Dear Earth,

I know that you are are hurting. I am trying to help you. I don’t want 7.5 billion people to be harmed in any way and all of our incredible breakthroughs and amazing accomplishments to just fizzle out and be wasted space. Cars, planes, NASA, trains, iPhone's, music, books, schools, ideas, everything. Almost 200,000 years of work, research, and dedication. If we just do some simple things, we can save you and preserve these accomplishments. Save our mother, the earth. Simple acts don't need to change our whole lives, but can protect the earth.

Try something simple. Turn the lights out. Shut the water off. These common things can seriously help. If everyone stopped recycling we would be up to our heads in garbage in no time at all. It may seem a crazy but it is true. I am not exaggerating. There are 7.5  billion people on Earth and each person produces 4.3 pounds of trash each day which is a lot of trash in a day. Tons in a year. In 2012, only 34.5% of all trash (that’s a lot) was recycled. In the end, it will all be worth it! Every recycling bin, every step forward.

I know you are in pain and scientists do too. If we come together we can save you. We must share our opinions. Other people may think like us and agree. We cannot feel like we are stuck in a personal bubble and we are the only one who cares about climate change.

Unfortunately, there are too many people who don’t care about you. They just push you aside and doubt the science. Just glancing at the headline made me feel so bad for you. In the article, “PROOF: CNN Knows Climate Change Is a Big Fat Hoax,” the author said things like, “Scientists claim that global temperatures have increased 1 degree Celsius/2 degrees Fahrenheit since pre-industrial times. Even if that's true, which I doubt, that is actually a good thing.” I respect their opinion, but this article makes me feel sorry for you. I need to help you. I need to go out and change. Educated people versus closed minded people who don’t want to accept climate change. I’m sorry Earth. Look at the facts.

Countless scientists have researched the earth’s rising temperature and found breathtaking evidence. “Global sea level rose about 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) in the last century.” There are thousands of small details in our everyday life like animals dying, ice caps melting, sea levels rising, disease spreading, and even fresh water disappearing. Even these people who doesn't believe that our planet is getting hotter right now, you should still care because let’s face it; if Earth is in danger, where are 7.5 billion people going to move? Even if we found a planet similar, how would we get there and how would we have enough resources. It may be possible in the future but it’s clearly not an option.

Everyone needs their own motivation. I live in Colorado, the beautiful state that you created and I’ve had lots of experiences out in nature enjoying the breathtaking beauty. Mine is the beauty of nature. Rivers rushing in the mountains, pink flowers blooming in the springtime, crystal white snow. Mother Earth, you are beautiful. Mother Earth, you are worth all pain and sorrow. You are worth it and you need to be preserved.

We need to do something. Everything.

Let’s find a solution. If people don’t start to care about our earth, it will be very hard on us people because we won’t be able to fix anything and it will be too late…

Anyone can do anything! Homeowners can simply reuse containers instead of throwing them away and if you have to throw something away be smart and think. Should I recycle this? Put it in the trash? Would it be good for the garden or yard? Students can learn about climate change and ask your teachers. Business owners can think about how you commute and if you could carpool or use public transportation to save gas, money and the environment. If 7.5 billion people did this, Earth would finally be happy and we would not have to worry.
You can’t talk but you can warn us with Melting ice caps, droughts, disease, hurricanes, heat waves, and many other things. You need us or you will be in trouble. Big trouble. You need people like us to help and solve this major problem.

I don’t just want to complain. I want to fix the damage that humans have done and help everyone. Think of our future generations. The little children. They are innocent and will be harmed. We are not innocent and we will not be harmed. It is their future, our problem and we need to find a solution. I hope you can survive for a few more years while humans work hard to help you.

I'm working on it,   

       Ava