Simply a Matter of Right & Wrong

One theme that  recurred frequently among the children's drawings in our EcoKids contest was that of the dichotomy: before/after, good/bad, right/wrong, healthy/sick, green/gray, now/then, do/don't, clean/dirty, yes/no etc.

None was more wrenching - or impressively rendered - as that from one of our winners. Nine-year-old Grace from Shanghai showed us an earth on which children are praying to the sky for water, while an alien with a magic "water production unit" shows us images of a restored earth in the passing meteors.

 

Here were some of the others, impressively global in origin and thinking.

	"Preserve Our Nature" from 10-year-old Saskia from Germany, who tells us "instead of building new streets plant new trees."
	Naama, who is seven and is from the UK, tells us what you should do and shouldn't do with garbage.
	Romane, a six year old whose father works in EMC Switzerland, tells us the same thing; en français, that is!
	As does Romane's 9-year-old sister Clara!
	This 12-year-old from California was one of several that associates the beauty of color with a healthy planet.
	As did 9-year-old Sophie from Massachusetts.
	And so did Nina, an eleven-year old from Munich in her submission "A Green and Gray World".
	And eight-year-old Sanjana, daughter of a New Jersey EMC employee. Her title is "Preserve our Nature - Protect our Home."
	Seven-year-old Daniel, son of a Massachusetts employee, also sees it in black and white; or rather, black-and-white vs. green. His mom tells us that Daniel wanted to show how littering damages the environment.  The left side of his picture shows a clean river as the "right" way to treat the earth.  On the right is the "wrong" way with trash and litter killing the trees and ending up in the water supply.
	Yutika is from Bangalore. This 10-year-old's drawing was submitted with this explanation: "The drawing depicts two sides of the world today. One (left side) a beautiful town with clean environment, green surroundings and healthy environment.. whereas the right side is the state of the cities today we live in - with polluted environment, concrete jungle created by humans and more importantly unhealthy environment - all created by us and now suffering.  Its up to us to decide which side do we want to be !!"
	There were animals galore in the submissions, perhaps none as frequently associated with a healthy environment as the dolphin. Eleven-year-old Shreya, who's dad works in the UK, tells us "Stop Pollution - Proctect Our Enviroment - Let's create a cleaner world".
	Actually, giraffes were remarkably common, particularly in pictures from India & China. This one is from six-year-old Ansh from Bangalore, India, whose title is "Don't Cut Trees."
	Nine-year-old Ned is from Down Under. This son of a leader of green champions in Melbourne poses a challenge with "Protect the Environment."
	Nine-year-old Shira from UK sees a "Happy Earth Dream". We owe it to her to make it a reality!
	From Abby, a nine-year-old from Massachusetts, we have "Think Green". I love the continents!
	Sydney's mom is a close colleague, who is clearly as committed to the environment at home as she is at work. Sydney's title is "Pollution", and comes with this explanation: "On one side, shows polluting trucks and the effect on the environment including plants and animals. On the right side, shows a truck that does not pollute as much and the environment is much healthier. We need to help to make trucks pollute less for a healthier world by changing the way we make trucks, the type of fuel, etc. This is one example of pollution."
	Seven-year-old Calliope knows how personal it is. She was clearly looking forward to many a summer at the Massachusetts seaside with "Saving the Beach."
	8-year-old Premlatha is also from Massachusetts and appears to understand the interdependence of plants and critters. The title of this entry is "Save the Animals."
	Nine- and eleven-year-old siblings Amogh and Sahana from Bangalore followed the "do versus don't" theme.
	Sahana's is clearly a systems thinker. "Get Oxygen Back to Earth" came with this description: "Due to industrialization, smoking, vehicular pollution and felling of trees, carbon footprint is increasing. Trees are great in consuming carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen. So not cutting trees, planting more trees will help. Smoking awareness is another thing that could help atmosphere as well as save lives."
	Grace's New World from this 8-year-old will have flowers in place of trash.
	And from another 8-year-old from Massachusetts asks that we stop cutting trees so we can "Save Animal Habitats".
	Yet another 8-year-old from Massachusetts, Libby doesn't mince words in "Good and Evil".
	Back to the "in our hands" theme with "An ugly or a beautiful planet – it is in our hands" from Matthias, nine-year-old son of an EMC employee in Germany.

There are more tomes, white papers, and PowerPoint presentations on the ROI of Sustainability than I can shake a stick at. And don't get me wrong - we need to understand that.

But we also need to tell the story. And I can't think of anyone better suited to do that than the next generation!
 

Comments

[Kathrin Winkler]

That is beautiful, Ayala. Thank you!

[ayala laksman]

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