[Applause]
what is the scariest ride that you have
ever been on
possibly a roller coaster at Six Flags
Disneyland or some other amusement park
right well the scariest ride that I have
ever been on was sitting in the back of
a taxi in New Delhi India a couple of
years ago while sitting in this taxi a
thick layer of smog filled the air and
made visibility only a couple yards
vehicles seem to just appear out of the
smog and the driver would veer left and
right to avoid them all the while I was
sitting in the back frozen in terror
then all of a sudden the red taillights
of a truck appeared and the driver
slammed on the brakes our taxi skid to a
halt just inches away from the truck in
front of us that was the first time that
I experienced the dangers of smog for
those of you who do not know what smog
is it is created when fog combines with
smoke and other atmospheric pollutants
to create a dense almost brownish layer
of air that is extremely unhealthy to
breathe experiencing this pollution
angered me and showed me how much carbon
dioxide we humans are dumping into our
atmosphere I was frustrated so once I
got back to the US I set out to learn
more about pollution and soon I realized
that smog wasn’t the only effect carbon
dioxide from automobiles factories and
power plants are melting the polar ice
caps which is in turn increasing sea
levels I learned that as carbon dioxide
increases in our atmosphere sea water
becomes more acidic which then kills
coral these coral are home to millions
of species of fish which feed almost 1
billion people on this earth but this is
probably old news to most of you you’ve
all seen the pictures of stranded polar
bears and smokestacks dumping tons of
greenhouse gases into our atmosphere yet
at the end of the day most of us forget
about the changing climate
because we have the privilege of doing
so but all around the world there are
already people who are suffering from
the preliminary effects of climate
change such as the people in the
Marshall Islands whose homes are swept
away by rising sea levels or the Indian
farmers whose crops are completely
destroyed due to extreme rainfall these
people don’t have the privilege of
forgetting about climate change because
it affects them every day of their lives
what saddens me the most is that these
people barely contribute any carbon
dioxide to our atmosphere and yet they
are the ones that are paying the biggest
price after understanding all of this I
really wanted to get involved in a
solution
I started out small and on my own home
by trying to limit electricity usage
because electricity production is the
largest emitter of greenhouse gases of
any industry in the United States but
for me turning off the lights more often
or unplugging electronics wasn’t enough
I wanted a source of clean renewable
energy powering my home because whatever
electricity I was using was still coming
from fossil fuels and power plants so I
managed to convince my dad to invest in
solar power having solar panels on my
house for the past few months has really
shown me how cool renewable energy is no
matter how much we use them they can
never run out let’s take solar power as
an example until the Sun burns out in
five billion years solar power is useful
that means we have five billion years
worth of electricity and energy waiting
for us in the sky
it just seems laughable to use
non-renewable resources such as coal and
oil in comparison but the sad reality is
that our world runs on these fossil
fuels and the emissions from them are
polluting our skies let’s look at the
emissions from this school folks Academy
and over for example we use about 13
million kilowatt hours of electricity
annually that is about enough
electricity to power 1,350 homes for a
year and the carbon emissions are
equivalent to burning 9 million 700,000
pounds of coal but thankfully we have
initiatives and measures on this campus
to work towards a sustainable future but
think of the carbon
footprint of all of the high schools
middle schools and colleges around the
country what if these places could be
powered by renewable energies imagine
the impact that would have on both the
environment and on the minds of students
around the country but before we can
install panels on schools around the
country the national mindset surrounding
global climate change needs to be
repaired it should not be the subject of
debate because it has been proved
countless times by scientists yet still
people like certain politicians and
legislators they claim that climate
change isn’t real lawmakers have even
passed legislation to make rooftop solar
power in Florida a scarcity Florida is
the Sunshine State what we need is a
culture shift in society the politicians
that run this country they follow the
will of the people
so if the people say that climate change
is a central issue they will have no
choice but to address it if we don’t
start acting and cutting back our
emissions now though in just 25 years we
are going to reach the point of
no-return at which global climate change
becomes irreversible our society needs
to stop debating and start acting before
it is too late in order to take action
we need leaders who can inspire a
movement and I believe that young people
can be those leaders in fact I would go
as far as to say that young people are
the solution to global climate change we
are the future of the country
so if global climate change is an
important issue for us it will
eventually become an issue for the
nation but we don’t have to wait until
we’re adults to make a difference now we
are connected like no other generation
because of the internet and social media
whether it is the bottle flipping crazy
beneficial trends like the ALS ice
bucket challenge we have mastered the
art of spreading the word now imagine if
you took that level of connectivity and
combined it with the credibility of
scientific data that right there is a
powerhouse for change so I urge you to
go in your community and take all of the
scientific research we have
and educate those who don’t understand
the severity of the situation get
involved with sustainability projects or
start those projects yourself enough is
enough with the political rhetoric our
generation of young people needs to
start taking responsibility of the world
that will soon inherit and make sure
that the generations to come have a safe
world to live in in 100 in 200 and 300
years I want people to still be able to
see the beautiful blue sky that I see
and not some smoggy haze full of toxic
pollution we have just 25 years to make
a difference the time for change is now
quoting the Cree Indian prophecy only
when the last tree has been cut down the
last fish caught and the last stream
poisoned will we realize we cannot eat
money thank you [Applause]