The Duties

For millions of years, the earth as we know it has helped us thrive and survive, rotating ever so slightly each day. The earth cares for us and nourishes us, along with her other children, such as the animals and the plants that add more color and life to the world. It is as if the earth is our own mother, giving us our needs each day and watching us grow and die as time passes on. Without the earth as our home, we would be nothing. We would not live, we would not love, we would not laugh, and we would not survive. So why, one may ask, do we wish to actively destroy the very thing that keeps us alive? Why would we want to hurt the atmosphere that gives us what we need to continue to grow and develop as a species?

The earth started out as a baby as well, just like all of us. She grew and began to realize that people didn’t care about her. She constantly helped others, yet no one would help her. As time passed on, she began to realize that she simply could not give all of her children tools they needed to survive. Fires broke out, killing hundreds of thousands of the animals, and she could do nothing to stop it. She became angry at the humans, wondering why they did not care. She realized, though, that there were a select few that did care. They went in to brave the fire, they spoke out about these disasters, and they asked others to help. They had cared, something the earth had waited long to hear. She hoped that other humans would realize that they needed these organisms to help them to survive as well. Unfortunately, she also realized that this species was selfish.

These particular humans did things for their own benefit, not out of the kindness of their hearts. They did not care about the future generations who would have nothing left to survive with, or that the newer generations would have to clean up the mess their ancestors made just to have fresh water. These new humans would be forced to care, forced to pay attention, and forced to take action. Maybe that’s the way it has to be in order for humans to care, the earth had thought. When things were taken away from these humans, how would they react? Would they unite and help solve the damage that had been done, or would they turn into savages? Either way, the earth thought that she had done everything in her power to help the humans. She was a mother to them, whether they knew it or not, and she cared for each and every one of them, even if they didn’t care back.

Once many diseases had spread around the world, many blamed the earth for these horrible things that killed families in the blink of an eye. The humans were directly affected, so they couldn’t ignore the situation. More scientists looked at the environmental impacts we have had on this planet, and how devastating the effects are for us and the surrounding wildlife. Finally people started to care. Finally people saw that their actions did have consequences. Finally people saw that they couldn’t just stand around and watch anymore. They had a planet they had to save. They have a mission to make sure that the earth is just as beautiful for their children as it was for them. Everyone deserves the tools given by the earth. Don’t let future generations suffer because you wanted to be selfish, or you thought that somebody else would do something about it. Mahatma Gandhi said it himself: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Jordan Henchey