Before I start my speech, I want you guys to do something for me. I want you to imagine your favorite outdoor spot. It can be anywhere. A place you visit often, or even a place you have been once, or even just seen in a photo that has left a memory, or an imprint on your mind. I want you to imagine the animals, the greenery, the fresh air that fills this place. Imagine how many people and organisms have been affected by this area and how many of these organisms depend on this place to survive. Now imagine this place covered in garbage. Filthy, disgusting, smelly garbage. The deep green color that once covered the land has turned to a dull brown. The air that once smelled fresh and clean is now full of waste and toxins, and the animals that once lived here have moved away or died. It doesn't take an environmentalist to appreciate the beauty of nature, and besides, it doesn't. It doesn't take an environmentalist to change this terrible fate to which so many natural places on our planet are destined. Today I want to talk to you about why it is so important to change the way we think, as young adults, and the way we act towards today's environmental crisis. Our generation has an opportunity that we must seize and exploit By. We live in an age of astonishing scientific discoveries about how to conserve energy, recycle and reuse our waste, and conserve and protect our earth which is home to organisms that are on the brink of loss and oblivion. Every day we are presented with opportunities to change the way we live and make a difference, but many of us pass up this opportunity with the vague thought that we cannot make a difference and that one person cannot change the planet. .It's so easy to believe you are... in the center of the paper...You can become more cultured. Most of our lives up to this point have been entirely dedicated to our benefit. I'm not asking anyone to change the world alone. We all know that it will take a long, long time to clean up the mess we've gotten ourselves into. I'm not even asking you to convince your friends to change what they do. I'm just asking you to change your way of thinking. I truly believe that to have a real impact, you have to genuinely care about what you're doing. The same idea applies to a job. If you love what you do, it makes a huge difference in how well you do it. It's up to us, as the planet's next generation, to change the way we think about the world around us. We must realize that the environment is not just the background of our life, it is part of our life and has as much importance and right to be here as we do.