Middle-schoolers write about caring for planet in Human Rights Day essays

Six Sioux Falls middle school students were recognized Dec. 10 in a ceremony at the Multi-Cultural Center for their winning essays marking Human Rights Day, along with several other best-of-school winners. The essay topic this year was "Caring for our Global Home." The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is celebrated around the world each Dec. 10 on the anniversary of its signing.

Here are the first- and second-place winning essays for seventh grade and eighth grade.

EIGHTH GRADE

FIRST:  Patrick Vogel, Sioux Falls Christian Middle School

"Caring for our Global Home"

Over the next minute, millions of phenomena will occur. Two hundred and fifty babies will be born. The sun will shoot 60 million tons of matter into space, and 31,600 tons of water will fall from Niagara Falls. Though many fascinating and awe-inspiring things happen, there is also a flipside to this wonder. In the next 60 seconds, the Earth will lose two acres of its precious farmland. Our rainforests are decreasing; we’ve lost 80 percent since 1900. And to top it off, our Earth is rapidly losing its biodiversity. After hearing about these things that appear to be wrecking our Earth, it leaves me to wonder … who is behind this, and what can be done about it?

If you have set out in search of the answer to this question, you don’t have to go far. Scientists have searched for the cause of this problem, and they have found one answer: human activity. We are cutting down forests that animals call their home; we are building and expanding on the very fields used for growing the food humans need to survive.

But there’s still hope, and I believe that it starts with doing little things like planting a tree in your backyard for your neighborhood squirrels and birds to live in. You can also take care of the plants and grass to keep soil from eroding. And  if we do these little things, I believe that we are beginning to care for this planet, this Earth, our global home.

SECOND: Davis Shafer, Edison Middle School

"Deforestation: A Worldwide Crisis"

One can only wonder what it would be like to be a tree. Perhaps it would be peaceful, enjoying the cool breeze as it gently tousled one’s branches and rustled leaves. Perhaps it would be cozy, soaking in the warmth of the sun on each leaf. Perhaps it would be joyful, witnessing buds blooming in spring. Or perhaps it would be terrifying, seeing the destruction and the pandemonium of timber and logging industries.

Nearly 15 billion trees are cut down each year, creating more problems than just the loss of trees. Firstly, deforestation undermines the balance of the ecosystem and destroys biodiversity. Without biodiversity, the planet cannot thrive. Without the trees, the rest of the planet is without food. Secondly, it quickens the extinction of indigenous people. The spread of Western civilization causes trees to be cut down in order to continue industrializing the world. Indigenous people encounter life-threatening diseases because of the Western diseases that they bring from other places. In Peru, more than half of an indigenous tribe died as a result of a disease that was brought by Western cultures. Lastly, deforestation causes acculturation. The tribes that have been living in these forests are forced to combine cultures with the overbearing Western cultures, resulting in the loss of indigenous cultures, which has happened many times throughout history.

Deforestation is a problem that must be addressed. With the loss of biodiversity, extinction of indigenous people and acculturation, it is one of the most serious problems on the planet.

SECOND: Anaka Jacobson,  Memorial Middle School

"13 Years Later ..."

I wake up to a spoiling stench. A smell I have gotten used to. The year is 2030, but not much has changed. Crops, plants, animals and people are all still dying from disease, just like they have been for the past five years.

I get up from my bed on the floor and walk outside. I let my mind wander to the days where I could take a shower, or even use running water. I’d do anything to wash my hair, or even brush my teeth.

I see Grant sitting near the road, peering at something far ahead. I turn my head to see what he’s looking at and am surprised to see a cow grazing near the dry crops that used to be flourishing this time of year. Agriculture used to be our main source of food. So when It ran out, panic spread everywhere.

There’s nothing else to do besides wait. For what, I’m not sure. Maybe for a miracle, or maybe to be put out of our misery.

We’re running low on food. We have limited water, and the droughts aren’t helping either. People are getting sick. They’re dying. If you had told me that this would happen 13 years ago, well, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Our obliviousness has led to something no one could’ve imagined.

