Introduction

Have you ever thought about why you were born exactly when you were? Have you ever wondered why you are living on the planet at this very moment, rather than in the distant past or distant future? If you think about it, it's pretty amazing, isn't it? Imagine that instead of earth, humans had been born on some other planet. What would our life be like today? Or what if we had all been born in the distant past or the distant future? Or that instead of humans, we were all dogs, or fleas or wildflowers!! I'm pretty happy that we all ended up as humans, though.

There are countless numbers of humans and other living things living on the earth. Yet despite the differences between all these living things, one thing unites us all. We all depend on the earth for life. The earth belongs not only to us humans, but also to all living things, as well as to everyone and everything that has lived here in the past, or who will live in the future.

The bad news is that this planet on which we all depend is in critical condition. Everyday, in the newspaper or on TV, we hear about how the earth's environment is being damaged or destroyed. It's true that the situation isn't good, but it doesn't help to feel down about it. Many people, including many kids, are still optimistic about turning things around!

We already have a good idea about the current situation, the cause of this damage and what we should do about it. If we all use our imagination and a lot of creativity, we can really create a "different world." This world would be different from our present world, which would improve the environment rather than making it worse. I think it's not too late to make a difference.

But we don't have enough time to just wait and see what happens. Each person should think about the earth and their own actions carefully. Let's start today. Adults and children, all of us on the earth, should work together now.

This website has many tips to help you think about the environment and consider the impact of your actions. While it's important for you to understand the state of the environment and causes of environmental destruction, it's even more important to gain the courage and creativity to solve these problems. No matter how small your effort is, it's much better than doing nothing at all.

Talk with your friends, family and teachers about your thoughts and ideas. The more you understand about the issues, the more great ideas you'll come up with! In doing so, you'll see how using your own ideas to take action can be an enjoyable challenge.

Summer 2005 Junko Edahiro (Japan for Sustainability Chief Executive)