T h e    P r o j e c t

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I have a dream too

I have a dream
About cheerfully twittering birds and twinkling fresh water.

I have a dream
And only that dream
Because it will never be reality.

I have a nightmare
And we are all living it.
The horrifying image of poluted rivers, dense clouds of smoke in the sky, tree stumps where once were forests, hard roads where cows used to graze…

All we care about are our needs
And by satisfying those
We destroy what we really need.

I consume, you consume. There is no question. We just do.
Little by little, we hurt the earth.
She is so generous. She gave us life, she improves our lifes and she makes our lifes comfortable to live. How can we not be grateful for that? And how… how can we hurt her in return?

A good life isn’t based on the number of possessions you have or on the amount of money you’ve got to spend. A nice soft bed and a hot shower, a warm meal when you come home from work… and people who love and care about you. If no one cared about you? How would you feel?

Oke, so you won’t do it to save nature. It rains when you have to bike to school and it teases you with sunshine when you’re finally inside.
But all we have is nature! Doesn’t anyone realize it?
Consumption in industrialized nations has led to overexploitation of the resources of developing countries.
There are people with only a handful of rice because we, over here, consume too much.
The more we consume, the less there is available for others, and not just for people in developing countries. The earth can’t proceed giving if we don’t slow down taking.
Our children, their children… each generation will have less, untill there is nothing left.

According to Thoreau, "A man's relation to nature must come very near to a personal one." I’m not saying we are supposed to hug trees, like princess Irene, but I’m trying to say, we should have more affection towards nature.

If you type in the word “consuming” at google, the first ten hits you get, are websites telling you customers should complain more and they should expect better products.
They tell you to rise up and use your influence as a consumer against companies.
This is wrong!
We should use our influence to improve the environment! It’s time for action. Don’t just think other people will do it, because you are them and you should intervene! Don’t wait for others! Nothing is happening and nothing will continue to happen like this.

Just look around this room… and think of the things that are really necessary… and think of the things we don’t need at all. No matter what room you are in, there are always a few objects which aren’t essential. Then why are they present? If we don’t need them why are they there?

Oh, but it doesn’t have to be like this!
We can not cure the earth, but we can heal her. We can stop being selfish and we can start to care!

I have a dream,
my dream should be your dream, and your dream will be our dream.
That dream… will never come true.
But at least it can make the nightmare fade away.

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With this speech.. I mean to tell you the following:
With us, nature won't survive. Without nature, we won't survive.

If we just make small changes to our behavior and routines, and we can make a huge difference. As long as we all do it.. Together.
We don't have to donate money, we can help out by spending nothing at all, only a little more energy.

- Turn off the TV when you're not watching it.
Really, many many people just leave it on... wasting electricity..

- Bike to school instead of going by car/bus/etc.
Oh but it's too far? Well if it's over 20 km. I understand, but really, I know people who live 15 km from their school, and still bike. Trough wind, trough rain... they bike to school.

- Throw your empty cans/pieces of paper/gum/etc. in a bin.
You will be amazed by the amount of people who don't do that. It's so easy, just walk up to a bin and throw it away... And still hardly anyone does.

See, if everyone would do those things... all those little things, you have no idea how much that would help already.
Less damaging car fumes... or animals choking on plastic... just because you have the strength to bike instead of drive, or take that extra step towards a bin.

Please help me spread this message, and together, we can make our world so much better!