Brittany Trilford is 17 years old and from New Zealand. In her Date with History, she was able to speak to the 140 delegates at the Rio+20 Earth Summit to voice her concerns about how the decisions they make could impact her generation, her children and her children’s children. It was an articulate, impassioned plea.
Just like 12-year-old Severn Suzuki who gave an impassioned speech at the first Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, Brittany called on world leaders to make the right decisions to protect the planet.
Brittany echoed the sentiment out on the streets of Rio as demonstrators from around the world and from all walks of life came together to call for an end to the destructive practices that are wrecking the world’s environment and likely pushing the world towards a tipping point, if the latest climate studies are to be believed.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and others at the meeting have spoken of the need for change and the opportunity that could slip from our grasp if meaningful decisions are not made by governments around the world.
But world leaders are deaf to the call and the cries.
Political leaders and big business are tied to the mantra of economic growth and massive profits. And this comes at such a serious cost that future generations are likely to look back at this conference in Brazil and ask – why didn’t they act?
Severn Suzuki’s call 20 years ago was not acted on. Brittany’s call is unlikely to be acted on.
Yet the world should be listening to kids like Brittany.
If major changes in how man interacts with his environment are not made, the future for Brittany’s kids, and her kid’s kids, will be bleak indeed.
