Dear world - letters from children around the world describing their feelings about nature and pollution - book excerpt

Ranger Rick, April, 1994 by Lannis Temple

I've always loved nature and traveling. So one day I left my job as a lawyer and set off to exlpore the world. Everywhere I went, I met friendly people. And everywhere I looked, I saw signs of pollution.

One day I was on a train in Romania - a country in Eastern Europe. Out of the window, I saw a factory's thick smog choking the trees. Then and thre, I decided to talk with children around the world about their feelings on nature and pollution.

The more I heard, the more I learned. I wanted to remember it all. So I asked the children to write letters about their thoughts and feelings. Sometimes kids see things that adults don't. And kids around the world see many different things. But you know what? The letters showed that we all share the same love for nature and for the same damaged planet.

I had the letters translated into English and put them together in a book called Dear World. (You can look for it in a bookstore or library.) Turn the page to read some of my favorite letters from the book.

Dear World, I hope that in the fu-ture, people will stop treating you like a garbage cah and start treating you like a brother.

Joanthan Jezequel, 8, Costa Rica

Dear World, My favorite animal is the tiger. I wish I could see one. When I'm with an animal, I'm scared. But I get used to it and look into my heart and give it to the animal.

Manuel Jimenez, 8, Costa Rica

Dear Friends of the World, I think that people should spend more time out in nature. You can feel free when you're out in nature - like no one can. boss you around. You're like a zoo animal that got out and ran off into the wild where it belongs.

When you're in nature, don't try to be someone else, don't try to be someone that you can't be. Just be yourself and try to be free and put all your worries off and have fun. If you're not a very fun person, go out in nature and maybe vou will be

Miles Cunningham, 11, U.S.A.

Shalom, World, It simply makes me cry for joy sometimes - to go for a stroll, see butterflies, catch erasshod ers, count falling leaves, or lie on my back behind my house and watch the changing shapes of the clouds against a blue sky.

Billie Shecher, 10, Israel

Dear World, I like to hunt turtles. When I hunt, I hunt only two turtles - enough for me and my family. I wish all people would hunt for only the animals they need.

Clifford Djandjomerr, 14, Australia

Dear World, Here's what I want to tell people: Don't throw anything into the countryside. Nothing, nothing, nothing - so that later we'll have a beautiful world. A better environment begins with each person.

Robbie Baselier, 10, The Netherlands

Dear World, I'd love to live together with all of nature's animals in the mountains that shine like gold. And the mountains have a value like gold.

Jose Ramon Ivarra Rugama, 14, Nicaragua

Dear World, If the oceans and rivers could talk, I think they would say: "We had clear water in the past. But as time went by, dams and factories were built, and our clean water became dirty. We want human beings to be more honestly concerned about the seas and rivers."

Sanae Kuwana, 11, Japan

My Dear World! I want to tell you about nature in my country. I wouldn't be able to live without this lovely nature. Most of all I love my dear Irtysh River and the lovely Russian birch trees.

When I walk in the forest, I admire the simplicity and the beauty of Russian nature. Oh, my curly green birches - I admire your white trunks. You are so close to my heart! I rejoice looking at nature, my heart is light, and I feel happy.

I love to listen to the starlings sing. Their sweet singing makes my soul want to break free and fly far, far away. I'd fly to those birds and sing with them just as freely.

Lena Babkova, 11, Russia

Dear People of the World, I like to swim, but most of all I like watching the sunset. The sky is flooded with pink light. But the factories, as if out of spite, are puffing away, and the dirty smoke drifts in the pink sky. I want to shout for all the world to hear: "Don't pollute the air!" I nearly cry.

At night when it's dark and the factories are quiet, I look at the stars. I am filled with freedom and happiness. At that moment only my cat understands me. We sit and gaze at the beautiful sky.

Natasha Manayenkova, 10, Russia

Dear People of the World, Our world is dying because of us all. Don't throw bombs in the world and don't cut our trees. Don't kill the world. When we kill our world, where can we live and where are we going to sleep?

Linda Mncube, 11, South Africa

Dear World, Half the world suffered from the Chernobyl accident [a nuclear explosion that happened in Russia in 1984!. And there have been other big disasters as well. Children all over the world are surprised and struck by the behavior of adults.

But we still all the time. We laugh at our own troubles and misfortunes - in songs, jokes, and stories. It's how we are as a people. From the outside, it might seem that the more terrible life is, the merrier we become.

Nobody knows how high the radiation level is, and we continue to drink milk from our dairy factories and to eat meat from the farms near the city.