is directly linked to our efforts to maintain and replenish utilized resources. Adults and children alike tend to forget the ramifications a single non-caring individual has on their local and global environments. Through my unit, “You Can Change the World,” I will enlighten young and old members of my surrounding school community to the positive and negative effects each of us can have upon the environment by providing knowledge of the food chain, the environment and the habitat necessary for the healthy existence of animals, plants and humans.
