The Rainforest. Its gotta stop.

[Boyd]

 

[melody123]

It's good that you have found something to care about, it may lead you to a future career or volunteer opportunity. But please don't freak out that the Earth is going to be destroyed in a couple of years.

25 years ago I was told by my grade school teachers that we were entering global cooling, and icebergs and glaciers were going to take over the Earth. (Not a joke, google newsweek and global cooling for a good laugh.)
20 Years ago I was told by my middle school teachers that the rainforest would be entirely gone in 10 years. ( I personally visited it, it's still there.)

10 years ago I was told by my High School teachers that the hole in the ozone would make it deadly to step outside in 10 years.

Yet I am still alive, able to go outside without dying or turning blind, and I visited the rainforest that isn't supposed to exist.

Not to mention acid rain, alar in the apples, killer bees, killer ants, killer hurricanes, killer earthquakes, killer tornadoes, SARS, mad cow disease, the Bird flu, H1N1 influenza type A, mercury poisoning, the threat of extinction of every animal ever known or unknown, global warming, global climate change, the shifting of the poles, 2012, radon in our houses killing us, etc.

Please ignore the fear mongering, find a local problem that you an help with. You can't save the whole planet, and it's hardwork to research what is truthful and what is not. Don't let the adults freak you out, find a way to help your community without going into some sort of panic.

Perhaps there is a local park or river that has trash that you and your friends could clean up. Or you can start or improve the recycling system at your school. Or you can collect and recycle those CFL lightbulbs that contain dangerous Mercury that are being tossed in the garbage because most people don't know that they should be recycled. (Or where to recycle them.)

 

[Wifezilla]

Melody, did we go to the same school??

P.S. You forgot about the population bomb, the return of the dust bowls and the great landfill crisis

 

[Cindiloohoo]

and someone thought homeschool was a bad idea...

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Heres the advice that will get you somewhere in life, regardless if its to be an enviormentalist or if you want to be a conservative politition:

Stay in school. Don't get anything lower than a B in any class. If you can, when in high school, take some classes at the community college. (Sciences, maybe) Get involved in your community, it doesn't matter what as long as you are helping someone or something. You like the enviorment, so maybe volunteer working for wildlife rehab, or local park. Stay focused, don't get distracted from your grades or goals by friends, etc. get a part time job on the weekends and save your money. learn how to handle your savings. Apply to college, study whatever you want, it doesn't really matter what you study because most people have mult majors & minors, change majors or change careers several times in thier life. If you do all of that, your life will be great, and you will end up doing something important. Don't let people dissuade you from your goals and dreams. You will meet a lot of people that tell you you should or shouldn't think or care about things, but don't pay attention to them. Study. Work. Go to college.

 

[Boyd]

Quote:

 

[dacjohns]

Quote:
I will repeat a little here.

Take all the science you can; biology, chemistry, geography, math, statistics.
Add to it some physics, geology and other earth science.
There are a lot of subject areas in biology that you will need; wildlife, ecology, botany, microbiology (maybe not a lot but it will help), and anything else you can take. They will all support each other.
Be proficient with technology.

Along with your geography become proficient in geographic information system (GIS). You have to have to be able to do mapping and related data retrieval.

Travel and see the world. It might not be as bad off as you thing it is. On the other hand it might be. It will help you put things in perspective.

I recommend getting to know what the big picture is. Doing local things like rehab and working in parks are all good but you could get sidetracked. On the other hand you might also find something more manageable.

Be openminded. Don't become so focused you become narrow minded and lose sight of the big picture. Look at all sides of the issues.

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
There isn't just one way to be an "environmentalist". You can help the environment from all sorts of different fields. A biologist could study endangered species, a chemist could develop household products that are safer for the environment, an engineer could develop better renewable energy alternatives, a politician could work to pass more environmentally-friendly laws -- the possibilities are endless. So take lots of science courses and study hard, but don't ignore everything else!

As somebody mentioned earlier, volunteering is also a great idea. There's always local groups that do river cleanup or recycle or campaign for better laws, or whatever -- there's all sorts of things to do.

And finally -- you don't have to make a career out of environmentalism in order to be an environmentalist. Just contribute what you can. Be a part of the solution!

 

[dacjohns]

I agree with amazondoc most of the time.


And I do this time also.

 

[gamebirdsonly]

Quote:
Ditto !!