Listen to the Children - Severn Cullis-Suzuki's famous speech on the environment (1992)
Summary
TLDRSevern Suzuki, representing the Environmental Children's Organization, passionately addresses the United Nations, urging adults to take responsibility for the environment. She highlights the plight of future generations, the extinction of species, and the need for global unity to combat environmental issues. Suzuki challenges the audience to reflect on their actions, questioning the disparity between what they teach children and their own behaviors, and calls for a world that prioritizes environmental sustainability and equity.
Takeaways
- 🌳 Severn Suzuki represents the Environmental Children's Organization, emphasizing the urgency of environmental issues from a child's perspective.
- 💪 The group of children, aged 12 and 13, have independently raised funds to travel to speak to adults about the need for change.
- 🌏 Suzuki highlights the global impact of environmental degradation, including ozone depletion and air pollution.
- 🐟 She shares personal experiences of environmental decline, such as finding cancerous fish and witnessing the extinction of species.
- 👶 Suzuki speaks for future generations, expressing fear for what her children might not see due to current environmental trends.
- 🤔 The speech acknowledges the lack of solutions from both the speaker and the adults, emphasizing the need for collective action.
- 🔍 The speaker challenges the audience, stating that they don't know how to fix environmental problems but should stop causing further damage.
- 🌱 Suzuki calls for unity and cooperation among all people, regardless of borders, to address environmental issues.
- 🏛 She criticizes the disparity between the wealth of developed nations and the poverty of others, questioning the reluctance to share resources.
- 💰 The speech points out the irony of children being taught values such as sharing and respect, while adults act contrary to these lessons.
- 👨👩👧👦 Suzuki reminds the audience that they are acting on behalf of their own children and asks them to reflect on their priorities and actions.
Q & A
Who is Severn Suzuki and what organization does she represent?
-Severn Suzuki is a young environmental activist who, at the age of 12, represented the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO) at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992.
What is the main message Severn Suzuki is trying to convey to the adults in the audience?
-Severn Suzuki is urging adults to change their ways and take responsibility for the environmental damage they have caused, emphasizing the importance of future generations and the need for immediate action.
What is the significance of the phrase 'fighting for my future' used by Severn Suzuki?
-The phrase 'fighting for my future' signifies the urgency and personal stake that young people have in the environmental issues being discussed, as their future is directly impacted by the current state of the environment.
Why does Severn Suzuki mention the ozone layer and the extinction of species?
-Severn Suzuki mentions the ozone layer and species extinction to highlight the severity of environmental problems and the irreversible consequences of inaction, such as the loss of biodiversity and the potential health risks to humans.
What does Severn Suzuki imply when she talks about the 'holes in our ozone layer' and 'animals and plants going extinct'?
-She implies the critical state of the environment due to human activities, such as pollution and habitat destruction, which have led to the depletion of the ozone layer and the extinction of various species.
Why does Severn Suzuki express fear about going out in the Sun and breathing the air?
-Severn expresses fear due to the environmental degradation, including the depletion of the ozone layer which increases harmful UV radiation, and air pollution which can contain harmful chemicals and particulates.
What is the connection Severn Suzuki draws between the behavior taught in school and the actions of adults?
-Severn points out the discrepancy between the values taught to children, such as respect, sharing, and not harming others, and the actions of adults who often fail to apply these principles in addressing global environmental and social issues.
What does Severn Suzuki suggest when she talks about 'buy and throw away' culture?
-Severn criticizes the consumerist culture of developed countries where resources are often wasted through overconsumption and disposability, contributing to environmental problems like pollution and resource depletion.
What is the implication of Severn Suzuki's statement about children living on the streets in Brazil?
-The implication is a call for empathy and a reminder of the stark inequalities in the world, where some children have nothing while others have abundance, and a challenge to the audience to consider their role in perpetuating these disparities.
How does Severn Suzuki challenge the adults to reflect their love for children through their actions?
-Severn challenges adults to ensure that their actions align with their professed love for children by taking concrete steps to address environmental and social issues, rather than just making empty promises.
What is the final appeal Severn Suzuki makes to the adults in the audience?
