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Severn Suzuki | E.C.O. 1992 | Environmental Childrens Organization
By Viola | June 15, 2007
Severn Suzuki | E.C.O. 1992 | Environmental Childrens Organization
Severn Cullis-Suzuki is one of the world’s most remarkable youth environmental activist, speaker, television host as well as author. With some schoolmates she raised money in 1992, when she was only 12 years of age, to attend the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where Severn received a standing ovation for a speech to the delegates.
“Hello, I am Severn Suzuki speaking for E.C.O - the Environmental Children’s Organization. We are a group of 12 and 13 year-olds trying to make a difference, Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg and me. We’ve raised all the money to come here ourselves, to come 5,000 miles to tell you adults you must change your ways. Coming up here today, I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future. Losing my future is not like losing an election, or a few points on the stock market.”
“I am here to speak for all generations to come. I am here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard. I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet, because they have nowhere left to go. I am afraid to go out in the sun now, because of the holes in our ozone. I am afraid to breathe the air, because I don’t know what chemicals are in it. I used to go fishing in Vancouver, my home, with my Dad until, just a few years ago, we found a fish full of cancers. And now we hear of animals and plants going extinct every day, vanishing forever. In my life, I have dreamt of seeing the great herds of wild animals, jungles and rainforests full of birds and butterflies, but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see.”
“Did you have to worry of these things when you were my age? All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions. I’m only a child and I don’t have all the solutions, but I want you to realize, neither do you. You don’t know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer. You don’t know how to bring the salmon back up a dead stream. You don’t know how to bring back an animal now extinct. And you can’t bring back the forest that once grew where there is now a desert. If you don’t know how to fix it, please stop breaking it.”
“Here you may be delegates of your governments, business people, organizers, reporters or politicians. But, really, you’re mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles and all of you are someone’s child. I’m only a child, yet I know we are all part of a family, 5 billion strong, in fact 30 million species strong. And borders and governments will never change that. I’m only a child, yet I know we are all in this together and should act as one single world towards one single goal.”
“In my anger, I am not blind and in my fear I am not afraid of telling the world how I feel. In my country we make so much waste, we buy and throw away, buy and throw away, buy and throw away and yet Northern countries will not share with the needy. Even when we have more than enough we are afraid to share, we are afraid to let go of some of our wealth. In Canada , we live the privileged life. We’ve plenty of food, water and shelter. We have watches, bicycles, computers and television sets. The list could go on for 2 days. Two days ago here in Brazil , we were shocked when we spent time with some children living on the streets. This is what one child told us, ‘I wish I was rich and if I were, I would give all the street children food, clothes, medicines, shelter and love and affection’. If a child on the street who has nothing is willing to share, why are we who have everything still so greedy? I can’t stop thinking that these are children my own age, that it makes a tremendous difference where you are born. And that I could be one of those children living in the favelas of Rio . I could be a child starving in Somalia , or a victim of war in the Middle East or a beggar in India . I am only a child, yet I know if all the money spent on war was spent on finding environmental answers ending poverty and in finding treaties, what a wonderful place this earth would be.”
“At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us how to behave in the world. You teach us to not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others and to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then, why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? Do not forget why you are attending these conferences, who you are doing this for. We are your own children. You are deciding what kind of a world we are growing up in. Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying ‘Everything is going to be all right, it’s not the end of the world, and we are doing the best we can’. But I don’t think you can say that to us anymore. Are we even on your list of priorities? My dad always says, ‘You are what you do, not what you say’. Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown-ups say you love us. But I challenge you, please, make your actions reflect your words. Thank you.”
Link to a speech of David Suzuki, Severn’s father:
The Challenge of the Twenty First Century: Setting the Real Bottom Line
I HIGHLY recommend to watch the Video that has so far been watched 710,657
Great Video
Topics: Green Issues |
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:29 am
Wow Wow Wow, I am speechless, Really good job, Please don’t give up!! I am all with you!! You’ve opened my mind and my eyes!
Thank you, a thousand times THANK YOU!
June 6th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Olá Amigos gostaria muito de ter o e mail ou site de Severn Cullis Suzuki pois temos um projeto educativo para crianças, através de nossos personagens em quadrinhos… conheçam o nosso site e nos coloquem por favor em contato com Severn, pois estamos levando nosso projeto para Vancouver no Canada…
Obrigado
Lazarini
June 7th, 2008 at 12:09 am
Waow dear, i salute you for this, I am all the way with you. Please let me know if can be of any help and how can we be together and make a change to achieve our single goal.