If only we had cared about our world. If only we had tried to stop the deforestation, or the land use, or even just recycled that can. If only. 

SEVENTH GRADE

FIRST:  Makea Buchanan, Edison Middle School

"Earth: Our Global Home"

Earth is our home.  It is the home to all known living things.  Animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, you name it.  It provides everything necessary to our survival.  However, in order to protect our planet as it has protected us, we must change the way we use it.  It is that simple.

Human beings have not always been on this Earth.  Compared to the planet, we have existed for less than a second.  But everything we do has an enormous impact on our home and fellow living things.  Global warming, plant and animal extinction, desertification, erosion, degradation and much more are all happening due to a toxic substance known as pollution and its cousin, deforestation.  We have to stop it.  As daunting a task it may sound, the fate of the planet relies on us, all 7.6 billion human beings that live on the Earth today.  

Now, there’s more than one way to do this.  Recycling, composting, saving electricity and water (to reduce the number of wasted resources), biking or walking short distances (instead of driving to reduce air pollution) and picking up litter are just a few of our many options.  If everyone on Earth just makes the smallest difference in going about their day, we can make a huge impact, so spread the word!  Let everybody know that we can help the planet, one step at a time.  I guarantee you, we will make a huge difference by caring for our global home.

SECOND: Bella Martinez, Edison Middle School

"To my Descendants: I’m Sorry"

In my deepest regards, I tell you that I am sorry. I apologize that we did reckless things to Mother Nature and left you with her broken and polluted body. We took everything from the earth, from her trees, to her atmosphere that we polluted with smoke, and all the while we called it progress. All for small, green pieces of cotton, that look as green as the leaves on the trees that we destroyed.

Those trees provided for us. They provided clean air, shelter for animals, and some provided medicine. But it is in great woe that I have to inform you that we burned and cut them all down for financial stability.

I’m sorry that because of our actions, you have to find another planet to live on, because ours is too ruined. We were too focused on that we paid no attention to the melting ice caps, or the decreasing oxygen levels.

I’m sorry that you have to worry about finding the shelter for the next time it fogs and it can melt your flesh, or worry about how your children will adapt to the radiation from the bombs we dropped.

I’m sorry that you have to make up for our mistakes. But hopefully you can do better than those who came before you. You have to respect our environment just as you would respect each other because you are humanity's last hope, and for putting that pressure on your shoulders, I’m sorry.

SECOND: Shafrir Pervez, Edison Middle School    

"Beneath Our Feet"

Beneath our feet lies one of the most useful resources, groundwater. We use it for everything, from growing food to washing dishes, but a problem has emerged. It’s disappearing at unimaginable rates caused by increasing population, intensive agriculture and climate change. This phenomenon is called groundwater depletion.

Groundwater is used in irrigation and households, and a shortage would be devastating for agriculture and city dwellers. The main reason groundwater is  depleting is farmers are withdrawing more water to irrigate enough crops for an increasing population. Crops transfer groundwater to the atmosphere, which falls as rain through the hydrologic cycle. Climate change alters the hydrologic cycle by intensifying rain over a short period of time, which allows less water to return to the groundwater. Farmers and all of Sioux Falls use groundwater from the Ogallala Aquifer, which is losing ~0.23 km 3 of water per year, which could cause problems.

Although we can’t stop groundwater depletion as we need groundwater, we must take action to slow it down. The U.S. wastes ~1,000,000,000 gallons of water per year of which 67 percent comes from groundwater. Simple things like turning off the faucet when brushing or taking shorter showers can lower the water usage. We can also have neighborhood ponds, which could catch rainwater and allow it to return to groundwater.

More than ever, we must use our groundwater responsibly or else face the consequences. Remember, the biggest problem isn’t on the surface, it’s beneath our feet.

Best-of-School winners for other participating schools:

Milaana Wollman, eighth grade, Patrick Henry Middle School

Anna Risty, eighth grade, Brandon Valley Middle School

Lea Biren,  seventh grade, Brandon Valley Middle School

Kiarra Ljunggren,  seventh grade, Tea Area Middle School