-Severn's final appeal is for the adults to take immediate and meaningful action on environmental issues, to stop contributing to environmental degradation, and to create a world that is safe and sustainable for future generations.
Outlines
🌏 Environmental Activism by Youth
Severn Suzuki, a young representative of the environmental children's organization 'Ecco', addresses the audience at a conference. She emphasizes the urgency of environmental issues, stating that the future of all generations is at stake. Severn and her peers have self-funded their journey to highlight the need for adults to change their ways. She speaks for the voiceless: the starving children, dying animals, and the disappearing natural wonders. Severn expresses her fear for the environment, mentioning the ozone layer depletion and air pollution. She challenges the audience, stating that despite being a child, she understands the gravity of the situation, and questions the adults' ability to find solutions to environmental crises. She calls for unity and collective action against environmental degradation.
🤔 The Paradox of Wealth and Greed
In the second paragraph, Severn Suzuki continues her speech by addressing the disparity between the rich and the poor. She recounts the aspirations of a street child who, despite having nothing, wishes to share if given the chance. This contrasts with the greed and unwillingness of the wealthy to share their resources. Severn reflects on her own privileged life in Canada and the stark contrast with children living in poverty around the world. She criticizes the adult world for not practicing the values they teach children, such as respect, sharing, and caring for the environment. Severn challenges the adults to align their actions with their words and to prioritize the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. She ends her speech with a plea for the adults to consider the kind of world they are creating for the next generation and to take responsibility for their actions.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Environment
💡Ozone Layer
💡Extinction
💡Sustainability
💡Pollution
💡Cancer
💡Privilege
💡Greed
💡Action
💡Generations
💡Responsibility
Highlights
Severn Suzuki speaks on behalf of the Environmental Children's Organization, a group of young activists striving to make a difference.
The young activists have self-funded their journey to address the urgent need for environmental action.
Suzuki emphasizes the intergenerational impact of environmental issues, fighting for her future and generations to come.
She highlights the plight of starving children and endangered species, whose existence is threatened by environmental degradation.
Suzuki expresses fear for her health due to pollution and the depletion of the ozone layer.
The speaker recounts the decline of wildlife in her hometown, Vancouver, including finding cancerous fish.
She dreams of preserving natural wonders like wild herds and lush jungles for future generations.
Suzuki challenges the audience, stating that neither she nor they have all the solutions to environmental issues.
A call to action for adults and leaders to stop contributing to environmental harm if they cannot fix it.
The speaker reminds the audience of their roles as family members and the interconnectedness of all life on Earth.
Suzuki emphasizes the need for global unity and collective action towards a single environmental goal.
She criticizes the disparity between the wealth of northern countries and the poverty of the needy.
The speaker recounts a street child's wish to share resources, questioning the greed of the wealthy.
Suzuki reflects on the potential for a better world if war funds were redirected to environmental and social causes.
She points out the contradiction between the values taught in schools and the actions of adults.
The speaker urges the audience to consider their priorities and the kind of world they are creating for children.
Suzuki challenges the audience to ensure their actions align with their words of love for children.
Transcripts
[Laughter]
[Music]
[Applause]
hello I'm Severn Suzuki speaking for
Ecco the environmental children's
organization we're 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 five
thousand 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 speak on behalf of
the starving children around the world
whose cries go unheard
I'm 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'm
afraid to breathe the air because I
don't know what chemicals are in it I
used to go and I used to go fishing in
Vancouver my home with my dad until just
a few years ago we found the 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 know
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 and a dead stream you
don't know how to bring back an animal
now extinct and you can't bring back the
forests 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 organisers reporters or
politicians but really your 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 five 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 in my anger I am NOT
blind and in my fear I'm 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 with plenty of
food water and shelter
we have watches bicycles computers and
television sets the list could go on for
two 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 streets 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 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
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 to clean up our mess not
to hurt other creatures to share not be
greedy then why do you go out and do do
the things you tell us not to do do not
forget why you're attending these
conferences who you're 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's going to be alright it's
not the end of the world and we're and
we're 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
[Applause]
[Music]
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