"The world as it is and the world as it should be"

We began watching a speech by Michelle Obama in class yesterday that grasped my attention. After the fire drill rudely interrupted it barely two minutes in, I found myself curious about the speech. I found the video when I got home and watched it, and although it had almost nothing to do with ecology or the environment, I understood why Professor Hirsch wanted up to watch it. The overall theme of the speech can be simplified by quoting the First Lady when she ponders the difference of "the world as it is and the world as it should be." Although she refers mostly to the power of education for women, she touches on a topic we have discussed in class that I find myself to be most interested in. This is the ability of one person to make a difference. She uses examples of female artists, authors, and civil rights activists who have single handedly opened doors for women around the world. Her speech was successful in the sense that she kept me thinking about what she said for hours after I watched it. I played her words over and over in my mind trying to connect it to the ecological perspective, and then it hit me. If history has taught us anything, it's been to learn from our mistakes. In regards to government, economy, and other aspects of life we have done so. But how luch longer will it take for us to realize that we are ruining our environment. It has been said and proven time and time again that our lifestyle as a globe is only demolishing the chances for future generations. So why keep up our devious actions? Why keep throwing plastic into our landfills and cutting down acres and acres of forest? The answer: because it's the easy way out. However, as peak oil and an global warming grow near we need to change our ways. We need to take our First Lady's advice and make a difference for ourselves in order to change to world for others. Since we were young people have told us that we can make a difference. I don't know about you but I always thought it was doubtful. How can I, out of millions and billions of people in the world, make a difference? Just take one look in a history book and count the hundreds of individuals who single handedly made our world a better place one step at a time. It's time for us to stand up and make strides toward cleaner air and a more healthy environment. Don't be the problem, be the solution. After all, we're the ones who live here. We're only making it harder on ourselves in the long run by taking the easy way out.