As being in India, i can get up and bring up group of youths who all are ready to get up and start a begining.
Wish you and this spirit lives for ever and wake up many more and achive The GOAL.
Thank You..
June 17th, 2008 at 4:10 am
Severn, you will indeed make a fine head of the the UN; it is about time we had a woman there. Off to an excellent start! We total agree with all you’ve said. I find it terribly exasperating that those to whom we go to end the problems are often the ones generating or bartering in them to keep themselves in the said positions. A serious job of chiseling we have indeed! So splendid to hear you!
June 25th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Hello Miss Suzuki,
You were invited to speak to participants of a United Nations meeting. That is quite an achievement. Bravo
What you did not know is that at least some of the people you spoke to knew how to stop the ecological crises ;
Consumers should be able to deduct from their taxable income, the money they spent on goods and services that ensure sustainable development.
Billions of income tax paying consumers will instantaneously demand poducts that ensure the permanence of development. Producers will have to compete with each other to supply these products or go bankrupt.
In spite of the fact that politicians, particularly the Belgian, some Dutch and quite a few Euro politicians know that accounting for the green costs of living is a necessary and lacking practise in the secience of economy, they refuse to even consider putting it into practise.
In my dictionary their behaviour is qualified as high treason and they as criminals.
More information at www.biosustainable.org. You can read there how this accounting practise will put an end to the poverty on this planet and thus prevent a war between the haves and have nots, between Muslims and Christians.
Politicians, with the blessing of the Pope and the Ayathollas are just craving for this war.
When you have a chance to talk to a UN conference again, may be you could question the participants about their interests.
I regret that I lost even my hope in the integrity of politicians of the physical and metaphysical world.
Kind regards,
July 6th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I just wanted to tell you that although we have never met, that I am extremely proud of you as a fellow human being for your most amazing speech,and thank you so much for having the courage to stand up in front of the world and say what so needed to be said, you have given a 44 year old pessimist hope for our future, you are an amazing human being, thank you so much, louise sims uk.
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:27 am
You said it all very eloquently. You give me hope for the children of the world. Thank you.
September 22nd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
HI SUZUKI,
I HAVE NO WORDS TO SAY…. ITS AMAZING & MIND BLOWING PERFORMANCE THAT U HAVE DELIVERED INFRONT OF OLD GUYS..MAY GOD BLESS U
ALL THE BEST…
January 24th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Felicito a SEVERN SUZUKI POR SUS SABIAS PALABRAS
HACE POCOS DÍAS ME LLEGÓ ESTE VIDEO ES EMOCIONANTE
POR SU REALIDAD.
SOY ABOGADA Y COMPARTO LOS IDEALES DE SEVERN TODOS DEBEMOS PONER ACCIÓN PARA APRENDER A VIVIR EN PAZ Y CON UNA CALIDAD DE VIDA ÓPTIMA SE SIGNIFIQUE EL RESPETO POR LA VIDA HUMANA Y LA DE LAS LEYES NATURALES.
AGRADECERÉ ME ENVÍEN EL MAIL DE LA ORGANIZACIÓN PARA PODER PARTICIPAR Y FORMAR PARTE
MI PAÍS PADECE SEVEROS PROBLEMAS AMBIENTALES Y TAMBÉN UNA INEQUITATITVA DISTRIBUCIÓN DE LA RIQUEZA LO QUE HACE QUE MUERAN NIÑOS JÓVENES Y VIEJOS YA SEA POR FALTA DE ALIMENTACIÓN COMO POR FALTA DE UNA VIVIENDA DIGNA Y/O VICTIMAS DE ADICCIONES. OTRO FLAGELO LETAL. UN CORDIAL SALUDO DESDE BUENOS AIRES ARGENTINA. AGUARDO VUESTRO CONTACTO. ELIDA
February 20th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Hey Severn,
I had your speech in my GK text book and i fell in love with it the moment i read it..you have seriously opened all of our eyes.
If there is any help needed for fund raising or anything os that sort please contact me on charlie_angel2shivani@yahoo.co.in
thank you
May 19th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Hello
I saw the presentation of Severn Suzuki in You Tube and I propose that a
global project known. The World March for Peace and Nonviolence. And if you
agree to adhere and the development of this march. The Web is
http://www.theworldmarch.org. Severn’s speech is entirely consistent with
the aims of the Global March.
Thank you. An affectionate greeting. Rodolfo